What holiday are you celebrating soon?
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What holiday are you celebrating soon?
Hunny Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:07 pm
We are all from...
Countries Around The World
Tell us about your upcoming holiday the rest of us may not know of, or maybe we celebrate it differently. ~~~~~~~ We'll make sure a piece gets written about it, to teach others of what's important to you. Let us know! Or you can write the piece yourself, and post it here.
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Re: What holiday are you celebrating soon?
Hunny Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:38 am
I'm not entirely sure if it's all considered part of the same "Midnight Sun" celebration, but they also ride snowmobiles on water there, this time of year ("Watercross"). Perhaps Toki or JL would like to weigh in on this. It's their thing. I'm just repeating stuff i heard! 
But I do think the Finns are insane, and i just love them for it. Check it out!
Okay, this isn't Finland, or the film festival. But apparently, if you're nuts enough to try it, you can ride your bike across water too! (*that's not a suggestion)
But I do think the Finns are insane, and i just love them for it. Check it out!Okay, this isn't Finland, or the film festival. But apparently, if you're nuts enough to try it, you can ride your bike across water too! (*that's not a suggestion)
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It is Ivana Kupala Day in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Poland.
Hunny Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:47 am
In Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Poland, it is
Ivana Kupala Day
-By Hunny
Ivana Kupala Day is the day of summer solstice (June 24), as celebrated in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Poland. It's their version of the "Midsummer" holiday celebrated across Europe, marking the summer solstice (the longest day of the year).It is yet another pagan fertility rite which was conquered and distorted by the christians. The name combines the words "Ivan" (Slavic for "John the Baptist"), and "Kupala" ("bathing"), as the church men -in order to replace the holiday with one that would control people, as they desired to do- declared it the first day of the year when they sanctioned bathing and swimming in rivers and ponds (as if it was up to them).
In spite of the christian interference, however, Kupala Day has been one of the most expressive East Slavic folk and pagan holidays. Many of its rites are connected with water, fertility and purification. The girls float flower garlands on the water of rivers and tell their fortunes from their movement. Lads and girls jump over the flames of bonfires, to show their love will last. The festival was originally a fertility rite, intended to assure a good harvest. (Kupala was the Pagan Goddess of Harvest and Love. She was personified as the Earth's fertility.) As part of that, the Eve of Kupala featured also courting and sexual rituals.
The christian conquerors tried to suppress the festival -not because of the mating- but because they wanted to blot out whatever culture there was and replace it with their own, as conquerors do. The sexuality was just something they grabbed as an excuse.
And this was a large part of why christianity became "against" sexuality, nudity, and natural things. They needed to invent reasons why those they wished to condemn for replacement were bad. If it was a fertility right, call it "bad". It could have been about balloons, and they would have said balloons were bad.
Well they were unsuccessful at suppressing the festival, so the men of the church did what they normally did: they concocted a holiday of their own to replace it with, by combining with it. And they called this new day "Ivan Kupala" (which translated means "John the Baptist's Bathing Day" or more to their point, "Church-Authorized Bathing Day"). They did manage to sanitize the customs a bit, but in spite of the efforts of some allegedly sexless, dress-wearing men-who-live-with-other-men, it's still a festival for young unmarried people, with plenty of opportunities for hooking up.
[EDIT: And maybe they can burn the poor woman alive, and cheer, just for old time's sake, and so the kids can watch? The Wiccan Sabbath occurs on the Eve of Ivan Kupala. It is the same people celebrating the same thing, but in our history, brutal people vilify and dehumanize defenseless people, just to show the rest of the people who to be scared of, and do as their told by. The christians tortured and burned alive an estimated 1.5 million women. This practice went on for centuries. Yet most people today have no sense of horror that this happened, because of various holidays and traditions which take lightly, or even celebrate, that we did this -even by burning a woman in effigy. It's abysmally wrong, and we need to stop it.]
Celebrations usually go on all night, especially in the countryside. The young unmarried men in the village make the Kupalytsia doll and dress it as a woman. The young women work on the Kupala doll and dress it as a man. At the end of the celebration, the Kupala doll is burned in a fire, and the Kupalytsia is drowned in water.
The girls sing special songs ("kupalni"), with a lot of references to love and marriage. They also put a burning candle in the middle of a flower garland and float it on the water and tell their fortunes from the behavior of the garland in the water. Young boys and girls jump over a fire holding hands. According to the legend, the couple will stay together as long as they do not let go of each other’s hands.
Why 'fire & water'...
Life's dependence on the Sun is obvious to the farmer. In Slavic countries the most important cyclical feasts were linked with the summer and winter solstices. On June 24, near the longest day of the year, Slavs for centuries have celebrated nocturnal rites of fire and water, life and death. This is Kupala Day (in Poland, Sobótka). The focus of the ritual is the burning of bonfires. Up until the 19th century, the fire was made in a ritual way - rubbing wood. Fire kindled in this way was known as 'living fire'. Women girdled in mugwort, a magical and healing herb, danced around the bonfires. Men jumped over them, singly or in pairs. And songs were sung: as fortune telling, matchmaking of young couples, and as incantation with sun symbols. Songs and dances of erotic nature were often accompanied by orgiastic behavior of the young participants in the ritual.
During the feast of Kupala, along with rites linked to life and fire, were those linked to death and water. The custom of drowning a straw effigy (the Kupalytsia, the female doll the young men make) is a remnant of the ancient practice of human sacrificing. The words various peoples have for these dolls mean "death, ghost, nightmare, or dream". To die submerged in water is significant, symbolically, because water represents the vast unconscious which life supposedly emanates from, like a dream which becomes physical. (Hence the notion of death being not an end, but a "submersion" in the realm where we are dreamed of and so re-born again into the world). So sacrificing wasn't intended to be about killing. Quite the opposite, they were very interested in re-birth, in the cycle of death and re-birth. To drown you, to them, was to let you live again; to send you to God so you can come back.
The christian practice of baptizing -and their ideas of being "born again" and of "resurrection"- stem from this ancient idea as well.
In some parts of these countries, instead of burning or drowning a doll, a circle on a pole is burned - symbol of the sun.
From another source...
