Christmas

Christmas is an important festival for Christian. According to Bible, Jesus Christ was born in a manger, in Bethlehem. However, the date couldn’t be traced back, so Christian changed Rome Empire’s anniversary as Christmas.
To talk about Christmas, the first thing I think is the Santa Claus. Legend has it that Santa Claus will send gifts to children at Christmas Eve, and it becomes a tradition that children will expect the coming of this day. Though I know the truth after I grow up, those gifts are prepared by parents; I still had a wonderful time and I indeed cherished the memory. To receive gifts form Santa is children’s dream, and this day is also a reunion for lots of family.
Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in most countries of the world, even in many whose populations are not majority Christian. In some non-Christian countries, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Major exceptions, where Christmas is not a formal public holiday, include People's Republic of China, (except Hong Kong and Macao), Japan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Thailand, Nepal, Iran, Turkey and North Korea.
Around the world, Christmas celebrations can vary markedly in form, reflecting differing cultural and national traditions. Countries such as Japan and Korea, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of the secular aspects of Christmas, such as giftgiving, decorations and Christmas trees.

The modern Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in May or in March/April, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood. In the UK and Ireland, it follows the old traditions of Mothering Sunday, celebrated in March/April.
As the US holiday was adopted by other countries and cultures, the date was changed to fit already existing celebrations honoring motherhood, like Mothering Sunday in the UK or the Orthodox celebration of Jesus in the temple in Greece. In some countries it was changed to dates that were significant to the majority religion, like the Virgin Mary day in Catholic countries, or the birthday of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic countries. Other countries changed it to historical dates, like Bolivia using the date of a certain battle where women participated.

Halloween

Halloween (also spelled Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats.

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is the traditional festival in western countries, and people celebrate it on February 14th. It is the date to commemorate a Christian named Valentine at first. After several centuries, this festival becomes well-known and people combine it with the story of Cupid. While sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts is traditional in the UK, Valentine's Day has various regional customs. In Spain Valentine's Day is known as "San Valentín" and is celebrated the same way as in the UK, although in Catalonia it is largely superseded by similar festivities of rose and/or book giving on La Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day).
In addition, in Asia, we have another Valentine’s Day. It is at July 7th , the lunar calendar, and it has a beautiful Chinese myth. Nowadays, we celebrate both Chinese and Western Valentine’s Day.

The Japanese Doll Festival

Hinamatsuri, the Japanese Doll Festival, is a celebration for Japan’s girls. At first, it was held in Mar. 3rd , the lunar calendar, but after Meiji Restoration, it became Mar. 3rd , the solar calendar.
At this day, parents will set up a display stage to put Japanese dolls dressed in kimokos. Though Hinamatsuri is not a national holiday, families will get together to bless their daughters. The display stages can divide into seven stages. First is the king and queen, and then servants, orchestra, vehicles and so on.
During spring, it is the time of peach blossom; therefore, visitors will bring peaches and dolls if the host has daughters. Besides Hinamatsuri, the dragon boat festival is regarded as the boys’ festival. I think Japan is a country that put much emphasis on children’s culture and education, or they won’t have these children festivals.

Songkran Festival

Songkran Festival is Thailand’s New Year, and the festival is held in April. Several religious worships and celebrations will be held all over Thailand. Thais consider that water is a symbol of purity, the origin of life, and the god of all creatures.
The custom of Songkran Festival is to bathe our bodies with clean water, and it means to cleanse all bad lucks in last year and the new beginning of the next year.
The Thai people celebrate this festival with water. Everyone gets soaking wet and since it is the hottest season of the year, the custom is quite refreshing. Songkran is a Public Spring Cleaning Day, supported by the religious belief that anything old and useless must be thrown away or it will bring bad luck to the owner. During the afternoon of April 13th, Buddha images are bathed as part of the ceremony. Young people pour scented water into the hands of elders and parents as a mark of respect while seeking the blessing of the older people. In ancient days, old people were actually given a bath and clothed in new apparel presented by the young folks as a token of respect for the New Year. Where to celebrate Songkran Festival: in Banbkok and Chiang Mai, you can find the traditional celebrations!!

New Semester,New Beginning

This semester my topic is "Festival", and I am going to talk about different kinds of festivals like Chinese New Year,Valentine's Day, Halloween, Chritmas and so on. Including western and eastern countries, from ancient to the modern society, here are some pictures of all kinds of festivals.