Cheng Ming Festival By Sharon Schweitzer The Ching Ming Festival, also known as Qingming (清明节), is a Chinese custom celebrated worldwide by people of many Asian cultures. Sometimes called Tomb Sweeping Day or the Pure Brightness Festival (pure brightness is the English translation of Qingming), it's an annual event to remember and honor ancestors [...]
Yi Peng Lantern Festival By Sharon Schweitzer Yi Peng Festival is a Thai celebration held on the evening of the twelfth month’s full moon in the traditional lunar calendar. It is an ancient celebration that was adapted from Brahmin origins and is inextricably linked with Thai Lanna culture. The Lanna culture dates back to the [...]
Image: by Sharon Schweitzer at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, Hiroshima Japan Japan’s Obon (or Bon) Festival, also known as the Festival of Souls or Lantern Festival, begins August 13 and ends on August 16, 2021. This annual Buddhist three-day festival has been celebrated for over 500 years in Japan and is dedicated to honoring [...]
Joza Upraka Exhibit at National Gallery 2011 The Czech Republic is recognized worldwide as Europe’s most castle-rich country, for its beautiful medieval landscapes, and also for its highest consumption of beer per capita. In addition, notable Czech-born people include Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl (tennis pros), Milos Forman (film director), Sigmund Freud (psychologist), [...]
Image by Adobe Stock The holiday season is upon us and we are quickly approaching the first day of Hanukkah/Chanukah, to be celebrated by Jewish people around the world. The beloved and joyous holiday of Hanukkah/Chanukah, or Festival of Rededication, begins the evening of Thursday, December 10th this year. The eight-day celebration of the rededication of [...]
Photo from Adobe Stock Images Sending and addressing holiday cards during the pandemic may be a delicate balancing act this year – spreading holiday cheer while simultaneously acknowledging that 2020 has been a challenging year for many people. Typical joyful seasonal greetings may hit an exposed nerve during this nearly year-long Covid-19 experience [...]
Chinese New Year by youranwo on flikr The Chinese Lunar New Year also known as the “Spring festival” (chunjie (春节)) starts the first day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. In 2019, the Year of the Pig, the New Year begins on February 5th and is celebrated for a [...]
Diwali Celebration by Natalie Carroll on flikr This year the world gets to admire Diwali, India’s most important celebration, on November 7th. Regardless of the different faiths practiced in India, Hindus, Jains, Buddhist and Sikhs, this holiday is celebrated by most in the country because the festival represents the triumph of [...]
