Category: Pakistani
Vaisakhi: the Punjabi New Year and Harvest Festival
Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, is the Punjabi and Nepali New Year, and the beginning of the harvest season in Punjab, India and Nepal. It is one of the major Sikh religious festivals, and is celebrated by Sikh communities around the world.
The date of Vaisakhi is determined by the solar calendar; it is the [...] Read More »
Easter Monday: Angel’s Monday, Wet Monday, Dyngus Day
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday. It is an official holiday in many largely Christian cultures in Europe, Africa and Central and South America. It is sometimes called Angel’s Monday, because it is the day that, according to Christian traditions, the angels gave the message of Christ’s resurrection to the women [...] Read More »
Kite Flying and Basant
Picture: Kites over Pakistan, posted on Pakistani Pictures, originally uploaded by Manitoon.
The Basant festival, celebrated in Pakistan and parts of India, welcomes the beginning of spring. In most places it is a one-day festival, strongly associated with kite flying. In Lahore, Pakistan, capital of the agriculture-based province of Punjab, Basant is [...] Read More »
Norooz: the Persian New Year
The Persian New Year holiday, alternately spelled Norouz, Nowruz, Nevruz, Newruz, or Navruz, coincides with the rebirth of nature on the first day of spring. It is celebrated by some communities on March 21st, or on the exact day of the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 20th, 21st or 22nd. Traditions include spring cleaning, [...] Read More »
Commonwealth Day
The second Monday in March is Commonwealth Day. About one quarter of the people in the world live in one of the countries in the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations, all of which, with the exception of Mozambique are former colonies of the United Kingdom. According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, “the aim of commemorating [...] Read More »
Eid Celebrations: Shopping for Sacrificial Animals
For Eid-Ul-Adha, the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, families purchase a sacrificial goat or other animal, if they can afford to do so, and then share the feast with their family and friends, and with those who are less fortunate. This photo is part of a post from an Islamabad blogger, who describes her trip [...] Read More »
BBC to Link School Children Around the World on December 6
On December 6, 2006, BBC News 24 plans to link and facilitate discussions among school children across various troubled and conflicting regions around the world. The children will be entirely responsible for driving the discussion and asking questions of their counterparts. Areas to be linked include:
Baghdad, Iraq - London, UK
Urban - rural China
Abuja, [...] Read More »
Wedding Traditions: Mehndi and Henna Decorations
A Pakistani bride has decorated her hands with beautiful Mehndi designs made from henna. This picture is from Pakistani Pictures and was originally uploaded by maahny.
Henna is a dye made from the plant lawsonia inermia, which is found in North Africa, India, and other parts of the Middle East. The plant leaves are [...] Read More »
Diwali in Pakistan
This picture from pakkpics shows Hindu girls performing religious rituals as they celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. In this picture, they are making offerings and lighting candles to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth into their home. It was taken on October 22, 2006 in Rawalpindi, and originally uploaded by lucky_khan. Read More »
