Category: HOLIDAYS
St. Nicholas Day: Open Presents on December 6!
December 6 is Saint Nicholas Day, celebrated with various traditions in many European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland. In Holland and the Flemish-speaking parts of Belgium, the morning of December 6 is the day that children receive presents, rather than Christmas Eve [...] Read More »
Make a Matchbox Advent Calendar
Advent Calendars are used to count down the days in December leading up to Christmas. This matchbox version is easy to make if you have the materials, and can be re-used year after year.
Materials: Christmas fabric or paper, cardboard, 25 matchboxes, foil or other decorated paper to wrap the matchboxes, string to hang [...] Read More »
Two Easy Ways to Make an Advent Calendar
Advent Calendars are used to count down the days in December leading up to Christmas. Here are two easy and quick ways to make your own Advent calendar:
Make a Paper Chain Advent Calendar:
Create a paper chain with 25 loops, creating each loop with a strip of paper that you can decorate with seasonal [...] Read More »
St. Andrew’s Day: Scotland’s National Day
November 30 is St. Andrew’s Day in Scotland. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and it is celebrated as Scotland’s National Day. St Andrew is credited with spreading the gospel to Romania, Greece and Russia, and is also the patron saint of those countries. St. Andrew is also said to [...] Read More »
Advent: The Season of Preparing for Christmas
Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on the 24th of December, Christmas Eve. The name “Advent” comes from the Latin “Adventus,” which refers to the “coming” of the Savior. It is the beginning of the year in the Christian liturgical calendar.
It is a season rich with traditions in both [...] 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 »
The Legend of the White Stag, or, Why Rudolph Has a Red Nose
The legend of the white stag is part of the mythology of many cultures, originating with early European and Asian cultures who depended on hunting for their survival.
Star Mythology
The most ancient legend of the stag revolves around the "great hunter" (the constellation of stars known as Orion), who hunts the heavenly stag (Ursa Major), [...] Read More »
American Thanksgiving Day
On the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving Day festival. It is a day centered on bringing families together for a Thanksgiving Day feast, followed by a long weekend holiday that begins the holiday season leading up to Christmas and the end-of-year celebrations.
It is one of the busiest travel times of the [...] Read More »
Shichi-Go-San Matsuri (“Seven-Five-Three Festival”)
On November 15 is Shichi-go-san in Japan – a day that is a rite of passage for young children, focused on celebrating their good health and longevity. Shichi-go-san literally translates as “Seven-Five-Three,” and it includes traditions and celebrations for boys aged three and five, and for girls aged three and seven. In Japanese [...] Read More »
Remembrance Day and the Poppy
On Remembrance Day -- November 11 -- also known as Armistice Day or Veteran's Day, it is traditional to wear a poppy flower to commemorate those killed in World War 1 and other wars. The Flanders poppy (Papaver rhoeas) grew profusely in the trenches and craters of the war zone. Artillery shells and shrapnel [...] Read More »