Kupała was the festival celebrated on the Summer solstice in June. It was a sacred holy day honoring the two most important elements: Fire and Water. The tradition is to burn fires at the end of the day and bathe in open waters at sunset, singing and dancing around till midnight. Then, under the pretext of searching for the "flower of the Fern", unmarried men and women would run into the forest. Ladies with a crown of flowers on their head, a symbol of their unmarried state, go first, singing. Next they are followed by single men. If you find the "flower of the Fern" the wishes of life may be fulfilled. The lucky man would return with a flower ring on his head, with the now engaged lady.
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Modern times...
Below is what you tube shows as a modern version of the fire ceremony. Notice they stay clean. There's no Earth under foot, no pond of water, no messy, potential lawsuit-producing jumping over fire. And it's not a fire that will stay lit. ...It seems as if all the holidays have ceased having any significant meaning. Like "Xmas", they've been reduced to rituals that seem like..just rituals. Kupala Day has even been moved from June 24 to July 7, for convenience, so it isn't held on the solstice any more. That's how little it matters that it still mean what it meant.
As someone who researches and writes of the holidays, I've noticed they were mostly pagan holy days when they started - significant meaningful activities that were very real to people, and relevant to their lives.
But these holy days all got changed into something ridiculous by the christians: buffoonish re-castings of those real and important things, into recommendations of repression and being obedient and worshiping to those who demand it.
Then those bastardized versions of the holidays were themselves changed, and made entirely empty, by the industrial revolution and information age. Now we all know, for instance, that Valentine's Day is just about giving cards, because "we're obliged to" so that some rich people can make even more money they don't need. And we know that "Xmas" is likewise just an obligation on our time and money. Few of us attach meaning to the occasion any more. And the businesses who turned it this way even told us we must say the generic term "Seasons Greetings", not "Merry Christmas", because we aren't even to be allowed to have the uniqueness, which was the meaning, of the holiday anymore. ( It "wouldn't be fair to others", they said. )
I'm not really complaining about this, but I do lament living in a time which has no meaningful traditions the people own...
We do what the church threatened people into doing hundreds of years ago, which was awful then, and senseless now.
We do what the business people who enslave us tell us to do (buy cheap crappy products with the pauper's wages they give us, so we have to give the money back).
And we do as the government bids: celebrate war and encourage our kids, and the future, to value it too.
Nice. Why don't we make up a few holidays of our own? - relevant to our lives, and our time (and screw the government)? Why not? That's what I want. Meaning. And ownership. And celebration of real important things, of our lives, that we value.
Frankly, our holidays are an embarrassment. We're always imitating things people did in the past, which we don't understand, believe in or care about. The holidays (at least in the United States) are just viewed as "days off" now, by people. Well, you can blame the christians for this, because before their brutal conquest, the pagans were not mimicking obsolete superstition, nor some asinine bullshit they'd been forced to adopt. They were celebrating their real life stuff, with zest. Why don't we do that?
Or do you think we should just continue to do as the child-molesting priests would have us do, and the business owners who own us, whom - between the two interest groups - collectively wish for us to *eat chocolate chicken eggs laid by rabbits because this lends meaning to resurrection?????????
(*using Easter as an example).
Well..
Back to Kupala: Is this holiday just empty nonsense now too? Because they do seem to be having a little fun, in the video. (Although that's a human effigy their burning.
Check it out.I'd love it if our Ukrainian member Grunya would tell us what she knows of modern ways of celebrating, and what she usually does on this day. Grunya? Have you been running off into the woods wearing flowers?
This seems a little more like it. It's a shame I can't translate the Russian though.
__________________________
What are these songs, Grunya? I can't understand the language, but they're charming. Perhaps I have been too hard on the idea of cherishing notions from our past? Can you recommend any videos that fully show how Ivana Kupala Day is celebrated now? - in English?
_______________________________________
Next year, for Kupala Day, I will use this list of questions for interviews, and post the replies here.
I will not, however, refer to the day as "Ivana's". It was not Ivana's. And therefore Ivana should not get to keep it. To the church I say: homosexual pedophile priests, and faithless soldiers with crosses on their weapons, had no right to oppress a people, take their sacred things from them, torture them, and burn them alive. It is YOUR RELIGION which should be defamed and oppressed. For time going by does NOT make what your organization has done okay. You should have to make reparations, and you should be sued for burning women in effigy even now. I'm glad it came out that your holy men all screw little boys. Pedophiles are the most hated people among us, and for your long horrible history of killing and torturing and culture-wrecking, it seems just that you should be hated that much now and lose your power.
__________
Stay tuned to this thread folks. We're going to dig up all the sociological dirt. We're going to look at the reality, not the fiction. (You can get that anywhere.)
Until then, we are all from "Countries Around The World"...
Last edited by Hunny on Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:43 pm; edited 2 times in total
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American Independance Day ("The Fourth of July")
Hunny Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:47 pm
American Independance Day ("The Fourth of July")
It is the Fourth of July in America, which means..well, not a whole helluva lot actually. Our holidays are just days off to us. We have no interesting pagan past as Europe does. And, while this day is intended to mark the anniversary of our becoming a nation, only fascists actually care about that. To the average American, as with all our holidays, it means it's a three day weekend (yay), and we'll use it as an excuse to buy a barrel of beer, some plastic cups, and invite 20 of our dearest, most obnoxious friends to come eat hamburgers and get stupid with us. (And by stupid I mean pie-eyed, dumb-assed behaving drunk "woo hoo!").
And all the while this is going on, trust me, no one is going "hooray for independence". It's just a party.
The one thing we actually do is fireworks. Every yutz who can buys fireworks (which are illegal) and lights them off in the street, which threatens to burn my house, and leave scorch marks on my car...at the very least it will make a lot of "bang!" "boom!" to have to listen to, and there will be trash in the street when i wake up. (yay).
There are official fireworks displays, big ones, held by the cities and towns, and those can be cool to lay on the grass and watch. People do enjoy going to see these. You also might find a carnival this time of year, to accompany the evening's festivities. This - as is life itself- is best enjoyed by youth. If you're young and dating, it can be a romantic adventure to go out on this evening. Ride the ferris wheel, get a kiss, win a prize for throwing things, eat carnival food (apple fritters, hot dogs, candy floss, popcorn...
Until next time,
we are all from "Countries Around The World.."
