Spring Traditions and Holidays from Around

the World

Ching Ming Festival – China

Chinese Ching Ming Festival • Typically held on the 4th or 5th of April• Cold Food Day• Known as :–Remembrance of Ancestors Day–Grave Sweeping Day

Lupercalia

The festival commemorated the raising of Romulus and Remus(legendary founders of Rome) by a she-wolf in a cave in thePalatine hill, one of Rome’s 7 hills.

Ancient Roman Festival

Celebrated each year February 13th – 15th

“Lupus” in Latin means “wolf”

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Lupus, -i (M)

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Oh fine. This sculpture is a lot moreFamous than the cartoon clipart, butit is not as adorable.

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http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/gallery/shewolf.jpg

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6 Easy steps to a perfect Lupercalia celebration:

1) Gather lots of Romans around the Palatine Hill.

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PALATINEhttp://www.best-of-web.com/_images/080305-160418.jpg

2) Have a Priest (called a Lupercal) sacrifice a dog

and a goat.

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Isn’t he cute?

3) The priest should then wipe the blood of the goat and dog on the foreheads of two boys

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It is important that the boys smile and laugh while the priest puts the bloodon their foreheads.

4) The boys will then run around the base of the Palatine Hill.

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PALATINE

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5) As the boys are running, they whip bystanders with long

pieces of goat hide.

This might seem a little unusual at first.

It only seems strange because you’re forgetting the benefits of being whipped by a piece of freshly-killed goat hide.

What are the benefits, you ask?

For starters, everybody knows that pregnantwomen who are struck with goat hide haveAn easier child-birth!

AND being struck by goat hide is well known to increase fertility.

It’s Science. Ask your teacher.

6) Party like it’s B.C. 99!

This costume is in no way historically accurate.

La fête de la Musique – France

Summer Music Festival• Take place on June 21 – the first day of

summer, to welcome in the summer months.• Large music festivals and concerts throughout

major French cities and small towns. • Several stages exist and music is played

throughout the evening and into the morning by artists of all kinds.

• Many free concerts are organized, making all genres of music accessible to the public. Two of the caveats to being sanctioned by the official Fête de la Musique organization in Paris are that all concerts must be free to the public, and all performers donate their time for free.

La Fête de la Musique

Las Fallas de Valencia

Las Fallas= The Fires in Valenciano

The celebration of Las Fallas began as a celebration in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. The feast day of St. Joseph is March 19. The festival of Las Fallas has now evolved into a multifaceted five day celebration involving fire, firecrackers and fireworks.

In past centuries the carpenters took March 19 to clean out their shops. They would sweep the sawdust and wood shavings into the street and burn the pile. Now the focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events. A popular theme is poking fun at corrupt politicians and Spanish celebrities.

As you can see, these works of art are very large, often several stories high. Neighborhood groups work on them for an entire year to prepare for the festival. They are placed throughout the city for several days so people can view them before they are burned. When it is time to burn them, they are not simply set on fire. There is a complex system of firecrackers and fireworks that are prepared to ignite the structures.

In additon to burning the ninots, there are many other activities that occur during the 5 day event. The city is decorated and there are daily bullfights, firework displays, parades, paella contests, beauty pageants and fine arts expositions and concerts. Many people involved with the various activities will dress up in traditional costumes of the area.

May Day in France

• Le muguet des bois / Lilly of the Valley

Le 1er mai – May Day • May Day is a national holiday in France and throughout

much of Europe--the workers' holiday--to be exact. In fact, celebrating the cause of workers (what we now celebrate as Labor Day) on May first is a custom that originated in the United States in the 1800's when the labor unions were at the peak of the fervor and righteous battles against abusive labor conditions.

• A few days before May Day, you begin to see vendors popping up on every corner selling lily of the valley.

• Lily of the valley is referred to as a "porte-bonheur"--literally, "bringer of happiness" or perhaps what we would call a good luck charm. People buy these flowers for friends and family members to welcome the month of May.

AIBONITO FESTIVAL DE FLORESLatin America

FLOWER FESTIVALLatin America

Aibonito's Flower Festival is celebrated each year from the last weekend of June up to the first weekend of July. The Festival brings together flower growers and artisans to the delight of thousands who flock to admire and buy their products each year.

THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL ( DUAN WU JIE )

The Dragon Boat Festival

• The celebration is a time for protection from evil and disease throughout the rest of the year.

• A very significant holiday celebrated in China, and the one with the longest history.

• Celebrated with races involving boats shaped like dragons. Competing teams row their boats forward to a drumbeat racing to reach the finish line first.

Dragon Boat Festival Food (Zongzi)

• Zongzi (or zong) is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. In the Western world, they are also known as rice dumplings or Chinese tamales.

Zongzi

Québec Summer Festival• Music• Art• Cultural celebrations• Exhibitions • Similar to the famous winter Carnival held in

Québec every year.

Holy Week in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica

DOMINGO DE RAMOS

• On Palm Sunday it is customary to process with palm branches in memory of Jesus' entrance to Jerusalem. Next there are several activities celebrated during each day of the week.

On Good Friday (VIERNES SANTO)

it is customary to be at church by 3:00 PM.  the "Tenebre" might be celebrated, or a procession throughout the town re-enacting Jesus' crucifixion.  In addition, there is a meditation based on Jesus' last words.  These words are phrased in sentences, followed by a short meditation.

Saturday SANTO

• Saturday evening people go to the midnight service where the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated. Wonderful choirs sing rejoicing, the church is filled with flowers, candles are lit, and the Eucharist is consecrated again. People salute each other with a "Feliz Pascua de Resurreccion" or a shortened version,"!Resucito!" (He is Risen!).

Procesiones en el pueblo

Domingo de Pascua Florida

• Since Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of United States of America, many of the American traditions have been adopted by the island. For example, Dia de Pascua - Easter Sunday. Although, hardly any change in Puerto Rican temperature exists, this day also celebrates the official arrival of the spring. Kids enjoy Easter egg hunts and enjoy baskets filled with candy or bunnies.

Father’s Day / Mother’s DayDia de los Padres / Dia de las Madres

During May and June respectively, many countries around the world also have large family reunions to honor parents on Mother’s day and Father’s day. The family usually gets together for a long afternoon lunch and exchange gifts while spending the afternoon together catching up on the latest news, children accomplishments, and many other things.

April 1st – FranceLe Jour du Poisson (Day of the Fish)

Those who are fooled on April 1 are called the “Poisson d’Avril” (the April Fish). A common prank (especially among school-aged children) is to place a paper fish on the back of an unsuspecting person. When the paper fish is discovered, the victim is declared a “Poisson d’Avril.” While it is not clear of the origins of fish being associated with April 1, many think the correlation is related to zodiac sign of Pisces (a fish), which falls near April.

Le Jour du Poisson

Le 1er avril – Le Jour du Poisson

Can you catch someone with the fish?

MAKE YOUR OWN AND TRY!

DECLARE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS THE ‘APRIL FISH’