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Summer is rapidly approaching! For most of us, that means buying some new shorts, dusting off the patio chairs, and renewing that pool membership. But if you live in Spain, July is all about one thing, or rather, one creature: bulls. Located in the city of Pamplona, the San Fermin Festival is one of Spain’s most celebrated events. Each year on July 6th, a massive fiesta gets underway, ending one week later with the famous running of the bulls. If you have never experienced this unique event, it is definitely something to add to your list!

The day starts off early enough, at 8:00 a.m. as the competitors don their distinctive outfits- all white clothing, with a red handkerchief around their necks (called a panuelo) and a red sash around their waist (called a faja). Before beginning their dangerous route, all the runners gather to sing an ode to a statue of San Fermin, perhaps to grant them luck and safety.

Then, it’s time for the actual run, which begin with the firing of two rockets (cohetes), which announces first the release of the bulls, and then notification that the last bull has left the corral. And then it’s every man for himself! As the runners make their half mile way through Pampona’s cobbled streets, there are several factors to look out for. Though the initial rush of the bulls and agitated stragglers are of great concern, the biggest cause of injury in recent years has actually been caused by the crowd; In order to get the best views of the bulls and runners, the audience has created some fatal stampedes, leaving the Festival organizers to distribute multi-lingual guides with safety precautions.

The run concludes when the last of the bulls are herded into the Corralillos stadium. A third rocket is fired to signal the bulls have entered the stadium and a fourth, and final, rocket signifies the bulls have returned to their pens, and the end of the race.

Even if you are not in great physical shape, don’t agree with the run itself, or simply don’t want to risk your life, there are many other events to enjoy, including carnival rides, sangria tastings, and puppet shows. Pamplona during the San Fermin Festival is truly a once in a life time experience that everyone should enjoy.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Though many are familiar with the famous date (the fifth of May, for those who haven’t consulted their calendars), the actual history of this Mexican holiday often gets lost in translation.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the first victory of the Mexican forces over the French, a large step towards the country’s independence. Though Mexico officially declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1810, it took eleven years for the Spaniards to exit the country and after that, Napoleon III attempted another takeover. On May 5, 1862, four thousand Mexican fighters overturned the eight thousand French troops at Puebla, Mexico, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin.

Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated throughout the Mexico and the United States. South of the border, the holiday is primarily a regional celebration limited to the state of Puebla, consisting of dancing, feasting, and lots of music. In the United States however, Cinco de Mayo has become a cultural phenomenon. Perhaps this is due to a large Hispanic population spread throughout the country, or perhaps it is just because of our love of parties. Regardless of your ethnic origin, bars and backyards throughout America welcome everyone to celebrate with a cerveza and burrito while enjoying authentic mariachi music. Other countries have embraced the celebration as well, such as Vancouver, Canada, which hosts a Cinco de Mayo sky diving event. The Cayman islands even have a mariachi air guitar contest!

Whatever your ancestry or location, everyone’s a little Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. Grab a sombrero, pour yourself a margarita, and enjoy!

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By Kent Truckor - Guest blogger studying in Valencia, Spain

Today was the day of the mystical La Tomatina in Bunol, Espana. Leading up to the event I was excited about the thought of getting in the middle of a giant food fight with 30,000 other people. The idea seemed pretty interesting to me and I couldn't help my curiosity. As the day came closer, I felt a little fear deep inside, haha. It seemed the idea of being in the middle of a giant food fight was starting to get to me.

About 75 students from my school boarded to charter buses and we headed for the pueblo of Buñol west of Valencia. The town has a population of 9,000, but on the day of the La Tomatina the population swells to 30,000 plus. When we arrived, the highway was already starting to back up from all of the people arriving for the fest. It seemed that many of the people coming were in Valencia or the area specifically for La Tomatina. The fight was to begin with a gunshot at 11:00AM and last for approximately an hour.

We made our way through the town to the city center with the several thousand other travelers in town for the fest. We heard the gunshot go off and the anticipation built even more. By the time we made it close to where the fight was taking place, we saw numerous folks covered in what was tomato paste by this time.

