Category: Autumn
The Origins and Traditions of the Five Days of Diwali (Deepavali)
Diwali is a major festival celebrated in India and communities around the world.
Each of the five days of the Diwali festival has specific customs and traditions:
1. Dhanteras: Dhan means "wealth," and this is an auspicious day for shopping. In some regions, this day is dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. [...] Read More »
Diwali (Divali, Dewali, Deepavali): The Festival of Lights
Diwali is a five-day festival that typically falls in October or November on the Gregorian calendar. It occurs either in the middle of the lunar month of Ashwayuja, or at the end of that month and the beginning of the lunar month of Kartika, depending on which version of the Hindu calendar is prevalent [...] Read More »
Halloween: Spirits, Costumes, Bonfires, Apples and Jack o’ Lanterns
On October 31, Americans celebrate Halloween, which has become an extremely popular holiday. In the evening, children dress in costumes and go trick or treating – walking from house to house, knocking on doors and receiving candies as rewards for their costumes. The costumes range from the stand-by ghosts and witches, to costumes resembling popular [...] 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 »
How Do You Celebrate Dia de la Raza?
We have had a lot of traffic from people searching for information on how to celebrate Dia de la Raza. We've talked to several people from countries where October 12th is a holiday, but have not been able to get a lot of information about the traditions around this holiday , perhaps because it [...] Read More »
Make Chinese Mooncakes
If you’d like to make your own Chinese Mooncakes to celebrate Harvest Moon Festival, try this simple recipe from Shanghai, which can be made with ingredients that are relatively easy to find. Mooncakes are traditionally made using carved wooden molds with intricate patterns, but you can simply shape the dough into circles about 3 [...] Read More »
Canadian Thanksgiving
The Canadian Thanksgiving celebration falls on the second Monday of October – more than a month ahead of the American Thanksgiving -- Canada’s colder climate puts its harvest celebration well in advance of its southern neighbor’s. In spite of its connections to some of the American Thanksgiving origins and some political origins, the Canadian [...] Read More »
Columbus Day and Dia de la Raza
On the second Monday in October, Americans celebrate Columbus Day to commemorate Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492.
Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Uruguay celebrate Día de la Raza (day of the race) on October 12, to commemorate the first encounters between Europeans and Native Americans. Dia de [...] Read More »
Chuseok — the Korean Mid-Autumn Festival
Chuseok, also celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eight lunar month (see Harvest Moon Festival) is one of the three biggest national holidays in Korea, together with "Seollal" (the Lunar New Year) and "Dano" (the fifth of May by the lunar calendar). Chuseok is also called "Hangawi." "Han" means great or large, and [...] Read More »
