Category Celebration All Around the World

Carnival

The world’s turned topsy-turvy! It’s snowing bits of paper. Clowns are dancing with witches. It’s the Mardi Gras (from the French “fat Tuesday”) carnival! And people in places as far apart as Venice in Italy and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are dressing in costumes and masks and dancing and parading in the streets.

Mardi Gras marks the last day of festivities before Lent – 40 days of fasting and prayer for Christians. Lent starts in February or March.

People also celebrate the days before Lent in other ways. In Britain, people celebrate Pancake Day on the Tuesday before Lent by eating pancakes. The custom began long ago, when people could not eat meat, butter, eggs, and other rich foods during Lent. So, they made pancakes to use up their eggs and butter. In Olney, England, some women have a pancake race. They line up in the market square carrying a pancake in a frying pan. They must flip the pancake three times as they race to the other end of the square.

In Bulgaria, children celebrate Cheese Week before Lent. During the week, the children play a special game. With their hands behind their backs, they try to eat pieces of cheese, eggs, or sweets hanging by a string from the ceiling.

Picture Credit : Google

Anniversary of the EDSA Revolution

Do you know what a revolution is? It’s a big change in government. Many countries have had revolutions. Some countries celebrate the anniversary of revolutions. In the Philippines, people celebrate the anniversary of the EDSA Revolution on February 25.

On this day in 1986, many Filipinos (Philippine citizens) and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church gathered to demand a change in government. They felt that the government had cheated the people for years. They wanted a new president.

Some soldiers also wanted a different president. They helped the Filipinos and the Catholic leaders block a main street in Manila called Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). The people’s protest helped show President Ferdinand Marcos that the people did not want him. So he left the country. This protest became known as the EDSA Revolution.

Every year on the anniversary of the revolution, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church walk together to the street where the revolution took place. There, they hold a religious ceremony called a Mass to pray for the people of the Philippines and to celebrate the day.

Picture Credit : Google

Valentine’s Day

How do you tell your friends and family that you love them? Do you ever send them a valentine?

Many people around the world send valentines on February 14. That’s Valentine’s Day. On this day, children in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada often exchange valentine cards with friends. In Italy, people hold a Valentine’s Day feast. Wherever Valentine’s Day is celebrated, the day gives people a chance to show their love or affection for others.

While Valentine’s Day is celebrated in most countries, different cultures have developed their own traditions for this festival. In some parts of the world Valentine’s Day is observed as a day for expressing love between family members and friends, rather than that of romantic couples. Some traditions include leaving lollies and gifts for children and others include acts of appreciation between friends.

Valentine’s Day is most commonly associated with romantic love, with millions of Valentine’s Day cards being exchanged each year. Gifts of flowers or a single red rose are sent with romantic messages to loved ones and couples spend special time together. 

Many couples choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day with dinner, a picnic or special home-cooked meal. Many restaurants offer Valentine’s Day dinner promotions and food is often presented with symbols of love like hearts and flowers. Another popular Valentine’s Day activity is to indulge in a luxury hotel stay in a beautiful location, allowing a couple to get away from it all and enjoy some quality time together. Marriage proposals are also popular on Valentine’s Day, and it is often chosen as the perfect day to express their love and commitment. Some marriage proposals are delivered very creatively, such as after climbing to the top of a mountain, or posting a message on a billboard. Whatever the method, marriage proposals made on Valentine’s Day are generally romantic and memorable.

Picture Credit : Google

Waitangi Day

Hundreds of years ago, people called Maori sailed their long canoes to what is now New Zealand. The Maori came from islands in the Pacific.

In the 1700’s, Europeans came to New Zealand. They brought guns, which increased warfare among the Maori. They also brought diseases that killed thousands of Maori.

The British settlers and the Maori finally got together at a place named Waitangi to resolve their problems. On February 6, 1840, they signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This agreement made New Zealand a British colony. New Zealand now is an independent nation. It celebrates February 6 as Waitangi Day, its birthday and most important national holiday.

Every year on 6 February – Waitangi Day – people of all communities and backgrounds gather at Waitangi to commemorate the first signing of New Zealand’s founding document: Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi, on 6 February 1840. Waitangi Day is recognised as New Zealand’s national day and is the most important marker in the country’s history.

Ongoing recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi as the nation’s founding document will continue to keep this celebration alive, as the Treaty continues to live as part of New Zealand’s past, present and future.

On the 6 February the Treaty Grounds closes its buildings for the day and the grounds become the location for the Waitangi Day Festival.

The free festival at the Treaty Grounds starts at 5am with a Dawn Service in Te Whare R?nanga (Carved Meeting House). All-day entertainment creates a fun, festival atmosphere, with performance stages on the Upper Treaty Grounds, at the Waka Shelter and on the sports field opposite the Treaty Grounds.

More than 150 market stalls offer an amazing array of art and crafts, clothing and a wide variety of food options. Children’s activities include bouncy castles, kids racing cars and sports games.

Chinese New Year

Firecrackers pop and crackle! Cymbals crash! Drums roll! A giant dragon comes zigzagging down the street decorated with hundreds of sparkling sequins.

Chinese people are celebrating the start of the New Year. Friends and family get together for meals. Adults give children little red envelopes with lucky money. And a colourful parade marks the end of several days of festivities.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is China’s most important festival. It is also the most important celebration for families and a week of an official public holiday.

The Chinese New Year begins on the date of the first new moon between January 21 and February 19. This is because the ancient Chinese calendar is based on the moon. Chinese people around the world observe the holiday. Vietnamese and Koreans also celebrate the New Year at this time.

In many Chinese cities, from New Year’s Day, traditional performances can be seen: dragon dances, lion dances, and imperial performances like an emperor’s wedding. A great variety of traditional Chinese products are on offer, and rarely seen Chinese snacks. City parks and temple fairs are the places to go for this.

Every street, building, and house where Spring Festival is celebrated is decorated with red. Red is the main color for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious Color.

Red Chinese lanterns hang in streets; red couplets are pasted on doors; banks and official buildings are decorated with red New Year pictures depicting images of prosperity.

Picture Credit : Google

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day

Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister. He led people to work against the bad treatment that African Americans in the U.S.A. got in the mid-1900’s. Until then, African Americans in many states were not allowed to go to the same schools as white people or buy houses in white neighbourhoods. Black people had to use different drinking fountains and sit in different areas of restaurants and cinemas, too. Many were treated violently.

King wanted to change this unfair treatment. He preached that people must learn to live together and that people should not like or dislike others because of the colour of their skin. He preached that violence is bad.

People threw stones at King and put him in jail for his words and actions. In 1968, a hidden rifleman shot and killed King.

Today, many people around the world have followed King’s ideas. In the U.S.A., people honour King by celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., Day on the third Monday in January.