More than just a reason to cancel school, holidays are a great way to commemorate something important, follow age-old traditions and spend quality time with your family and community. Living in America, people celebrate all kinds of holidays and traditions. But on Thanksgiving, regardless of their background, all Americans gather around their tables to feast on turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie and give thanks for everything good in life. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. Take a look below to see more about unique holidays and traditions from other places around the world. See how Mexicans celebrate "Day of the Dead", and how the Chinese bring in the New Year.
Mexico
Dia de los Muertos
The "Day of the Dead" (or Dia de Los Muertos) is a Mexican tradition celebrating and honoring deceased ancestors that dates back to the ancient Aztecs over 3000 ago. During this week-long festival there are cheerful parades with people dressed in elaborate costumes. Sweets and pan de muerto (sweet egg bread) in the shape of skulls and rabbits, symbolizing death and rebirth, can be found in every Mexican home. Marigold flowers, the official flowers of the dead, and ofrendas, or offerings, are laid out on the graves of loved ones: toys for dead children and bottles of spirits and tequila for the adults.
Brazil
Carnival
Brazil's Carnival is considered one of the world's largest parties. Every spring on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's biggest city, overflow with parties, balls, parades, music and excited revelers. During Carnival's most hyped event, the Samba School Parade, over 3000 performers dance through the streets in elaborate and over-the top costumes with beads, feathers, sequins, head-dresses. The parade is broadcast on TV all over the world and thousands of tourist flock to Rio for the occasion.
Eastern Europe/Central Asia
International Women's Day
Celebrated throughout many Peace Corps countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Mongolia, to name a few), International Women's Day (IWD) is an official worldwide holiday on March 8th. Considered a day of political and social awareness of female achievement throughout the century, International Women's Day is celebrated by husbands, children, and even employers. People show respect for the accomplishments of the women in their lives with small gifts. From a western viewpoint, the day can be interpreted as a fuse of Mother's Day and St. Valentine's Day, holidays not celebrated in these countries. Also observed as the first holiday of spring, IWD commemorates not only the universal feminine struggle for equal rights, but also the influential roles women play in the lives of others.
China
Chinese New Year
The most extravagant of all Chinese celebrations is the Chinese New Year. Following the Chinese calendar, the New Year celebration usually falls somewhere in February and lasts 15 days. The days are busy with religious meditation, elaborate family feasts, and temple offerings. Many traditional aspects of the New Year celebration have symbolic origins. People wear red clothes and give away "lucky money," red envelopes with money inside because the color red is believed to scare away bad luck. Long noodles represent lasting life and raw fish signifies success. Candy brings "sweet beginnings" for the upcoming year. On Chinese New Year's Day, lavish displays of firecrackers send out the old year and welcoming in the new. During "The Lantern Festival" on the 15th and last night of the Chinese New Year, people carry lanterns and parade through the streets with a giant dragon made of paper, silk and bamboo.
Jordan/Turkey
Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr is a 3-day festival that marks the end of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday observed with thirty days of fasting, prayer and charity. Eid al-Fitr focuses on family reunion, forgiveness, renewal, and community unity. Eid al-Fitr (or more commonly referred to as just Eid) means "breaking the fast" and is one of the most important Muslim Holidays. People dress in their best clothing and take part in prayer. Afterward, the celebrations begin and people feast with family and friends. Children are given gift and candies, and many communities have parties and festivals with fireworks and picnics.
Latin America
Quinceañeras
Sure, everybody's heard of Bar Mitzvahs and Sweet Sixteen, but what about Quinceañeras? This Latin American tradition celebrates the coming-of-age of a fifteen year old girl, signifying her transition from childhood to womanhood. In some countries, the birthday girl first attends a special Mass given in her and her family's honor and then arrives at the party. A Quinceañera is an extremely elaborate and formal affair, and the birthday girl dresses in a beautiful pink ball gown and wears a tiara, signifying her stature of royalty before God's eyes. A scepter is usually presented with the tiara as an emblem of the Quinceañera's authority of her future. Another important gift of the ceremony is the Quinceañera doll, the last doll the girl will receive in her life.
