| The
global village should be celebrated in the home! Check back
each week as we highlight a different festival from around
the globe. There's always a reason to celebrate and what better
way to do it than with your family while learning about a
variety of cultures? With ideas and activities for celebrating
the various holidays "Earthy Family" style, you'll
find this a fabulous resource when planning birthdays, parties,
and family nights. We live in a time of diversity - celebrate
with us
Independence Day - USA
July 4th
Americans celebrate July 4 as Independence Day. It was on July 4, 1776, that members of the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. For additional information on the Declaration of Independence visit: www.factmonster.com/spot/independenceday1.html
Celebrations and Fireworks are held all over the United States as the whole nation celebrates this day.
General Information on the United States:
- The US is located on both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
- The US has approximatley 19,924 km of coastline
- The US is the World's fourth largest country
- The climate is mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest;
Canada Day
July 1st
July 1 st is Canada Day! A patriotic day celebrated by Canadians with fireworks and outdoor concerts and events throughout the nation. Originally known as “Dominion Day”, Canada Day was established in 1868.
Fun Canadian Facts: 
Canada is named for the Iroquois word for village, “ Kanata ”
The official animal of Canada is the Beaver
The national sport is Lacrosse, which was played in Canada before Europeans arrived
Basketball was invented in Canada and was first played using empty peach baskets for nets
Hockey, while not the national sport, is considered by many to be the national pastime
Winnie the Pooh is named for a real bear named Winnipeg , the capital city of Manitoba and hometown of “Winnie’s” owner.
Official Lyrics of the National Anthem, O Canada !
English:
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
French:
O Canada ! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Inti Raymi Festival
June 24th
The Peruvian Winter Solstice, called Inti Raymi (literally translated as the festival of the Sun God), is held on June 24th this year. An ancient festival harking back to the days of the Inca Empire, it is a ceremony of thanksgiving and spiritual preparation for the coming year. Present-day celebrations include re-enactments of the Inca ceremony outside the city of Cusco . It is celebrated for several days with parades, traditional music and dancing. For more information on Inti Raymi, check out this month’s culture highlight in our Travels section.
Father’s Day
Happy Dad’s Day!
Father’s Day is on June 20 th this year and is a day to celebrate all of the wonderful dads you know. Celebrate by entering our fun photo contest! Send in a picture of a dad and his kids for a chance to win our Father’s Day Gift Pack, which includes:
Wild Mango Body Butter (excellent for reducing and preventing the irritation and redness caused by razor burn; contains mango butter, jojoba oil, aloe vera gel and blood orange, sandalwood and jasmine essential oils)
Wake Up Happy Body Wash (raise the morning mood and greet the day with a smile; contains sweet orange, sweet birch & peppermint essential oils in a sodium-lauryl-sulfate free body wash)
Muscle Rub Body & Massage Oil (relieves stiff, sore and achy muscles; contains a nourishing base of high-oleic sunflower, sesame, hazelnut, and jojoba oils with vitamin E as well as ginger, sweet birch and juniper essential oils)
Happy Father’s Day!
Minnesota Take a Kid Fishing Week-End
June 11-13 This coming week-end is Minnesota’s “Take a Kid Fishing” Week-End! What a great way to spend some quality family time together! Sitting side-by-side at the local fishing hole with each other provides a great time to connect with one another. If you aren’t interested in eating your catches, buy fish-friendly hooks and release them back to their watery habitats. Alternatively, if fishing really isn’t your cup of tea, consider going to the pet store and buying a fish together. Turn this into a quality event with one another by focusing on the just the task at hand and your little partner in the endeavour.
Memorial to Broken Dolls Day
June 3rd June 3rd is Memorial to Broken Dolls Day in Japan. On this day each year, children bring their broken dolls to Buddhist shrines for funeral rituals. After the ceremony, the dolls are buried and enshrined. If there are any broken dolls (or other special toys) in your home that can’t be healed, fixed, or mended, consider holding a funeral or letting go ceremony for your family. What a great way to acknowledge the real bonds that children form to their playthings. 
