Posts Tagged ‘festivals’

Father’s Day

17 March 2009

Father’s Day is celebrated on different days in different countries. While most countries including the USA, UK, France, India and Japan celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June, in Spain Father’s Day is celebrated on March 19th.

Regardless of when and where it is celebrated, Father’s Day is a chance for everyone to honour and express their love for their father.  Popular ways of marking Father’s Day around the world include making and giving cards, cooking a special meal or arranging a family get-together.

Here are some quotes we have found for Father’s Day:

“It is a wise father that knows his own child” William Shakespeare

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was” – Anne Sexton

“A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father” – Gabriel Garcia Márquez

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” – Sigmund Freud

“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” – An English Proverb

“When I was a a boy of 14,
my father was so ignorant
I could hardly stand to have
the old man around.

But when I got to be 21,
I was astonished at how much
the old man had learned in seven years.”

By Mark Twain

Happy Father’s Day!

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St Patrick’s Day – March 17th

16 March 2009

St. Patrick, famous for banishing snakes from Ireland, the Emerald Isle, is the patron of the same country and his day is celebrated in style, not only in Ireland, but in many other parts of the world. The considerable Irish population in New York has been known to colour the Hudson river green that day and the parades held in the streets of the Big Apple are very spectacular.

Everyone is considered to be Irish on March 17th.  The country itself comes to a halt on that date as the many fraternities and associations dress up and parade through the streets of both towns and villages alike. Weather permitting, there is a lot of outdoor entertainment. Mind you, after a couple of pints of the famous black beer – Guinness, the weather isn’t important!

And finally, an Irish blessing for everyone:

May there always be work for your hands to do

May your purse hold a bob or two

May the sun shine on your window pane

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain

May the hand of a friend always be near you

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you

HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY!


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Why do we celebrate St Valentine’s Day?

13 February 2009

Every February 14th, chocolates, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this day?

We’ve found 2 different legends … Enjoy!

The first legend, and perhaps the best known, began in Rome when the Emperor Claudius II was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. “Claudius the Cruel” as he was called, was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. So, he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome!

The good Saint Valentine, who was a priest in Rome, in the year 269 A.D., together with his friend Saint Marius, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, he was sentenced to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.

But while in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been his jailor’s daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death on the 14th day of February, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine.”

In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

Another legend says that Valentine’s Day started …

in ancient Rome, on February 14th, a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. Then, the following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

In those days, the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, on the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800′s and now … well .. you know the rest….!

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