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describe yourself : I am both sides of the coin, and I am neither. I love words. I think independently. I sing. Caffeine, to me, is a vitamin. I once voted for you in an election. You didn't win. Can I borrow five bucks?
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Re: What holiday are you celebrating soon?
Hunny Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:54 pm
In The United States and Canada, February 2nd is
"Groundhog Day"
an annual holiday when, according to folklore, a groundhog predicts whether spring will come early this year, or if there will be six more weeks of winter as usual, based on whether the earth-burrowing rodent sees its shadow, or not, when it comes out of its hole.
Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. But if you want the real truth, we actually have to pull the little guy out of his hole, because if he came out on his own, he'd be assaulted by glaring camera lights, and wouldn't know if he was seeing his shadow or stars. It's all really quite silly and no one takes it seriously anymore (though at one time they did).
Among those who do still put stock in the annual tradition are the various towns across the country who each claim to be the owners of thee actual, one-and-only groundhog. Punxsutawney Phil (in Pennsylvania) is the most well known, due to a movie that featured him ("Groundhog Day", with Bill Murray)(If you haven't seen that, do. It's really good.)
ACCURACY OF PREDICTIONS: Groundhog Day proponents state that the rodents' forecasts are accurate 75% to 90% of the time. However, since there are always six more weeks of winter after Groundhog Day, and the concept of early spring in the astronomical sense simply does not exist, then whenever the groundhog sees its shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter, the groundhog is always right, but whenever it predicts an early spring, it is always wrong. The results have an approximate 80% rate of accuracy, the average percentage of times a groundhog sees its shadow.
SIMILAR CUSTOMS: An almost identical custom is celebrated among Orthodox Christians in Serbia on February 15 (February 2 according to local Julian calendar) during the feast of celebration of Sretenje or The Meeting of the Lord. It is believed that on this day the bear will awake from winter dormancy, and if in this sleepy and confused state it meets its own shadow, it will get scared and go back to sleep for an additional 40 days, thus prolonging the winter. Thus, if it is sunny on Sretenje, it is the sign that the winter is not over yet. If it is cloudy, it is a good sign that the winter is about to end.
In Germany, June 27 is "Siebenschläfertag" (Seven Sleepers Day). If it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy.
In the United Kingdom, July 15 is known as St. Swithun's day. It was traditionally believed if it rained on that day, it would rain for the next 40 days and nights.
In Alaska, February 2 is observed as Marmot Day rather than Groundhog Day because few groundhogs exist in the state. The holiday was created in 2009, by the Alaska Legislature and then-Governor Sarah Palin, who deserves credit for doing this important thing, inbetween shooting animals from an airplane and spying on Russia...erm... oh, who am I kidding
"Groundhog Day"
an annual holiday when, according to folklore, a groundhog predicts whether spring will come early this year, or if there will be six more weeks of winter as usual, based on whether the earth-burrowing rodent sees its shadow, or not, when it comes out of its hole.
Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. But if you want the real truth, we actually have to pull the little guy out of his hole, because if he came out on his own, he'd be assaulted by glaring camera lights, and wouldn't know if he was seeing his shadow or stars. It's all really quite silly and no one takes it seriously anymore (though at one time they did).
Among those who do still put stock in the annual tradition are the various towns across the country who each claim to be the owners of thee actual, one-and-only groundhog. Punxsutawney Phil (in Pennsylvania) is the most well known, due to a movie that featured him ("Groundhog Day", with Bill Murray)(If you haven't seen that, do. It's really good.)
ACCURACY OF PREDICTIONS: Groundhog Day proponents state that the rodents' forecasts are accurate 75% to 90% of the time. However, since there are always six more weeks of winter after Groundhog Day, and the concept of early spring in the astronomical sense simply does not exist, then whenever the groundhog sees its shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter, the groundhog is always right, but whenever it predicts an early spring, it is always wrong. The results have an approximate 80% rate of accuracy, the average percentage of times a groundhog sees its shadow.
SIMILAR CUSTOMS: An almost identical custom is celebrated among Orthodox Christians in Serbia on February 15 (February 2 according to local Julian calendar) during the feast of celebration of Sretenje or The Meeting of the Lord. It is believed that on this day the bear will awake from winter dormancy, and if in this sleepy and confused state it meets its own shadow, it will get scared and go back to sleep for an additional 40 days, thus prolonging the winter. Thus, if it is sunny on Sretenje, it is the sign that the winter is not over yet. If it is cloudy, it is a good sign that the winter is about to end.
In Germany, June 27 is "Siebenschläfertag" (Seven Sleepers Day). If it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy.
In the United Kingdom, July 15 is known as St. Swithun's day. It was traditionally believed if it rained on that day, it would rain for the next 40 days and nights.
In Alaska, February 2 is observed as Marmot Day rather than Groundhog Day because few groundhogs exist in the state. The holiday was created in 2009, by the Alaska Legislature and then-Governor Sarah Palin, who deserves credit for doing this important thing, inbetween shooting animals from an airplane and spying on Russia...erm... oh, who am I kidding
Hunny- head cheerleader
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describe yourself : I am both sides of the coin, and I am neither. I love words. I think independently. I sing. Caffeine, to me, is a vitamin. I once voted for you in an election. You didn't win. Can I borrow five bucks?
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Re: What holiday are you celebrating soon?
Hunny Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:03 pm
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Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is for people who want love
and people who have love
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is for people who want love
and people who have love
Valentine’s Day is the traditional day on which lovers express their affection by giving cards, flowers, and chocolate. A holiday celebrated throughout the world, it has a long history of changing meaning and observance. The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. It's estimated that one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas.
HISTORY: Valentine's Day originates from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration which was observed annually on February 13-15. The rise of Christianity in Europe saw many pre-existing holidays being renamed for, and dedicated to, the early Christian martyrs, and Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned it into a Christian feast day and proclaimed it to be in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century.
Valentine was a Bishop who attracted the disfavor of Roman Emperor Claudius II ("Claudius The Cruel"), who had decided that single men made more willing soldiers than those with wives and families, and outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, Claudius ordered him jailed. Claudius met with Valentine, who refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage, or to recognize Roman Gods, and he attempted to convert the emperor to Christianity. For this he was condemned to be beaten to death with clubs, and to have his head cut off.