Although we missed the start we quickly received our welcome with the flying tomatoes. Approximately every 10 minutes a large truck loaded with tomatoes would make its way down the street dumping tomatoes. A few brave soles were on back throwing tomatoes out, but they made easy target practice for those in the crowd.

The neighbors of the fight join in as well, but from a more logical standpoint. Many watch from their terrazas of their apartments and houses above. When the time is right or they feel like it is a good time, they would dump water on the rowdy crowd below. At times, this was a blessing because the tomato paste and did a number on the eyes, haha. I am not sure who enjoyed the dumping of the water more - the neighbors above or the crowd below. The whole fight ended with the sound of the second and final gunshot.

I enjoyed the festival greatly and am glad I made the trip to Bunol. It will be a memory that I doubt I will forget anytime soon.

Statistics: 30,000 plus tomato loving travelers; 100,000 Kilos of Tomatoes and 1 much wiser traveler of Spain.

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By Bradley Rehak - Guest Blogger studying in Quito, Ecuador

In the States it is common for grade-school kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, whether there is any feeling or substance attached to it or not. I remember there being very little. The practice is immediately abandoned during high school, along with it any semblance of enforced patriotism. However, outside of government institutions, the United States is known (or notorious) for its flag-waving patriotism: many Europeans, for example, have expressed to me their surprise in seeing so many American flags displayed in front of houses. This pattern only increased, ad nauseum, after September 11th, when everyone felt the need to flaunt his support of America.

I was quite surprised, however, to have attended a ceremony of Oath to the Flag this week in Quito. The day, the 27th of February, commemorates a famous battle won by the national hero Mariscal Sucre against a Peruvian army, as well as being Army Day. The most important aspect of this celebration is the ceremony that takes place in high schools across the country (although the day varies somewhat). I witnessed it at one of the larger schools in Quito, as evidenced by the attendance of the mayor and hundreds of family members.

It took place in a large school courtyard with viewing stands on one side. First to enter were 16 and 17 year olds, probably one hundred or more, all of them carrying Ecuadorian and Quitonian flags. They marched in and past the viewing stands to a band playing military themes. They were then followed by the 18 year olds, who marched in as well and arranged themselves in eight or so lines in front of larger Ecuadorian flags. Then there were a few rounds of patriotic speeches and awards for the students with the best grades. Finally, after almost 90 minutes, the main event began: the oath. The students stood in front of the flags, and on command stepped towards the flags, knelt, took the flags in their gloved hands, swore their loyalty, then kissed the flag—all of this before their families, friends, and civil leaders. It was far beyond anything I have experienced in the US, even beyond my swearing in as a soldier. But it is a tradition that Ecuadorians cherish and are quick to defend.

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By Bradley Rehak - Guest Blogger studying in Quito, Ecuador

As in most countries in South America (all of them, to my knowledge), the celebration of the last week before lent is huge in Ecuador. The beaches, of course, are a popular place to celebrate due to the almost always-warm weather; of course (let's be honest) the proximity in status to being naked is also a large draw. The beaches are generally packed with drunks and loud music being pumped from clubs, restaurants, hotel rooms, and cars. The other main part of the celebration are the water fights: it is entirely acceptable and expected that you drench any person you pass--with a balloon, a squirt gun, a bucket, a hose. You must be even more prepared to be attacked if you’re an attractive girl or a foreigner, or God help you, a foreigner who is an attractive girl. My friends who went to the beach reported being chased down numerous streets by Ecuadorians eager to soak the gringos.

Where I went, however, water fights are banned. In Ambato, which hosts one of the largest celebrations in Ecuador, the water is replaced by a type of foam in a can, which is sold under the brand name Karioka. It is not altogether different from Silly String, but it´s not as solid as the former. Karioka is also illegal in Ambato, however one would never guess it. There are basically only two things one can do to avoid being sprayed with Karioka: drink beer or eat street food. And these must be done constantly. One runs the risk of acquiring a nasty traveler's diarrhea every time that one tries street food--the more so during Carnival because the food remains outside all day. One accepts the assurance of becoming inebriated rapidly by choosing the latter, as I did. To be entirely honest, I felt such action was thrust upon me, after I was sprayed twice--directly in the face--while leaning against a wall in a rather vacant side street, talking on the phone. There were only two groups that passed by me during this time.

