Mothering Day and Mother's Day

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Mothering Day has been celebrated in England since the early 18th century.  Mother's Day has been celebrated in the United States since the early 20th century.  In England and Scotland special cakes called furmety, carlings, and simnel cake have been made on Mothering Day.  Carnation is the flower most commonly associated with Mother's Day in the U.S.  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Ancient May Day Rituals

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The ancient Pagans celebrated May 1 as the day that divided the year in half.  Among other rituals, they set new fires on this day for luck and purification.  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Easter Traditions, Cards, Games, & More!

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Click here for a website filled with information, downloadable games and cards, and much, much more!

What did you learn today?

Early Arrival for Vernal Equinox 2012

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Tuesday, March 20, was the 2012 Vernal or Spring Equinox, where the number of daylight and night hours are equal.  There are many spring equinox rituals and celebrations, such as attempting to stand an egg on its end.  Some gardeners believe that it is the best time to do spring planting, so I have several friends who have been unavailable since Tuesday as they are spending every spare minute in their gardens. 

This year spring made its earliest arrival since 1896.  For more information click here and click here.

What did you learn today?

Party St. Patrick's Day Style!

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If you're planning a St. Patrick's Day party, click here for three pages of fun ideas for invitations, decorations, food, and more.  Elsewhere on the website are pages for the history of St. Patrick's Day, and movies with Irish themes.

What did you learn today?

World Interfaith Calendar

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In looking up which day this weekend is St. Patrick's Day, I stumbled on a fabulous calendar, InterFaithCalendar.org, that has dates of religious observances for many faiths, definitions for the observances, and much more.  You can access calendars from 2009 through 2019, and an archive that dates from 2001.  For more information click here.  This would be very useful for teachers and business owners, and others, too.

Click here to find out why 2008 had two unique dates in religious history.  What did you learn today?

15 Sedona Vortexes

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Iron ore, silicon dioxide, and sandstone content in rocks can cause rocks to have a magnetic field.  In Sedona, Arizona there are 15 locations that exhibit intense positive or negative magnetic fields, powerful enough to cause the human body to react.  These areas are called vortexes and are sought out by people for physical-health and spiritual reasons.  For more information click here and click here.

Kids' Books for St. Patrick's Day

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St. Patrick's Day is less than two weeks away, on March 17, of course.  Here is a list of books for kids through age 12 about St. Patrick's Day crafts, history, and fiction:  click here.

Today is the Pin Festival !

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Hari-Kuyo, the Festival of Broken Needles, was the beginning of the lunar year on the old Chinese calendar, and is now a festival in China and Japan every year on February 8.  People bring to the shrine their broken pins and needles used in the previous year, and express gratitude for their service.

For more information click here and click here.

I've broken sewing machine needles and the eyes in needlepoint needles, but I didn't exactly express gratitude for the broken needle, nor even for the service it had provided.  I wonder if there are uses for broken needles, but that's for another blog on another day.  What do you do that requires you to use needles?  (You can leave comments below.)

History of Ground Hog Day

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Ground Hog Day is celebrated only in the United States and Canada, but it evolved from Candlemas celebrations that originated in Europe.  In pre-Christian times, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lights on February 1, which became Candlemas to the Christians on February 2, and eventually led to the founding of Ground Hog Day in Canada and the U.S.  The underlying reasons for all these celebrations had to do with forecasting the last weeks of winter weather and the viability of the coming spring and summer crops.  There were also religious reasons for celebrating Candlemas, which are quite interesting.  For more information click here.

Year of the Water Dragon

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Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, which is based on the lunar calendar.  The celebration lasts for 15 days.  This is the year of the water dragon, and so is supposed to be the most prosperous and lucky of years in the Chinese zodiac calendar.  For more information click here and click here.

I was born in a year of the water dragon.  What animal in the Chinese zodiac were you born under?  If you don't know, click here.

History of New Year's Eve Fireworks

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The use of fireworks and other noise-making such as cheering and horn-blowing at midnight on the cusp of the New Year is an old semi-religious tradition.  People used to think that evil spirits were drawn to these particular celebrations, and the bright flashes of light and very loud noise-making would scare the evil spirits away.  For more information click here.

How do you spend your New Year's Eve?