While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailer, Asterius, who asked him to heal his blind daughter. A friendship formed between Valentine and the girl who was greatly grieved to hear of her friend's imminent death. Just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailer, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.
LUPERCALIA: In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goat hide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year.
Boys and girls were kept segregated in these times. However, the young people had a custom that began on the eve of the Festival each year. The girl’s names were written down, and put into jars. Each boy then drew a girl's name and they were partners throughout the Festival. After being paired, the children would often continue to see each other throughout the year and on occasion even fell in love and get married.
The Christian conquerors, wanting to replace the existing culture with one of their own invention, and control, recast the people's cherished history and traditions as ungodly and sinful, by saying they'd been having "a sex lottery". Pope Gelasius ordered a change: instead of the names of young women, the jars would now contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the jars, and the 'game' was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, the Romans were not pleased with the change. They'd had their God taken away, their holiday and their traditions. And in its stead - for hundreds of years to come- people would now be obligated to eat way too much food as a way of showing they'd like to emulate a man who'd never had sex in his life, because repression was now to be considered preferable to health.
The irony in this is that the Christians chose Valentine -who symbolized disobeying unfair restriction on people's love lives- as the symbol of again, and forevermore, imposing restriction.
CHAUCER'S LOVE BIRDS: So Lupercalia had been recast as "St. Valentine’s Day", a Christian day of feasting, to dedicate ones self platonically to the ideals of a religious martyr. It was not until 1381 that the day again became associated with love, when Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia (both of whom were 15, at the time). As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked: "For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."
Knight and Lady with Birds
The knight kneels in homage to his lady, as he receives his helmet.
In the background, birds frolic in a tree, reminiscent of the medieval tradition
that the pairing of the birds occurred around Saint Valentine's Day.
MEDIEVAL PERIOD AND THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE: Valentine's Day took off soon after that--it fit in perfectly with the French nobility's ongoing infatuation with courtly love. While the term "courtly love" wasn't coined until the late 1800's, the principles of it can be found in literature dating as far back as the 12th century. In this idealized vision of romance, a knight or nobleman would fall in love with a beautiful woman--always a woman of a higher class, and usually somebody else's wife. His love would be unattainable, but he would still work to make himself worthy of her by undertaking dangerous quests in her name and performing any harrowing task she might ask for. Courtly love is found everywhere in literature from the legends of King Arthur to the poetry of Plutarch and Shakespeare.
On Valentines Day, in 1400, a "High Court of Love" was founded in Paris. It was an attempt to apply the language of law at the time to romantic conflicts including betrayals, violence against women, and contracts of love. The court's judges were chosen by women, based on the eloquence of their poetry!
MODERN TIMES: In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called “mechanical valentines,” and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines. That, in turn, made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.
Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century. In the UK, just under half the population spend money on their Valentines and around 1.3 billion pounds is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent. The reinvention of Saint Valentine's Day in the 1840s has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt. As a writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."
In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English Valentine she had received from a business associate of her father. Intrigued with the idea of making similar Valentines, Howland began her business by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England. The English practice of sending Valentine's cards was established enough to feature as a plot device in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (1851): "I burst in with my explanations: '"The valentine I know nothing about." '"It is in your handwriting," said he coldly. Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary."
The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates packed in a red satin, heart-shaped box. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry. The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day." As a joke, Valentine's Day is also referred to as "Singles Awareness Day". In some North American elementary schools, children decorate classrooms, exchange cards, and eat candy.
Approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When you include the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.
The rise of the Internet created new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards.
There are some families, however, who choose to find other means of honoring Saint Valentine on Valentine's Day. Many of these traditions involve bonfires, for fire is said to represent passion.
_____________________________________________________
IN MY OPINION...
the idea that people used to give hand-written notes expressing
love, and sometimes a love yet unspoken, is a charming notion!
_____________________________________________________
We also associate love, and Valentine’s Day, with Cupid! In Roman mythology, Cupid
(Latin, meaning "desire") is the god of erotic love and beauty. The son of Venus
(goddess of love) and Mercury (the messenger god), Cupid is often depicted with
wings, a bow, and a quiver of arrows, and is thought to shoot one into someone’s
heart occasionally, causing them to fall in love with the first person they see!
IN MY OPINION...
the idea that people used to give hand-written notes expressing
love, and sometimes a love yet unspoken, is a charming notion!
_____________________________________________________
We also associate love, and Valentine’s Day, with Cupid! In Roman mythology, Cupid
(Latin, meaning "desire") is the god of erotic love and beauty. The son of Venus
(goddess of love) and Mercury (the messenger god), Cupid is often depicted with
wings, a bow, and a quiver of arrows, and is thought to shoot one into someone’s
heart occasionally, causing them to fall in love with the first person they see!
VALENTINES DAY IS CELEBRATED IN DIFFERENT WAYS, IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
EUROPE... While sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts is traditional in the UK , Valentine's Day has various regional customs. In Norfolk, a character called 'Jack' Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person.In Wales, many people celebrate St Dwynwen's Day on January 25 instead of (or as well as) Valentine's Day. The day commemorates St Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.
In France, a traditionally Catholic country, Valentine's Day is known simply as "Saint Valentin", and is celebrated in much the same way as other western countries.
In Spain . Valentine's Day is known as "San Valentín" and is celebrated the same way as in the UK, although in Catalonia it is largely superseded by similar festivities of rose and/or book giving on Saint George's Day.
In Portugal , it is more commonly referred to as "Dia dos Namorados" (Lover's Day / Day of those that are in love with each other).
In Denmark and Norway , Valentine's Day (14 Feb) is known as Valentinsdag. It is not celebrated to a large extent, but is largely imported from American culture, and some people take time to eat a romantic dinner with their partner, to send a card to a secret love or give a red rose to their loved one. The flower industry in particular is still working on promoting the holiday there.
In Sweden , it is called Alla hjärtans dag ("All Hearts' Day") and was launched in the 1960s by the flower industry's commercial interests, and due to the influence of American culture. It is not an official holiday, but its celebration is recognized and sales of cosmetics and flowers for this holiday are only exceeded by those for Mother's Day.
In Finland , Valentine's Day is called Ystävänpäivä which translates into "Friend's day". As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering all your friends, not only your loved ones.
In Estonia , Valentine's Day is called Sõbrapäev, which has the same meaning.