It kind of stung, thus the beer.

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By Glenn Rigby

Snow skiing is a whole lot of fun. I've only had the opportunity to fly down a snow-covered mountain a few times, mostly when I was younger, and I plan to do it again in the not-too-distant future.

Granted, I did fracture my leg on the last run of one of our trips to the Poconos almost 20 years ago. The fracture wasn't too bad, which is good because we were pressed for time to catch our flight back to Florida.

When we arrived, we went to a doctor who asked me how I did this damage to my leg. I told him skiing, to which he responded, "You fractured your leg water skiing?" "No," I told him – "Snow skiing." "Snow-skiing?!" the dumbfounded doctor incredulously asked in wild disbelief. We then explained to him that we just arrived back to Florida from Pennsylvania, and he set my leg in a cast.

You may find yourself pondering, "So where are some other good places to ski." Well, lots of places have mountains and snow, two key elements in this exciting pastime.
* China
* Austria
* Canada
* The U.S.
* Argentina
* Chile

The list goes on and on – those were just a few examples. I will briefly highlight a few interesting spots.

Chile: El Colorado ski center is 39 kilometers from Santiago. It has a snow-making system to guarantee snow throughout the season, as well as receiving an average of 5 meters of snow per year. This center, together with La Parva and Valle Nevado, forms the biggest and best ski area in South America.

Austria: Hinterglemm is a resort (and village) in the Saalbach-Hinterglemm region. This is a combination of the two villages whose names combine to form the one. Of the two, Saalbach is larger and is Austria’s second most popular tourist destination, just behind Vienna. It boasts more than 125 miles of slopes and more than 60 lifts and cable cars. There are also snowboard-only runs and a snowboarding park.

China: Yabuli ski resort is located in Heilongjiang province in Northeastern part of China. All 11 of its trails exceed 0.6 miles (1 kilometer), and trail No.5 is the longest trail in Asia (3 miles). Additional activities include: Ha'erbing Ice & Snow Festival of Art: Every year, the Art Snow & Ice Festival is held in Harbin from December to March, with the ice sculpture and snowing statues, with other performances and lamp show.

The list truly could go on and on, but these were a few fun spots to point out.

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We've all seen it. You go to a wedding or the like, an event with a live band and far too much available alcohol and one of the guests whose possibly had too much to drink or is just the type who likes to act silly in public is, before you know it, out on the dance floor doing it, "the Russian dance." Arms folded, knees bent, trying and most likely failing to look strong and capable while getting their body down to the ground and then up again while kicking. Add vodka and it immediately improves its authenticity but sadly, not its execution.

Unlike the poor renditions seen at American weddings, Russian folk dances come from long tradition and show off the physical prowess of the participants as well as tell their origin folk stories.

The dance described earlier could be Drobushki, Peresek, Chechetka or Barynya, a favorite Russian step dance. Heel work is usually paired with khlapuski (slapping) and also prisyatki (squat work). Difficult moves used by dancers can express flirtation, challenge and competition. Drobushki is usually accompanied with acapella singing or with traditional Russian instruments including garmoshka, treshotki, lozhki (spoons) or the balalaika, a three-stringed instrument.

Barynya represents original Russian wild dancing with foot stomping and knee bending jumps. The dancers get so wound up they often break the heels from their boots.

Another dance with its history in Russia, awe inspiring and still flocked to today is, ballet (a lot less fun to imitate at weddings). Even though its origins are rooted in Italy and its beginnings in France the Russians took the form and both brought it to a wider audience as well as popularized it; they created stars like Pavlova and Nijinsky.

Dance is an integral part of Russian history, tradition, social costume and it's people.

I think the moral of the story is, you'd dance too if it were 14 degrees below zero.

Sources:
http://www.barynya.com/russian_folk.stm
http://it.stlawu.edu/~rkreuzer/pmcmanus/history.html

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and Restaurants Part Deux
By Alexa Boyce

Back by popular demand... More Celebrity homes and Restaurants abroad!! Last time I gave you the (virtual) tour of Marbella, Spain and the surrounding Costa del Sol. This time in keeping with the Mediterranean theme I thought I would take you through some of the other European hotspots. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Swiss Riviera was the place for the elite to spend their summers. In the 50's and 60's the French Riviera came into vogue, followed by the Spanish Riviera in the 80's and 90's. Most recently, celebs such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt have been seen carousing along the shores of Croatia.

