Category: HOLIDAYS

Songkran: Happy Thai New Year!

Published March 31, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Cambodian, Chinese, Elders, HOLIDAYS, Laotian, Myanmar, New Year Celebrations, Parades, Spring, Thai, Water | Comments [0]
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

Published March 26, 2007 in Afghani, American, Brazil, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Cuban, HOLIDAYS, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Pakistani, Parades, Spring, Thai | Comments [4]
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

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 »

Snake Day: the Day the Earth Opens

Published March 14, 2007 in Animals, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Good Luck, HOLIDAYS, Irish, LEGENDS, Romanian, Spring | Comments [1]
In Romanian folklore, March 17 is Snake Day, the day on which the ground opens, and animals that burrow in the ground emerge at the end of winter. It is a day on which people traditionally clean their fruit trees and their households. Storks return to build their nests, fish begin to swim, [...] Read More »

St. Patrick’s Day

Published March 12, 2007 in American, Australian, British, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Canadian, Catholic, Celtic, Danish, German, HOLIDAYS, Irish, Parades, Russian, Spring | Comments [0]
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 »

Old Dochia, or Why March Weather is so Changeable

Published March 6, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Elders, HOLIDAYS, LEGENDS, Romanian, Spring | Comments [1]
Have you ever wondered why early March weather is can change from spring to freezing and back again, all in a day? The answer is Old Dochia--a Romanian figure that personifies mankind's impatience in waiting for the return of spring. Her holiday is celebrated in Romania from March 1 to March 9, which [...] 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 »

Valentine’s Day

Published February 6, 2007 in American, Australian, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Canadian, Catholic, Courtship, Dutch, HOLIDAYS, Japanese, Spring | Comments [2]
Valentine's Day is a holiday dedicated to love and romance in many cultures. It is a good day to get engaged, plan a specially romantic date, buy chocolates or flowers for your sweetheart, or simply “give a valentine” to your friends. Many schoolchildren exchange Valentines with their class mates, which can be home-made cards or [...] Read More »

Groundhog Day

Published February 2, 2007 in American, CULTURES, Canadian, Celtic, French, German, HOLIDAYS, LEGENDS, Native American, Origin Legends, Spring, Winter | Comments [2]
February 2 is Groundhog Day in the United States and in Canada. The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck (Marmota monax), is a member of the squirrel family. According to American legend, the local television news and Hollywood, he is also a weatherman. If he sees his shadow when he emerges from his [...] Read More »

Up-Helly-Aa

Published January 20, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Parades, Scottish, Viking, Winter | Comments [0]
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 »