In Slovenia , a proverb says that "St Valentine brings the keys of roots," so on February 14, plants and flowers start to grow. Valentine's Day has been celebrated as the day when the first work in the vineyards and in the fields commences. It is also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day. Nevertheless, it has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love is traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day. Another proverb says "Valentin – first saint of spring", as in some places (especially White Carniola) Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring.
In Romania , the traditional holiday for lovers is Dragobete, which is celebrated on February 24. It is named after a character from Romanian folklore who was supposed to be the son of Baba Dochia. Part of his name is the word drag ("dear"), which can also be found in the word dragoste ("love"). In recent years, Romania has also started celebrating Valentine's Day, despite already having Dragobete as a traditional holiday. This has drawn backlash from many groups, reputable persons and institutions but also nationalist organizations like Noua Dreaptǎ, who condemn Valentine's Day for being superficial, commercial and imported Western kitsch.
Valentine's Day is called Sevgililer Günü in Turkey, which translates into "Sweethearts' Day".
According to Jewish tradition , the 15th day of the month of Av – Tu B'Av (usually late August) is the festival of love. In ancient times girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyards, where the boys would be waiting for them. In modern Israeli culture this is a popular day to pronounce love, propose marriage and give gifts like cards or flowers.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA... In some Latin American countries Valentine's Day is known as "Día del Amor y la Amistad" (Day of Love and Friendship). For example Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador,as well others. Although it is similar to the United States' version in many ways, it is also common to see people do "acts of appreciation" for their friends.
In Guatemala , it is known as the "Día del Cariño" (Day of the Affection).
In Brazil , the Dia dos Namorados (lit. "Day of the Enamored", or "Boyfriends'/Girlfriends' Day") is celebrated on June 12, when couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards and flower bouquets. This day was chosen probably because it is the day before the Festa junina (Saint Anthony's day), known there as the marriage saint, when traditionally many single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend. The February 14's Valentine's Day is not celebrated at all, mainly for cultural and commercial reasons, since it usually falls too little before or after Carnival, a major floating holiday in Brazil — long regarded as a holiday of sex and debauchery by many in the country — that can fall anywhere from early February to early March.
In Venezuela , in 2009, President Hugo Chávez said in a meeting to his supporters for the upcoming referendum vote on February 15, that "since on the 14th, there will be no time of doing nothing, nothing or next to nothing ... maybe a little kiss or something very superficial", he recommended people to celebrate a week of love after the referendum vote.
In most of South America , the Día del amor y la amistad and the Amigo secreto ("Secret friend") are quite popular and usually celebrated together on the 14 of February (one exception is Colombia, where it is celebrated every third Saturday of September). The latter consists of randomly assigning to each participant a recipient who is to be given an anonymous gift (similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa).
ASIA... Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day is celebrated in some Asian countries with Singaporeans, Chinese and South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine's gifts. In South Korea, similar to Japan, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on the 14th of Feb or March go to a Chinese restaurant to eat black noodles (자장면 jajangmyeon) and "mourn" their single life. Koreans also celebrate Pepero Day on November 11, when young couples give each other Pepero cookies. The date '11/11' is intended to resemble the long shape of the cookie. The 14th of every month marks a love-related day in Korea, although most of them are obscure. From January to December: Candle Day, Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day. Korean women give a much higher amount of chocolate than Japanese women.
In China , the common situation is the man gives chocolate, flowers or both to the woman that he loves. Traditional Chinese Valentine's day is called "qixi" in pinyin, and is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, commemorating a fabled day on which the cow-herder and weaving maid are allowed to be together. Modern Valentine’s Day is also celebrated on February 14 of the solar calendar each year.
In Taiwan , the situation is the reverse of Japan's. Men give gifts to women in Valentine's Day, and women return them in White Day.
In the Philippines , Valentine's Day is called "Araw ng mga Puso" or "Hearts Day". It is usually marked by a steep increase in the prices of flowers.
In Japan , Morozoff Ltd. introduced the holiday for the first time in 1936, when it ran an advertisement aimed at foreigners. Later in 1953 it began promoting the giving of heart-shaped chocolates; other Japanese confectionery companies followed suit thereafter. In 1958 the Isetan department store ran a "Valentine sale". Further campaigns during the 1960’s popularized the custom.
The custom that only women give chocolates to men appears to have originated from the typo of a chocolate-company executive during the initial campaigns. In particular, office ladies give chocolate to their co-workers. Unlike western countries, gifts such as greeting cards, candies, flowers, or dinner dates are uncommon, and most of the activity about the gifts is about giving the right amount of chocolate to each person. Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.
Many women feel obliged to give chocolates to all male co-workers, except when the 14th falls on a Sunday, a holiday. This is known as giri-choko (義理チョコ), from giri ("obligation") and choko, ("chocolate"), with unpopular co-workers receiving only "ultra-obligatory" chō-giri choko cheap chocolate. This contrasts with honmei-choko (本命チョコ, Favorite chocolate); chocolate given to a loved one. Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko (友チョコ); from tomo meaning "friend".
In the 1980s the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association launched a successful campaign to make March 14 a "reply day", where men are expected to return the favor to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day, calling it White Day for the color of the chocolates being offered. A previous failed attempt to popularize this celebration had been done by a marshmallow manufacturer who wanted men to return marshmallows to women.
Men are expected to return gifts that are at least two or three times more valuable than the gifts received in Valentine's Day. Not returning the gift is perceived as the man placing himself in a position of superiority, even if excuses are given. Returning a present of equal value is considered as a way to say that you are cutting the relationship. Originally only chocolate was given, but now the gifts of jewelry, accessories, clothing and lingerie are usual. According to the official website of White Day, the color white was chosen because it's the color of purity, evoking "pure, sweet teen love", and because it's also the color of sugar. The initial name was "Ai ni Kotaeru White Day" (Answer Love on White Day).
In Japan, the romantic "date night" associated to Valentine's Day is celebrated in Christmas Eve.
In a 2006 survey of people between 10 and 49 years of age in Japan, Oricon Style found the 1986 Sayuri Kokushō single, Valentine Kiss, to be the most popular Valentine's Day song, even though it sold only 317,000 copies. The singles it beat in the ranking were number one selling Love Love Love from Dreams Come True (2,488,630 copies), Valentine's Radio from Yumi Matsutoya (1,606,780 copies), Happy Happy Greeting from the Kinki Kids (608,790 copies). The final song in the top five was My Funny Valentine by miles Davis.