Swiss Riviera
I know that some of you might be thinking the obvious: Switzerland is a landlocked country, how could it have a "Riviera"? Well, my friend, the answer to that is that the 99 kilometers between Geneva and Montreaux is filled with Lac Leman, also known as Lake Geneva. This famous lake has beaches that rival the nearby shores of the Mediterranean. Charlie Chaplin and Audrey Hepburn were among the first to set up permanent getaways here in the first half of the twentieth century. Audrey Hepburn had her villa in the quaint village of Tolochenz. Charlie Chaplain's property, the Manoir de Ban, was located in the town of Corsier-sur- Vevey. Montreux even features a statue of the late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, memorialized in the town where he lived out the last few months of his life.

French Riviera
The French Riviera, however, is one of the most famous getaways for the historically rich and famous. The sunset over the clear-blue Mediterranean has inspired the likes of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Matisse and Picasso. Ivana Trump recently bought a new villa in Saint-Tropez and can be seen docking her 105-foot yacht along the waterfront in Cannes. Bill Cosby does not own any land in the area, but spends summers at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cannes with his family.

Celebrity sightings in Cannes usually become more frequent with the festival in May. Actors such as Clint Eastwood, Meg Ryan and Arnold Schwarzenegger can be seen along the famous promenade. Among the glitterati to set up permanent residence here in the French Riviera are Brigette Bardot, Tina Turner, Elton John and Bono of U2 fame.

I guess we will have to wait and see what fun accommodations celebrities set up on the sun-soaked beaches of Croatia!

SOURCE:
* Daily Press

* SMH

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By Beth Klemick
Not many are aware that Biarritz is a city that is immersed with the "surfing" culture, and often referred to as the surf capital of Europe. The "surfing spirit" is a daily occurrence in the city and its region. But did you know that Biarritz is host to many professional surf competitions like the Biarritz Surf Festival, which brings together the worlds greatest names in surfing for one week in July!

Attention all novice and experienced surfers have you ever considered the "hang ten" approach to learn a language? AmeriSpan offers exciting Language and Sports programs to blend your interests while learning and exploring. So grab your surfboard and head for the breaking wave!

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By Alexa Boyce - Spain has a rich and vibrant culture full of celebrations and festivals, particularly those centering around religious holidays. Each of these is exciting and fascinating, but none more so than Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Spain's predominantly Catholic society ensures that the week leading up to Easter is filled with processions and celebrations. Each city and town has its own unique traditions, but some of the most famous take place in Valencia, Cuenca, Valladolid, Murcia, Zamora, Malaga and Cordoba.

Semana Santa celebrations take place in the eight days leading up to Easter. They begin on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and end on Easter Monday (Lunes de Pascua). These celebrations consist of artistic, spritual and emotionally touching scenes. They are displayed via a mixture of sights, sounds, smells and tastes. All of these celebrations include sacred dress, colors, lights and processions through the streets. By far, the most notable festivals take place in the region of Andalusia. Of those, Sevilla is the most renowned for its fabulous displays and emotional processions, or pasos.

The origins of the Sevillan pasos can be traced back as early as 1248 when King Fernando III reclaimed Sevilla from the Moors. Hermandades, or brotherhoods, were organized to rescue the injured soldiers and bury the dead. The Catholic church began to reestablish its dominance in the area and by the 16th century, Sevilla’s hermandades organized processions that symbolized the journey of Christ to Cavalry.

Today, a Sevillan Semana Santa will include many traditional festivities. On Domingo de Ramos, a statue of Christ is paraded through the streets. This figure is over 370 years old and was carved by Juan de Mesa. This is an extremely emotionally moving experience for the Sevillans who confess, cry, laugh out loud, adore, and touch and kiss the image as it moves through the streets. Another procession is the image of the Virgen de la Macarena, to which people sing rhymes and flamenco songs known as saetas. The most important Sevillan celebration takes place on Good Friday, when the city explodes in sounds, instruments and songs and the pasos culminate at the cathedral.

