Multi Cultural Vote

While the word “holiday” may not be recognized outside of English-speaking countries, the idea of special days devoted to a religious belief, honoring an influential person within a culture, or some other significant event worth acknowledging is a centuries- old concept.

As American children (and adults) and other children from all over the world get ready to celebrate Halloween in a few days, multiculturalvote.com thought it would be interesting to look at some of the “holidays” from other cultures that we don’t hear a lot about. In today’s discussion, we will examine the months of January thru June. The latter months will be studied in a future article.

 Solnal:    Korean New Year’s Day. This is the biggest festive event of the year for Korean community. This is usually celebrated on January 1. However some Koreans celebrate on the lunar New Year, later in the winter. Christian Koreans attend church on Solnal, while Buddhists make offerings to their ancestors at their temples.

Pongal:   In parts of India, January is the season for the rice harvest. Pongal is a three-day-long harvest festival celebrating the new crop. Newly harvested rice is cooked in a special ceremony and fed to the local cows and bullocks, which are painted for the festival.

Burns Night:    In many parts of the world, Burns Night is the most celebrated Scottish event. Scots gather to celebrate Robert (Robbie) Burns honored Scottish poet born on this day in 1759. The traditional Scottish dish of Haggis is piped in and the Master of Ceremonies reads Burn’s poem To a Haggis.
Ceremonies wind down with the famous Robert Burns song Auld Lang Syne. Burns Night is celebrated on January 25.

Purim:   Purim is a Jewish holiday, sometimes called Feast of Lots. The Hebrew word Purim means lots.
Drawing or casting lots is similar to rolling a dice. The origin of Purim is from the story about casting lots for the lives of the Jews, from the Book of Esther in the Bible. Purim is held to celebrate the historic victory and is a day for Jews to remember that evil can be defeated if people of good faith work together. This is celebrated in February or March.

Holi:   An ancient East Indian Festival held at the time of the full moon in March. In northern India, March is when the winter grain is harvested, and Holi is a harvest festival. It is also connected with the equinox, when the days begin to get longer, marking the end of winter. It is celebrated in March.

Anzac Day:    Anzac Day, a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand, commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 of the two countries’ fighting men, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, during World War I. In the early hours of April 25, at various Shrines of Remembrance, cenotaphs and war memorials everywhere in Australia and New Zealand, there is a gathering of the men and women who have gone to war and returned, and with their families and friends gather for a dawn service that heralds the start of another Anzac Day. This is celebrated on April 25.

Cinco de Mayo:    Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory by the Mexican Army over the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Today, people celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a big way. They have festivals, dance special dances and eat special foods. Music and sporting events are a big part of the day. They make piñatas. People wear clothes of red and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. This is celebrated on May 5.

Ratha Yatra:   Ratha Yatra is the Hindu chariot festival that represents the travels of Lord Krishna. In India, a decorated chariot or huge cart is taken on a symbolic journey. Indians from Bengal and Orissa and many members of the Hari Krishna movement celebrate Rath Yatra. It occurs on the second day of the new moon of the third Hindu month.

In a future article, we will cover the months of July thru December.