SIMILAR ASIAN TRADITIONS...
In Chinese culture , there is an older observance related to lovers, called "The Night of Sevens" (Chinese: 七夕; pinyin: Qi Xi). According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the milky way (silvery river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.
In Japan , a slightly different version of 七夕 called Tanabata has been celebrated for centuries, on July 7 (Gregorian calendar). It has been considered by Westerners as similar to St. Valentine's Day, but it's not related to it, and its origins are completely different.
In India , in the antiquity, there was a tradition of adoring Kamadev, the lord of love; exemplified by the erotic carvings in the Khajuraho Group of Monuments and by the writing of the Kamasutra treaty of lovemaking. This tradition was lost around the Middle Ages, when Kamadev was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual affections became frowned upon.[60] Around 1992 Valentine's Day started catching in India, with special TV and radio programs, and even love letter competitions. The economic liberation also helped the Valentine card industry.
In modern times, Hindu and Islamic traditionalists consider the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, result of the globalization in India. Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture". These protests are organized by political elites, but the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in his society: arranged marriages, Hindu joint families, full-time mothers etc.
Despite these obstacles, Valentine's Day is becoming increasingly popular in India. However, leftist and liberal critiques of Valentine's Day remain strong in India. Valentine's Day has been strongly criticized from a post-colonial perspective by intellectuals from the Indian left. The holiday is regarded as a front for Western imperialism, neocolonialism, and the exploitation of working classes through commercialism by multinational corporations. Studies have shown that Valentine's Day promotes and exacerbates income inequality in India, and aids in the creation of a pseudo-westernized middle class. As a result, the working classes and rural poor become more disconnected socially, politically, and geographically from the hegemonic capitalist power structure. They also criticize mainstream media attacks on Indians opposed to Valentine's Day as a form of demonization that is designed and derived to further the Valentine's Day agenda.
MIDDLE EAST...
In Egypt , Egyptians celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14, and the indigenous Eid el-Hob el-Masri (Egyptian Love Day) on November 4, to buy gifts, and flowers for their lover's. It has been recorded on the February 14th, 2006 flower movement in the country, worth six million pounds, formed a gain of 10 per-cent of the total annual sale of flower's.
In Iran , the Sepandarmazgan, or Esfandegan, is an age-old traditional celebration of love, friendship and Earth. It has nothing in common with the Saint Valentine celebration, except for a superficial similarity in giving affection and gifts to loved ones, and its origins and motivations are completely unrelated. It has been progressively forgotten in favor of the Western celebration of Valentine's Day. The Association of Iran's Cultural and Natural Phenomena has been trying since 2006 to make Sepandarmazgan a national holiday on 17 February, in order to replace the Western holiday.
In Israel , the Tu B'Av, is considered to be the Jewish Valentine's Day following the ancient traditions of courtship on this day. Today, this is celebrated as a second holiday of love by secular people (besides Saint Valentine's Day), and shares many of the customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day in western societies.
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Let's Make Our Own Holidays (U.S.)
Hunny Thu Mar 08, 2012 7:42 am
______________________
Let's Make Our Own Holidays (U.S.)
We're all aware the holidays are just excuses to get us to buy things, or celebrate the military.
They're days off, but many of them have no meaning to us. So we're making our own
holidays to celebrate -days that are about something we care about. We'll keep the same paid
days off, but we'll celebrate what we want, when there's a holiday, instead of the old stuff.
Here's a look at a suggested new schedule. As each holiday comes up, Ferbles Magazine will post details of what might be fun to do with those days. (You do want to have fun on your days off, right?)
CHANGES
Let's Make Our Own Holidays (U.S.)
We're all aware the holidays are just excuses to get us to buy things, or celebrate the military.
They're days off, but many of them have no meaning to us. So we're making our own
holidays to celebrate -days that are about something we care about. We'll keep the same paid
days off, but we'll celebrate what we want, when there's a holiday, instead of the old stuff.
Here's a look at a suggested new schedule. As each holiday comes up, Ferbles Magazine will post details of what might be fun to do with those days. (You do want to have fun on your days off, right?)
CHANGES
New Years ---------------------(keep as is)
Martin Luther King Day -----Ignore it. It's just political nonsense and forced PC.
Valentine's Day --------------(as is)
Washington's Birthday -----"FEBRUARY COOK OUT"
Mar, 2nd Friday---------------"TV DAY"
St. Patrick's Day -------------(as is)
Earth Day ----------------------make it a payed day off, an American version of May Day
Memorial Day ----------------"(first day of) SUMMER DAY"
July 4 --------------------------(as is)
August (first Friday) --------"CAVEMAN DAY"
Labor Day ---------------------"SEPTEMBER FEST"
Columbus Day ---------------"TECH DAY"
Halloween ---------------------(as is)
Veteran's Day ----------------"PEACE DAY" (Soldiers make war. Let's not celebrate war.)
Thanksgiving -----------------(as is)
Christmas ---------------------(as is)
So your new list of holidays would look like this:
-----HOLIDAY-----------------WHEN-------------------------------------TRADITIONS----------------------------
New Years Day ----------Dec31/Jan1-----------celebrate the new year, fireworks and parties
February Cookout ---Feb, 3rd Monday ----BBQ & Bonfire / idea is "screw winter", defy it
TV Day --------------------Mar, 2nd Friday -----lounge & do nothing, OR have home theater party
St Patrick's Day* --------Mar 17 -----------------Irish holiday / parade, drink, beef & cabbage
Earth Day ----------------Apr, last Fri/Sat ------American 'May Day' festival
Summer Day ------------May, last Monday ---spruce up lawn, BBQ and beer
July 4th -------------------July 4 --------------------fireworks, BBQ and beer
Caveman Day ----------Aug, 1st Friday -------costume party / bonfire, BBQ and beer
September Fest -------Sept, 1st Monday-----block parties - foods, beer, music, entertainment
Tech Day -----------------Oct, 2nd Monday-----national competition, shows, new product releases
Halloween* ----------------Oct 31-------------------costume party
Peace Day* ---------------Nov, 2nd Monday----celebrate peace / don't commemorate warring
Thanksgiving -----------Nov, 4th Thursday----feasting in gratitude with family
Christmas ----------------Dec 25-------------------peace on earth and goodwill to all
*not days off
...................................................................................................