Semana Santa is a week that can be written about and viewed through pictures, but cannot fully be understood until one actually experiences it. It will push the envelope of the senses and bring out emotions ranging from the deepest sorrow to sheer ecstasy. No words or pictures can fully explain this fantastic celebration.

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By Alexa Boyce - While studying abroad in Marbella, Spain, I heard a rumor that Antonio Banderas not only lived there, but owned a restaurant in town as well. I asked my host family and sure enough, they gave me directions to La Posada de Antonio, which happened to be three blocks from the school. A classmate and I would often alter our route to ensure that we would walk past the restaurant – just in case Antonio dropped by. La Posada specializes in tapas and grilled meats, and it always smelled delicious. However, meals cost between $10-30, and being the poor college students we were, we never opted to actually go in and eat.

Antonio Banderas was born and raised in nearby Málaga, so it is no surprise that he has held on to his roots there. However, many other celebrities call the Costa del Sol home (or home away from home) as well. Melanie Griffith and King Fahed of Saudi Arabia own houses in Marbella, while Sean Connery and Michael Douglas are often seen yachting and clubbing in nearby Puerto Banús. Bruce Willis and Boris Becker occasionally drop by on their yachts as well. Deborah Kerr and her husband, scriptwriter Peter Viertel have named this resort area as a favorite vacation spot. Of course, Julio Iglesias is a fixture around Marbella.

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, there was a “boom” of celebrities purchasing summer homes on the Costa del Sol. Towns such as Torremolinos-Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Mijas became popular. The boom did not truly explode until it hit Marbella. Celebrities such as Ringo Starr, Onassis and Maria Calla, Frank Sinatra, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, Esther Williams, Sylvie Vartan, Mary Pickford, Johnny Halliday, The Duke of Windsor and the Kennedys all owned property here. The Prince of Monaco and Grace Kelley spent their honeymoon here. When you live in a place as beautiful as the French Riviera, that means a lot!

Source: Costa del Sol Tourist Board www.visitacostadelsol.com

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By Anne-Marie Dingemans

One of the best known festivals in Spain, after the Fiestas de Abril in Seville and the Fiestas de San Fermin in Pamplona (running with the bulls), are the Fallas of Valencia. Fallas are gigantic creations of paper mache, wood and wax, and are build by neighborhood groups, taking months, often close to a year, to complete. The Fallas depict current events and political figures, often in a satirical way. There are more than 300 of them, all proudly displayed in the streets starting March 15th. They are beautiful to see, and every Fallera celebrates pretty much around the clock with open bars and music in the streets and everyone is welcome to join. A good Falla-celebrator will go round the city (on foot, hopefully) to visit the various fallas and have a drink at each of them. With hundreds of Fallas, this can take a while, depending on your stamina and tolerance for alchohol!

Las Fallas is essentially a celebration of fire; firecrackers (the noisy kind, not the beautiful displays of fireworks) are lit 24/7 from March 13th-19th, and on the night of March 19th, the day of St. Joseph, homage is paid to this Saint by lighting all Fallas on fire! At midnight, the work of months, hundreds of people and millions of Euros (a Falla can cost up to 300,000 Euros – and there are 300 of them) go up in flames, surrounded by a deafening display of fire crackers – spectacular!

As you can imagine, many tourists from Spain and all over the world come to Valencia to celebrate with the Valencians. About as many Valencianos, however, actually escape the city during Las Fallas. If you're not a Fallera yourself, it's actually not a lot of fun to not be able to sleep because of the firecrackers (you won't believe it unless you experience it, but seriously, I'm talking actual 24/7 and trembling windows here) and to have half the city blocked off. So far I've tried to avoid all of it but I may pop out on Saturday night to see the Fallas as they are so beautiful and funny. Then I'll also have my yearly treat of porras (you can also have churros or bunuelos, but I prefer the porra); thumb-thick sticks of deep-friend dough with sugar :). Yummy and makes it almost worth the suffering!

Oh, and you don't want to confuse porra with porro or puro (watch your rolling "r" there)… but that's a topic for a different blog!

