Category: Fertility

Easter Witches in Sweden

Published March 31, 2008 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Candy, Childhood, Fertility, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Spring, Swedish | Comments [1]
Most Christian holidays have pagan roots and traditions, and Easter is no exception. In Sweden, it is said that this is the time of year that witches mounted their broomsticks and flew off to Blockulla – the mystical meadow where witches gathered to dance with the devil. This piece of folklore is commemorated in Sweden [...] Read More »

Easter Monday: Angel’s Monday, Wet Monday, Dyngus Day

Published April 9, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Christian, Courtship, Czech, Fertility, Guyanaian, HOLIDAYS, Hungarian, Italian, Pakistani, Polish, Slovak, Spring, Water | Comments [0]
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 »

The Easter Egg

Published April 4, 2007 in British, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Celtic, Christian, Egyptian, Estonian, European, Fertility, Finnish, German, Good Luck, Greek, HOLIDAYS, Indian, Iranian, LEGENDS, Latin American, Latvian, New Year Celebrations, Origin Legends, Persian, Polynesian, Roman, Spring | Comments [1]
Easter celebrations are filled with many traditions, but nothing has come to symbolize the Easter holiday as much as the colored or painted Easter egg. Many children spend their Easter Sunday hunting for Easter eggs, rolling them, or running races while carrying their eggs in spoons. Across Eastern and Western cultures, eggs have long symbolized [...] Read More »

Norooz: the Persian New Year

Published March 20, 2007 in Afghani, Albanian, Azerbaijani, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Fertility, Georgian, Good Luck, Iranian, Iraqi, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, LEGENDS, New Year Celebrations, Pakistani, Persian, Spring, Tajik, Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbeki | Comments [1]
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 »

Irish Wedding Traditions

Published March 5, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Celtic, Fertility, Irish, Wedding | Comments [0]
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th – is one of the luckiest days on which to be married. “Marry in May and Rue the Day” says one Irish proverb. Before the wedding, the groom was invited for a traditional meal of stuffed goose at the bride's house cooked a goose in his honor. After [...] Read More »

Martisor: Celebrate Spring

Published February 28, 2007 in Albanian, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Fertility, Good Luck, HOLIDAYS, Macedonian, New Year Celebrations, Romanian, Spring | Comments [1]
The first of March is Martisor, a celebration of Spring in Romania, with some similar traditions in Macedonia and Albania, too. On Martisor, people exchange small amulets made of red and white string braided together – often given by men to women. The amulets symbolize the coming spring, joy and good luck in [...] Read More »