Take a poll about the holidays we have! -> CLICK
...........................................................
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SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
Hunny Sun Mar 11, 2012 6:51 am
St. Patrick's Day is a holiday in Ireland celebrated on March 17. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat are waived and people dance, drink and feast on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
St. Patrick and the First St. Patrick's Day Parade
Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death on March 17, 461, the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.
Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day annually. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honor St. Patrick's Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.
Growth of St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
Over the next 35 years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums. In 1848, several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world 's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participants each.
St. Patrick's Day, No Irish Need Apply and the "Green Machine"
Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their alien religious beliefs and unfamiliar accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. The American Irish soon began to realize, however, that their large and growing numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish Americans whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in the New World.
The Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day
As Irish immigrants spread out over the United States, other cities developed their own traditions. One of these is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the Chicago River. The practice started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river--enough to keep it green for a week!
St. Patrick's Day Around the World
Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick's Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. It is also celebrated in many other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.
In American cities with a large Irish population, St. Patrick's Day is a very big deal. Big cities and small towns alike celebrate with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use interest in St. Patrick's Day to drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world. Today, approximately 1 million people annually take part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
Saint Patrick's feast day, as a kind of national day, was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries. In later times he became more and more widely known as the patron of Ireland. Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on the liturgical calendar in the Catholic Church in the early 1600s. It thus became a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland.
In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. Soon after that, a law was made which required pubs and bars to be closed on 17 March, after drinking got out of hand. That law was repealed in the 1970s.
In the mid-1990s, Ireland began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:
Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.
Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.
The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five day festival saw close to one million visitors, who took part in festivities which included concerts, outdoor theater performances, and an enormous fireworks display, called “SkyFest”.
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THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SAINT PATRICK’S DAY
SAINT PATRICK’S COLOR WAS BLUE, NOT GREEN
Saint Patrick's color was blue, not green, say historians. The hue
- St. Patrick's blue, a lighter shade - can still be seen on ancient
Irish flags and was used on armbands and flags by members of
the Irish Citizen Army, whose 1916 Easter Rising attempted to
end British rule. But the use of green on St. Patrick's Day began
during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol
of nationalism and the "wearing of the green" on lapels became
regular practice. The green soon spread to uniforms as well. That
evolution, combined with the idea of Ireland's lush green fields,
eventually made blue a thing of the past.
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SAINT PATRICK’S DAY
SAINT PATRICK’S COLOR WAS BLUE, NOT GREEN
Saint Patrick's color was blue, not green, say historians. The hue
- St. Patrick's blue, a lighter shade - can still be seen on ancient
Irish flags and was used on armbands and flags by members of
the Irish Citizen Army, whose 1916 Easter Rising attempted to
end British rule. But the use of green on St. Patrick's Day began
during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol
of nationalism and the "wearing of the green" on lapels became
regular practice. The green soon spread to uniforms as well. That
evolution, combined with the idea of Ireland's lush green fields,
eventually made blue a thing of the past.
THE LEGENDARY SNAKES
According to legend, St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in the 5th century. But, of course, there weren't any slithering reptiles to drive off the island. The reference is thought to be metaphorical: St. Patrick — who converted pagans to Christianity — was the man who supposedly drove "evil" non-Christians from the land.
IRISH BARS WERE CLOSED
Ireland has been officially celebrating St. Patrick's Day since 1903, when Irish politician James O'Mara introduced a bill in Westminster that made it an official public holiday back in his homeland. But not until the 1970s could you find revelers celebrating at a bar. Ireland is heavily Catholic, and St. Patrick's Day falls during Lent, which means that although celebratory feasts and drinks were allowed, an all-night party seemed a little too sinful. Fearing excessive drinking, Ireland introduced a law that forced all pubs to close on March 17. Luckily for beermakers, the law was repealed in 1971. The Irish are now free to get as drunk as the Americans who use the day to get drunk celebrating the Irish.
IRISH PARADE? WHAT IRISH PARADE?
Though unofficial St. Patrick's Day parades were held throughout Ireland in the 19th century, and despite the fact that the day was declared a public holiday in 1903, the first official celebration in Dublin did not occur until 1931. The city of Belfast didn't have its first St. Patrick's Day parade until 1998 because of Protestant hostility toward the display of Irish national symbols. Recent parades in the region have required that people wave the more neutral shamrock flag, not the Irish one.
SAINT PATRICK WAS NEITHER IRISH NOR NAMED PATRICK
St. Patrick, Ireland, St. Patrick's Day. Simple, right? The man wasn't even Irish! He was actually born in Britain around the turn of the 4th century. At 16 years old, Irish raiders captured him in the midst of an attack on his family's estate. The raiders then took him to Ireland and held him captive for six years. After escaping, he went back to England for religious training and was sent back to Ireland many years later as a missionary. St. Patrick was actually born Maewyn Succat, according to legend; he changed his name to Patricius, or Patrick, which derives from the Latin term for "father figure," when he became a priest.
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THE BLARNEY STONE
There is more to understanding the Irish than we could possibly fit in one issue. But I will include a quick explanation of "the blarney stone"
The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). Kissing the stone, however, can also give you a stiff neck, and countless germs, for the Blarney Stone is a tourist destination. 400,000 visitors line up every year to kiss it in hopes of boosting their eloquence. And it isn't so easy to smooch the stone — you must sit on a ledge while someone holds down your legs, then bend over backward while holding iron rails until your face is level with the stone. Congrats, you've now kissed a surface similarly kissed by hundreds of thousands of others. Hopefully the gift of gab is worth the bacteria.
.............
Someone kissing the blarney stone...................view of the blarney stone from the ground
Origins
An early story involves the goddess Clíodna. Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle, being involved in a lawsuit, appealed to Clíodna for her assistance. She told MacCarthy to kiss the first stone he found in the morning on his way to court, and he did so, with the result that he pleaded his case with great eloquence and won. Thus the Blarney Stone is said to impart "the ability to deceive without offending." MacCarthy then incorporated it into the parapet of the castle.