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I always thought of St. Patrick's Day as a traditional Irish celebration, so I was surprised when I learned that the first St. Patrick's Day Parade was held in New York in 1762. (I have to point out that Philadelphia's was second, in 1771.)

What is perhaps even more surprising is where St. Patrick's celebrations are held throughout the world. There will be a parade on March 18 in Quebec, Canada and on March 19 in Montreal, Canada and Tokyo, Japan, and there were celebrations over the past weekend in all over the world, including Munich, Germany. You can even find Irish celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan and in Rome, Italy.

So I guess we're going to hear, "Kiss Me. I'm Irish." in a lot of different languages this week...

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Tommorow is Fat Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday, or the French Mardi Gras), which marks the last day before Lent on the Christian calendar. Carnival ends tomorrow, and all of the partying in New Orleans will end as well.

The name Shrove Tuesday evolved from the practice of "shriving" (purification through confession). There are other names for this day. Pennsylvania Dutch call it Fasnacht, where adults and children eat fasnacht kuchen, a doughnut with a slit in the middle, raised without yeast. Another traditional food is pancakes At Fasnacht, Pennsylvania Dutch children get up early to avoid being the last one out of bed. Adults and children eat fasnacht kuchen, traditionally a rectangular doughnut with a slit in the middle, raised without yeast. Pancakes are another traditional food on Fat Tuesday, baked to use up the cooking fats forbidden during Lent.

For Polish-Americans, Paczki Day means eating paczki, jelly-filled buns. In Poland, they actually celebrate what they call Tlusty Czwartek, "Fat Thursday", celebrated the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. The foods eaten during the celebration and Poland are different in some way, but both Polish citizens and Polish-Americans enjoy paczki.

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By Beth Klemick

The origins of Carnival (Carnaval, as it's spelled in Portuguese) are not well known, but have been thought to have originated as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome or Greece. From there Carnival was imported from Italy in nineteenth century to Rio, where the golden age and height of Carnival took place from there from the 1930-1950s. I was fortunate to have traveled to Brazil, but as my luck would have it I missed Carnival by a couple of days. During my Brazilian travels and encounters, the collective consensus of tourists and natives was that Carnival in Bahia (Salvador) was the place to be. Rio de Janeiro is the most famous destination for Carnival with its legendary samba parade and fancy balls, and although Carnival in Bahia does not display the grandeur of floats and fancy costumes, it gives natives and tourists alike the opportunity to be there on the streets dancing the samba until they drop! Carnival in Brazil starts on Thursday, February 23rd, and it runs through Tuesday, February 28th.

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By Elizabeth Gregory

So, most of us that have that special Valentine in our lives are making big plans for tonight. Although a recent poll suggested that the majority of Americans find Valentine's Day to be more of a "Hallmark holiday" than anything else, flowers and chocolates are flying off the shelves and the better restaurants have been booked for days.

Knowing how the holiday is celebrated here in the US made me curious to know how other countries celebrate the day. I found a great website that lists traditions from countries all over the globe: Nova Reinna. I like Japan's the best, which I’ve pasted in below. Enjoy.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated on two different dates...February 14 and March 14. On the first date, the female gives a gift to the male and on the second date...known as White Day and supposedly introduced by a marshmallow company in the 1960s...the male has to return the gift he received on February 14. Thus, strictly speaking, a Japanese female has the luxury of actually choosing her own gift. Chocolate is the most popular gift in Japan. However, since most Japanese females believe that store-bought chocolate is not a gift of true love, they tend to make the confection with their own hands.

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Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Dog. The Chinese New Year begins on the second New Moon after the winter solstice and ends on the full moon fifteen days later. The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries, predating the International Calendar we use, which goes back only about 425 years. On the Chinese calendar, it is the Year 4703...pretty cool, huh?

The system of naming years after animals is extremely practical when you think about it. The animal system of the Chinese calendar rotates every twelve years. Knowing how old you are based on the Chinese calendar makes it really easy to remember how old you are, which is helpful for anyone; people born during the Year of the Dog are now either 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 years old...and so on...

Chinese New Year celebrations include spectacular parades (the photo above shows the parade held in San Francisco) and fireworks, which are shot off at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to send out the old year and welcome the new one.


