Category: Parades
Carnival in Germany: Fastnacht / Fasching / Karneval
Carnival, the rowdy celebrations preceding the start of Lent, is celebrated across many cultures with different traditions. While Latin cultures are famous for their Carnival celebrations in places such as New Orleans and Venice, there is a very strong Carnival tradition in northern cultures, as well, especially in the Catholic areas of Germany, where [...] Read More »
Songkran: Happy Thai New Year!
Songkran, the Thai New Year, is celebrated from April 13 to 15 in Thailand. It is also celebrated in Laos (where it is called "Songkan"), Cambodia, Myanmar, and by ethnic Dai in Yunnan, China. “Songkra” comes from Sanskrit and means "a move or change." Songkran is also known as the “Water [...] 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 »
St. Patrick’s Day
Irish communities around the world celebrate their patron saint on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17. It is the Irish national holiday, and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, the territory of Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The holiday is also widely celebrated in the United States, and [...] Read More »
Up-Helly-Aa
Scene from a video posted on YouTube by Gary13579, showing the burning galley at the 2006 Up-Helly-Aa festival:
If you’d like to dress as a Viking, carry a burning torch in a procession through villages and towns, and then throw the torch into a replica of a Viking longship to set it alight before sending it [...] Read More »
Lucyfest: Santa Lucia’s Festival
On December 13th, one of the shortest, darkest days of winter, Sweden celebrates Lucyfest, in honor of Saint Lucia, the Queen of Lights, in a festival that also has roots in Italy, Germany and Norway. Traditionally, each village had its own Santa Lucia: a young woman, dressed in a white gown, wearing a red [...] Read More »
The American Thanksgiving Weekend
The American Thanksgiving Day celebrations kick off what for most people is a four-day holiday. Aside from eating a big Turkey dinner on Thursday, here are some of the other activities that people engage in over that weekend:
1. American football: There are two nationally-televised football games on Thanksgiving Day, with special entertainments scheduled [...] Read More »
All Souls’ Day (Defuncts’ Day)
All Souls’ Day is a Roman Catholic holiday celebrated on November 2nd. (If that day falls on a Sunday, then All Souls’ Day is moved to November 3rd, since it is not permitted to wear black clothing on Sundays.) Like All Saints’ Day (November 1st), it is celebrated in many countries, including Belgium, [...] Read More »
Make Holiday Lanterns from Cheese Containers
Here’s another easy way to make a lantern that you can light with a tea candle (careful!) or glow stick for festivals such as the Harvest Moon Festival or St. Martin’s Day. This will give you a cylindrical lantern that is easy to decorate in many different ways.
You’ll need: a cheese container -- the round, [...] Read More »
St. Martin’s Day
On November 11, German children celebrate St. Martin's Day, which marks the beginning of the German carnival season, known as "Fassnacht" or "Fasching." Children make lanterns, lit by candles and attached to long sticks with wire, and parade after dark, singing songs. Often, there is a bonfire after the parade. Then the [...] Read More »
