subject: Celebrations 'round The World [print this page] It's a well-known fact that people around the globe celebrate in many different ways and for a wide variety of reasons. They use holidays (whether they be officially-sanctioned or not), festivities and miscellaneous events to celebrate a wide range of cultural or national events and religious ideals. Some of these celebrations are more prominent than others, e.g. Christmas or Hanukkah-but all of them share a general theme. That is, people generally celebrate important aspects of their heritage, culture, values and beliefs.
The Fourth of July is one of the largest national holidays in the United States. It commemorates the U.S.'s separation and independence from Great Britain in 1776. Huge fireworks celebrations take place throughout the country, and the 50-star American Flag is prominently displayed everywhere.
Christianity is the major religion of Western society. Among Christians in the Americas, there are Catholics, Protestants and Evangelism practitioners. All of them typically celebrate such holidays as Christmas, Easter and Black Friday (three days before Easter Sunday). Catholicism is also one of the predominant religions on the European continent, as well as Russian Orthodoxy in Russia and former U.S.S.R nations.
Halloween, while it's not officially recognized by the government, is a huge holiday in the U.S.-with all sorts of celebrations and festivities. "Trick-or-Treating" has been a custom for many decades whereby children and young adults-dressed-up in fantasy/ghoulish costumes--go door-to-door and collect candy and goodies from home owners. It's also a period characterized by haunted houses, ghouls, ghosts, vampires, witches and so forth. It is at the end of October.
Ramadan is another one of the major Islamic holidays. It is, traditionally, the 9th month of the Islam calendar (aka Hijri calendar) and signifies fasting for an entire month. Food and drink has to be very frugally consumed; this is a celebration of the Muslim's responsibility to modesty, patience and keeping with their devout spirituality-and in respect to Allah.
China, one of the largest countries-with respect to population-of the world, also is rich in cultural and spiritual celebrations and festivities. The Chinese News Years, or the "Spring Festival" or "Lunar New Year", falls at the beginning of the lunisolar Chinese calendar and is concluded with the Great Lantern Festival on the 15th day after New Years.
Easter is another common Christian holiday and celebration. It signifies the Christian belief that Christ rose from the dead on the third day after he was crucified on the cross. It typically falls on different days in April, once a year. Lent is the period of time that leads up to Easter; it entails penitence (recanting of sins); the denial of self; steadfast prayer; fasting and almsgiving.
For the Chinese, New Years arrives at a different time than most other parts of the world. It typically falls between the 21st of January and the 19th of February. The celebrations that happen not only in China-but in places like Little China in New York-rival that of the Western New Year. Fireworks are set off, large dragons are paraded throughout the streets, and "ridding of evil spirits" are all common practices in the Chinese New Year. It's also, coincidently, the most important day of the Chinese year.
Whatever your beliefs or religion may be, celebrations, holidays and festivities are meant to unify people and their values and beliefs-in good-will towards each other and their spirituality. They also recognize a spiritual entity, usually God, although His name is different from culture to culture.