Here are some links for more information about Chinese New Year:
SouthWest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
University of Victoria Faculty Page
A great site for kids

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By Sue Lavene

As I finalize our New Years plans with friends, I contemplate how differently New Years is celebrated around the world:

Latin America (Spain, Mexico & Venezuela)
In some countries, as the clock rings twelve midnight, for each ring of the bell, people each twelve grapes, one at a time to bring good luck to all 12 months of the new year. Theater productions and movies are sometimes interrupted to carry out this tradition.

Chinese New Year
This celebration takes place some time between January 21st and February 20th, the exact date determined by the lunar calendar and the new moon. The celebrations are based on bringing luck, health, happiness, and wealth until the next year and include include fireworks to scare off evil spirits, parades and a Festival of Lanterns, in which thousands of lanterns light the way to the New Year. Day 3 offers the Dragon Dance when people open their doors to allow paper mache dragon heads (a symbol of strength) in to bring them luck.

Burma
This 3-day celebration called Maha Thingyan (or big change), on or near April 16th, is celebrated with prayers, fasting and fun. During the festivities, buildings and temples are washed, and people throw water over each other. Everyone must get wet to welcome the new year. The Burmese believe that water acts as a soul purifier. Getting wet means that one can start the New Year with a cleansed soul.

Laos
This is also a 3-day festival falling on April 13th, 14th and 15th on the Gregorian calendar. The first day Sangkhan Long finds people cleaning out their homes to say goodbye to the old year. Day two, Mueu Nao, is considered a dangerous day because the spirit of the old year has left and the new year's spirit has yet to arrive to protect people from misfortune. It is for this reason that people might stay home and do nothing but rest. And day three, Sangkhan Kheun, is the start of the new year, the most joyous day when people go to pray, then back home for a special family ceremony.

Germany
Dinner parties, drinking and eating is often accompanied by the traditional German custom called Bleigiessen in which a candle is lit and small chunks of lead are melted in a spoon held over the candle. The molten lead is then quickly poured from the spoon into a bucket of cold water, where it hardens almost immediately. Each person tries to determine what he or she "sees" in the hardened lead figure and the shape of the lead determines the future of that person for the new year.

For more new years celebrations, see Father Times.

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By Sue Lavene

Thanks to Jose Feliciano, most of us are already familiar with how to say "Merry Christmas" in Spanish. However, how do you say it in other languages? Let's take a look at some common and not so common languages. I have included country and pronunciations where possible.

Arabic: Milad Majid
Blackfoot (US/Canada): I'taamomahkatoyiiksistsikomi [Merry big holy day]
Bohemian (Czech Republic): Vesele Vanoce
Catalan (Spain): Bon Nadal
Croatian (Croatia): Sretan Bozic
Danish (Denmark): Glædelig Jul (glaidherlee yool)
Dutch (Netherlands): Prettige Kerstdagen
Eskimo (Inupik, spoken in Greenland, Canada, Northern Alaska): Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo
French: Joyeux Noel
German: Froehliche Weihnachten (frurlikher vighnahkhtern)
Greek: Kala Christouyenna (kahlah khreestooyehnah)
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Italian: Buon Natale
Jiberish (Everywhere): Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare
Monegasque (Monaco): Festusu Natale
Navajo (US): Merry Keshmish
Occitan (Southern France): Polit Nadal
Pennsylvania Dutch (US): En frehlicher Grischtaag
Polish: Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese (Portugal): Feliz Natal
Portuguese (Brazil): Boas Festas
Quechua (Peru): Sumaj kausay kachun Navidad ch'sisipi
Rapa Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul
Tagalog (Philipines): Maligayan Pasko
Tahitian (French Polynesia & Oceanía): Ia orana no te Noere (yo-rah-nah noh tay noh-ay-ray)
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Tok Pisin (Northern Papua New Guinea): Meri Krismas
Tongan (Tonga): Kilisimasi Fiefia
Ukranian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Yiddish: Gute Vaynakhtn

For more Merry Christmas translations, probably more than you'd ever know what to do with, go to World Of Christmas.