The ritual of kissing the Blarney Stone, according to the castle's proprietors, has been performed by "millions of people", including "world statesmen, literary giants and legends of the silver screen". The kiss, however, is not casually achieved. To touch the stone with one's lips, the participant must ascend to the castle's peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet's edge. This is traditionally achieved with the help of an assistant. Although the parapet is now fitted with wrought-iron guide rails and protective crossbars, the ritual can still trigger attacks of acrophobia, an extreme or irrational fear of heights.
Before the safeguards were installed, the kiss was performed with real risk to life and limb, as participants were grasped by the ankles and dangled bodily from the height. In the Sherlock Holmes radio dramatization "The Adventure of the Blarney Stone" (first broadcast March 18, 1946), a man attempting to kiss the Blarney Stone falls to his death. Holmes' investigation reveals this as a murder, the man's boots having been surreptitiously greased before the attempt.
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WORLD HOLIDAYS, FOR MARCH
Hunny Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:00 am
Here are the world's holidays, celebrated in March:
1st March
Heroes' Day: Paraguay.
Independence Movement Day: South Korea.
2nd March
Adowa Day: Ethiopia.
Independence Day: Morocco.
Peasants' Day: Burma.
3rd March
Discovery Day: Guam.
Liberation Day: Bulgaria.
Martyr's Day: Malawi.
National Unity Day: Sudan.
4th March
Lantern Festival: Taiwan.
5th March
6th March
Independence Day: Ghana.
7th March
8th March
Congolese Women's Day: Congo.
Decoration Day: Liberia.
9th March
Baron Bliss Day: Belize.
Commonwealth Day: Gibraltar.
10th March
Labour Day: South Korea.
11th March
National Day: Lithuania.
12th March
Independence Day: Mauritius.
Moshoeshoe's Day: Lesotho.
Renovation Day: Gabon.
13th March
National Day: Grenada.
14th March
St. Joseph's Day: Colombia.
15th March
Anniversary of Hungarian Revolution (1848/49): Hungary.
J.J. Robert's Birthday: Liberia.
16th March
17th March
Evacuation Day (Boston only): United States of America.
Nyepi Day: Indonesia.
St. Patrick's Day: Canada, Ireland, United States of America.
18th March
Aruba Day: Aruba.
Marien Ngouabi Day: Congo.
19th March
Youth Day: Zambia.
20th March
Independence Day: Tunisia.
Start of Spring: Europe.
21st March
Benito Juarez's Birthday: Mexico.
Youth Day: Tunisia.
22nd March
Abolition Day: Puerto Rico.
23rd March
Pakistan Day: Pakistan.
24th March
Africa Day: Zambia.
25th March
Annunciation: Liechtenstein.
Independence Day: Cyprus, Greece.
26th March
Independence Day: Bangladesh.
27th March
Armed Forces Day: Burma.
Evacuation Day: Angola.
28th March
29th March
Boganda Day: Central African Republic.
30th March
31st March
Freedom Day: Malta.
Hunny- head cheerleader
- Posts : 491
Points : 12935
Reputation : 334
Are you an alien? : On other planets I am.
describe yourself : I am both sides of the coin, and I am neither. I love words. I think independently. I sing. Caffeine, to me, is a vitamin. I once voted for you in an election. You didn't win. Can I borrow five bucks?
Character sheet # of finkelsteins: 1 -
WORLD HOLIDAYS FOR APRIL
Hunny Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:41 am
1st April
April Fool's Day
Palm Sunday
National Day: San Marino.
Republic Day: Iran.
2nd April
Malvinas Day: Argentina.
3rd April
4th April
Liberation Day (1945): Hungary.
Memorial Day of Chiang Kai-shek: Taiwan.
National Day: Senegal.
5th April
Arbor Day: South Korea.
6th April
Good Friday
Chakri Day: Thailand.
Uprising Day: Sudan.
7th April
Passover
Women's Day: Mozambique.
8th April
Easter
9th April
Martyr's Day: Tunisia.
10th April
11th April
Heroes' Day: Costa Rica.
Liberation Day: Uganda.
12th April
13th April
Songkran: Thailand.
National Day: Chad.
14th April
Fast and Prayer Day: Liberia.
Pan American Day: Honduras.
Thingyan: Myanmar.
15th April
National Day: Niger.
16th April
Patriot's Day: US
Independence Day: Cyprus.
New Year's Day: Myanmar.
17th April
Independence Day: Cambodia.
National Day: Syria.
18th April
Independence Day: Zimbabwe.
19th April
Independence Day: Venezuela.
King's Birthday: Swaziland.
Patriots' Day: Uruguay.
Republic Day: Sierra Leone.
20th April
21st April
The Queen's Birthday: United Kingdom.
Tiradentes: Brazil.
22nd April
Earth Day.
23rd April
National Sovereignty: Turkey.
St. George's Day: England.
24th April
25th April
Anzac Day: Australia, New Zealand.
Liberation Day: Italy, Portugal.
National Flag Day: Swaziland.
Sinai Liberation Day: Egypt.
26th April
Union Day: Tanzania.
27th April
Arbor Day: US
Independence Day: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Togo.
28th April
29th April
30th April
Fall of Saigon: United States of America.
Independence Day: Israel.
Queen's Birthday: Netherlands.
Vappu Day: Finland.
Hunny- head cheerleader
- Posts : 491
Points : 12935
Reputation : 334
Are you an alien? : On other planets I am.
describe yourself : I am both sides of the coin, and I am neither. I love words. I think independently. I sing. Caffeine, to me, is a vitamin. I once voted for you in an election. You didn't win. Can I borrow five bucks?
Character sheet # of finkelsteins: 1 -
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» Good versus Evil
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» WEEKLY UPDATE, Fri. April 6, 2012
» Good Idea / Bad Idea
» I'm good / I'm bad
» Why we started this forum
» What holiday are you celebrating soon?
» Tell a story using these words...
» Random facts about me
» Random Advice
» Word Of The Day!
» WEEKLY UPDATE, Fri. March 30, 2012
» Ferbles Magazine - Friday, March 30, 2012
» Classic Jenna Marbles
» Products to stay away from / Product Warnings:
» Turtle Boy?!!!???
» Mo Coffee Please!
» The If i had a comic book i would be Game
» Shakey Pete's Wall
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