Christmas in the Ukraine

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Although there are some secular Christmas celebrations on December 25, most in the Ukraine observe the religious Christmas celebration on January 7 according to the Julian calendar.  Some ancient pagan rituals are also observed, such as a mock battle between citizens and people dressed as monsters, representing a battle between good and evil in which the citizens are victorious.  For more information click here and click here.

What rituals do you and your family observe during this season?

Christmas in Puerto Rico

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Christmas celebrations in Puerto Rico are both religious and secular.  Religious celebrations last six weeks, ending January 6 with the Feast of the Three Kings who visited the Holy Family in Bethlehem.  On the eve of this feast children put grain and water under their beds to feed the camels of the kings.

The Christmas Eve celebration includes a big feast at midnight consisting of the favorite seasonal foods of roast pig, rice and peas, pasteles, and coconut pudding.  The favorite seasonal drink is coquito, which is made of coconut milk and white rum.  For more information click here.

Christmas in Guatemala

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In the nine days leading up to Christmas in Guatemala, there are daily processions with religious statues, firecrackers, and people acting as the Holy Family.  At the end of the procession the Holy Family stops at a selected house, and asks for and is given shelter for the night.  Then everyone enjoys a feast, usually with the favorite food of the season, tamales.  At the end of the Christmas Eve procession a Christ-child figure is added to the manger, then everyone again celebrates then attends midnight mass.  Christmas morning is spent in worship, after which celebrating and feasting continues.  For more information click here.

How does your family spend the days prior to Christmas?

Christmas in Asia

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In the Philippines Christmas is a full-on religious holiday and an official holiday, with much celebration, feasting, and gift-giving.  In other East Asian countries there are public holidays during the Christmas season, but there are few who celebrate Christmas either secularly or religiously.  In Muslim countries, Christmas is neither an official nor unofficial holiday, but Christians who live there do celebrate Christmas with their churches. 

In Japan there is intense secular celebration with much gift-giving, and although many Christmas religious symbols are used in their secular celebrations, actual religious celebration is not wide-spread outside Christian communities. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is one of their favorite pieces of music during this season, and fried chicken one of their favorite foods. A friend who is Japanese has told me that the Japanese are very name-brand conscious, and that this is reflected in their Christmas gift-giving.  For more information click here and click here.

If you celebrate during the month of December, what do you celebrate and how?

Christmas in South America

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South America is in the middle of summer during the Christmas season, so holidays can include fireworks, trips to the beaches for surfing and swimming, picnics, and barbecues.  While Christmas has been influenced by native traditions and U.S. and European customs, the majority of people celebrating Christmas in South America do so in a devoutly religious manner.  Nativity scenes are especially prevalent and important to South Americans.

There are separate celebrations that include feasts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and since the Christmas season extends through Epiphany there are religious celebrations and feasting on New Year's Day as well.  Some of the special Christmas-season foods are Christmas pudding, a special dessert cake called Pan de Pascua, roast pig or peacock, steak, turkey, and pies.  Special Christmas-season drinks are cola de mono or "monkey's tail",  fruit juice, cider, beer, and champagne.

For more information click here, and click here, and click here.

What Christmas traditions does your family observe?

History of Christmas Carols

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Carol or carole is a medieval word that meant "a celebratory religious dance with song".  Originally pagans in Europe celebrated with carols on the winter solstice, and gradually the singing of carols merged with the Christmas celebration.  Some believe that the earliest Christmas carols were written in the 14th century.  The general consensus is that at least the singing of Christmas carols became popular in the 14th century.  For more information click here and click here.

What is your favorite Christmas carole, and why?

Christkind

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One thing that Christmas celebrations around the world have in common is a gift-giver.  Most Christmas gift-givers are Saint Nicholas- or Santa Claus-type figures, but in Germany the gift bringer is called Christkind, which means "Christ child", and she's a little blond girl with angel-wings and a golden crown.  For more information click here and click here.

Who is the gift-giver in your country, and what is that person called?

Christingles

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Christingles are used in the U.K. and parts of Europe.  They are oranges with red ribbon wrapped around them, an area is carved out to place a candle, and four sticks with sweet-meats or candies are placed in it.  They are commonly used in services to raise money for people who can't afford to celebrate Christmas or other children's charities.  Click Here to read the touching story behind Christingles.

If you have made a Christingle, what did you put on the sticks?  How did you use it?