Dominican Republic
Virgin of La Altagracia Day
Salvaleón de Higüey (also known as Higüey) is the capital city of the eastern province of La Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic. The main historical element in Higüey is the Cathedral, which holds the famous painting of the "Virgin de la Altagracia," brought by the Spaniards in the 15th century. Every year on Virgin of La Altagracia Day, a national holiday, tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the Cathedral.
Mongolia
Naadam festival
Naadam is the national festival of Mongolia held from July 11th to 13th. The festival is also called "Eriin Gurvan Naadam," meaning "men's three variety of games." The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery. Unlike Western horse racing, which consists of short sprints, Mongolian horse racing is featured in Naadam as a cross-country event. The riders are children, some as young as five years old. Naadam is the most widely watched festival in the country and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Originally it was a religious festival, but now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.
Macedonia
The Galichnik Wedding Festival
It is an annual Macedonian festival held in the Macedonian village of Galicnik near the city of Debar in which a selected couple gets married in the traditional "Galichka" style wedding. Traditionally the wedding lasted for 5 days, with the main activities on St. Peter's Day (July 12th) every year. It was the only period of the year when couples got married. Today, it is part of the festival "Galichko Leto" (Galicnik Summer). It is a two-day event held on the weekend nearest to July 12th. and serves as a cultural and tourist attraction. During the wedding, men dance the "Teškoto," symbolizing overcoming the difficulties in life. Each year, couples from all over Macedonia enter a competition to be the couple that gets to have a "Galichka" style wedding. A new couple gets the opportunity each year.
Romania
Dragobete
Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia, a Romanian mythological figure who is very impatient in awaiting the arrival of spring. Dragobete is celebrated on the 24th of February, which is known as "the day when the birds are getting engaged." This day is supposed to protect one from fever, which produces shivers and illness. If the weather allows it, girls and boys are supposed to pick snowdrops or other early spring plants for someone they are courting.
Thailand
Vesak
The exact date of Vesak is defined according to the astrological calendar. It is the time of the Taurus full moon, which corresponds to the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. Vesak is the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar, and on that day, devout Buddhists assemble temples before dawn for the ceremonial raising of the Buddhist flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the holy triple gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sangha (his disciples). People are asked to refrain from killing of any kind, and therefore, eat only vegetarian foods. Also, birds, insects and animals are released in what is known as a 'symbolic act to liberation,' which gives freedom to those who are in captivity or tortured against their will. Some devout Buddhists will wear a simple white dress and spend the whole day in temples with renewed determination to observe the Eight Precepts, which include not stealing, not indulging in wrong speech and refraining from dancing and singing.
Lesotho
National Tree Planting Day
Because Lesotho is a country of few forests that experiences a lot of erosion, National Tree Planting Day is important holiday to many people of the country. On March 21, the government sponsors events all around the country that promote tree planting. By planting trees, the people of Lesotho can provide themselves with fuel supplies and also prevent future erosion.
Swaziland
Incwala
Celebrated on the fourth day after the full moon nearest the longest day of December 21, the Swazi celebration of Incwala is also known as "Festival of the First Fruits." The festival begins at "no moon" with a trip to the Indian Ocean off Mozambique to collect the foam of the waves, which is believed to have mystical powers. The people return to the king's royal cattle palace, and, at dawn of the new moon, the king chews sacred foods prepared with the foam and spits them to the east and west. On the third day of Incwala, the King performs a sacred dance and then eats the first pumpkin of the harvest. When he tosses the rind, the crowd performs a sacred song and dance, and then it's okay to eat the first fruits with the blessings of Swazi ancestors. After a day of rest and meditation, the celebrants build a huge bonfire to burn articles representing the past year, including the king's bedding and other household items. The Swazi people pray to their ancestors to bring rain to put out the fire, and then the big celebration of the New Year starts, with feasts, singing, and dancing.