And don't forget a childhood favorite for many, in Pig Latin, it is "erry May ristmas Chay!" Or Happy Holidays everyone!

(If you are tired of saying Merry Christmas a hundred different ways, check out this neat website with tongue twisters in different languages!)

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Chanukah is celebrated for eight days and nights, starting on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (November-December on the Gregorian calendar). Chanukah begins at sundown on December 25 this year and ends at sundown on January 1, 2006.

In Hebrew, the word Chanukah means "dedication".

On each night of Chanukah, the menorah is lit to commemorate the miracle that occurred after the Jews proclaimed victory over the Syrian armies in 165 B.C.E. When Jews came to rededicate the Temple that had been ruined, they found only one small flask of oil with which to light the menorah. This flask contained only enough oil for one day, but the lamp burned for eight days.

On the first night of Chanukah, one light is lit. On each successive night a light is added until the eighth night, when all the lights are lit. The addition of each light recalls the miracle. Candles are placed in the menorah from right to left, but lit from left to right. The highest candle that is placed in the center of the menorah, known as the Shamash or "servant", is used to light the other candles and remains lit every night of Chanukah. Blessings are recited each night before the lights are kindled.

The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter inscribed on each side. In America the letters stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the letters mean "A Miracle Happened Here".

Each player receives a given number of coins or candy pieces. Before spinning the dreidel, each player puts a fixed amount into the kupah or kitty. Each player in turn spins the dreidel. When the dreidel falls, it will fall on one of the 4 letters.

According to the letter, the following will happen:
Nun means you neither win nor lose.
Gimel means you take the whole pot.
Heh means you take half the pot.
Shin means you must put a coin in the pot.

Latkes are potato pancakes made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, onions, and flour, then fried in vegetable oil. They're served hot and often dipped in applesauce or sour cream.
The Maccabbee soliders ate latkes made from cheese, vegetables, or fruits that were brought to them on the battlefields. However, they didn't eat potato latkes, as potatoes weren't available until the 16th century.

Sufganiyot are jelly doughnuts without the hole. They're dropped into hot oil without being shaped and come out in odd, funny shapes, then covered in powdered sugar and/or cinnamon. Sufganiyot are popular in Israel, where they are sold by street vendors over a month before Chanukah begins.


I found lots of great information about Chanukah at HistoryChannel.com.
Here is a fun interactive Chanukah site, and Chabad.org has loads of information about Chanukah.

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We all know that Thanksgiving is being celebrated in the U.S. next week, and we all know that it's an American day of giving thanks. But did you know that there are Thanksgiving celebrations all around the world? Some are celebrated on the same day as the American Thanksgiving, and others are held on different days throughout the year. Here are some examples of Thanksgivings around the world:

Brazil
A National Day of Thanksgiving (Dia Nacional de Acao de Gracas) became official in 1949 as a public, official, and solemn glorification of the name of God. The Chief of State and others celebrate this holiday in the Cathedral of Brasilia with a solemn Te Deum on the fourth Thursday of November.

Canada
A general Thanksgiving (Fete de Grace) and Harvest Home Festival was first observed in 1879. It is officially proclaimed yearly and celebrated on the second Monday in October.

Japan
The ancient festival by the Imperial Court is associated with rice offerings to both heavenly and earthly deities. It has been associated with national rest from labor and is now officially called the Labor Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on November 23.

Switzerland
The Federal Day of Thanks, Penance, and Prayer (Jeune federal, Der Eidgenossische Dank-, Buss-, und Bettag) is an outgrowth of days established by religious and secular authorities since 1650. The modern observance, since 1832, on the third Sunday in September is a quiet day to review the good things received.

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Today is known as Veteran's Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Great Britain and its commonwealth nations, but what are the origins of these November 11 holidays?

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the Allied forces (France, Russia, the British Empire, Italy and the United States) signed an armistice with Germany to officially end World War I. To commemorate this event, November 11 was called Armistice Day.

After World War II, the United States changed Armistice Day's name to Veterans Day, and the named was changed to Remembrance Day in Great Britain and its commonwealth nations.

In many parts of the world, people continue to commemorate the armistice at 11am on November 11 by taking a moment of silence.

Wikipedia is a great source of information on any topic.