Category: Religious Celebrations
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5 German Christmas Traditions 2025
5 German Christmas Traditions 2025 In Germany, Christmas decorations appear before December 1. Many Germans take pleasure in beautiful scenes with the snow-covered straße (streets), colorful lights, Christmas-themed markets, and warm treats. My father’s side of the family is German, and we enjoy many German traditions. It is these country customs and the cultural…
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Unique Czech Christmas Traditions
Unique Czech Christmas Traditions Joza Upraka Exhibit at National Gallery 2011 The Czech Republic is recognized…
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Dignity and Grace: 6 Tips for Attending Funerals
Dignity and Grace: 6 Tips for Attending Funerals Photo by Polina Anastassieva By Sharon Schweitzer Family members and friends who have lost a loved one truly appreciate when others take the time and effort to attend a funeral or memorial service. There’s seldom a season or anticipated date for losing a loved one,…
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Graciously Responding to Tragedy
Graciously Responding to Tragedy Photo by Sharon Schweitzer; Garabito,Costa Rica By Sharon Schweitzer Our goal is to share guidance on living graciously; this includes knowing what to say in times of joy as well as sadness. Our Central Texas Hill Country has been devastated by torrential rain and flash flooding. We have received…
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International Day of Peaceful Communication, World Architecture Day
International Day of Peaceful Communication, World Architecture Day By Sharon Schweitzer International Day of Peaceful Communication was founded by Ruben M. West in 2019. The day was created to raise awareness of the power of peaceful communication. The celebrations intend to promote peaceful communication as the norm for families and communities as well…
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National German-American Day
National German-American Day By Sharon Schweitzer and Polina Anastassieva This German-U.S. American heritage holiday commemorates the thirteen German-Mennonite families from Krefeld who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, On October 6th, 1683, these families established the first German settlement in the original thirteen colonies. They named it Germantown. It was during these early years of…
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World Tourism Day
World Tourism Day By Sharon Schweitzer Tourism has been a part of the human experience as long as there have been distant places to go and experience. It was originally the province of the wealthy, with travel being difficult and expensive, but it afforded opportunities to learn new languages, experience different cuisines, and…
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European Day of Languages
European Day of Languages By Sharon Schweitzer In 1997, the idea of organizing a campaign to convince the general public of the importance of learning more languages was born. This idea arose at the conference on Language learning for a new Europe, which launched the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (C.E.F.R.)…
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National Chai Day
National Chai Day By Sharon Schweitzer National Chai Day is celebrated in India on September 21st each year to celebrate the unique flavors of chai, also known as masala chai. Chai, which means “tea” in many languages, has its roots in South Asia, particularly in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Nepal. It…
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Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival By Sharon Schweitzer What has three names and celebrates the moon? Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhongqiu Jie (中秋节) in Chinese, is also called the Mooncake Festival or the Moon Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar — or on September 17th this year. Since…