Vegetarian Week
www.vegsoc.org Vegetarian Week is from May 24th- May 31st this year. Whether you’re a dedicated vegetarian, a veggie dabbler, or a committed omnivore, there is no denying the health benefits of vegetarian meals. Eating less meat than the standard North American does is beneficial to health as well as the environment (it takes much more energy to raise a cow than grow a field of veggies). So celebrate Vegetarian Week by sharing a vegetarian meal with your family sometime over the next seven days. Check out our Kitchen Creations or Nava Atlas' Vegetarian Kitchen for some delicious recipes to try. If your family regularly eats vegetarian meals, maybe you want to celebrate by hosting a vegetarian potluck for friends.
Mental Health Month
May May is Mental Health Month. This awareness month focuses on concentrating people’s focus on the importance of mental health in all areas of life as well as bringing awareness to mental illness. This is a great time to find a bit of time for each family member to find and engage in an activity that brings them joy and peace. Perhaps it’s a family activity, or perhaps it’s an individual activity. Share your needs with each other and support one another as you take time to re-energize and recharge. Because mental health affects all areas of health and life, it’s important to take care of yours.
International Day of Families
May 15 The United Nations declared 1994 as the International Year of the Family (IYF) and May 15th as the International Day of Families. This year, the 10th anniversary of the IYF, the UN plans to reaffirm its support of families around the world and will encourage governments of the world to support family issues at national levels. And while all this is taking place, what a great time to celebrate living in a family environment! Talk with your family about what a family is (there are as many definitions as there are families), and what is truly great about a family like yours. Cook a special meal and linger at the dinner table, or spend some family time together doing a favoured activity and celebrating each other and your wonderful bond.
Youth
Day, China
May 4th May 4th
is China’s traditional Youth Day. College students often
celebrate the day with fun outdoor activities and May 4th
medals are awarded for outstanding academic performance. The
Youth Day celebration commemorates the day of the first mass
student movement in China which occurred in 1919. The Beijing
student demonstration was against the warlord government's
imminent signing of an international agreement, ceding a Chinese
province to the Japanese; it ignited a number of further demonstrations
across the country and sparked the promotion of democracy
and scientific enquiry.
Kiss your mate day
April 28th This Wednesday
is Kiss your Mate Day! A fabulous holiday to celebrate –
again and again.
Earth
Day
April 22nd Thursday,
April 22nd is Earth Day! Earth Day was first celebrated in
the USA in 1970. It was started as a grassroots movement to
bring recognition to the ecological problems occurring throughout
the world. In the years since, it has spread around the world
and has indeed brought greater attention to our growing environmental
issues. This is
a great day to celebrate all the Earth provides to us, and
to show appreciation of our home by living in harmony with
all that share it. Get involved in your community this Earth
Day to promote environmental awareness and celebrate our planet.
Check
out the Earth
Day network to find an Earth Day celebration near you
and measure your ecological footprint. Check
out Go Green! for a list of 51 ways
to live in harmony with the environment.
Baisakhi
April 13th Baisakhi
is a Sikh festival celebrated on April 13th. It is Punjab
New Year’s and the birthday of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru
Gobind Singh (who founded the Khalsa – the Sikh brotherhood)
in 1699. Baisakhi is celebrated with joyful religious music
and dancing, visits to the temples and a community lunch.
International Easter
Traditions from around the world Many countries
throughout the world celebrate the Christian holiday Easter.
The roots of Easter stretch back to ancient celebrations of
spring and the return of the sun. Today it is celebrated by
Christians who believe that Jesus was resurrected from the
dead (returning the son to God). Easter
Celebrations Around the World:
Germany: Many German families decorate tree
branches in vases with real eggs and brightly coloured ornaments.
These “Easter trees” are usually put up about
2 weeks before Easter. Ukraine:
Pysanky is an elaborate Ukrainian method of decorating Easter
eggs using dyes and beeswax to make elaborate designs on the
eggs. The design traditions are handed down from generation
to generation and are extremely delicate and beautiful. Greece:
Greek celebrants bake a traditional bread called Tsoureki.
This braided loaf of bread has a red egg baked into it to
symbolize the blood of Christ. It is a sweet bread only baked
on Good Friday.
Check out the Razzle
Dazzle Recipes for a Tsoureki recipe Mexico:
In Mexico entire communities get together to reenact the last
days of Jesus, including his death and resurrection. Processions
with drums and candlelight wind through the towns and sad
songs are sung on Good Friday, as Jesus’ death is remembered.
April
Fool’s Day
April 1st April
Fool’s Day, celebrated on April 1st each year, is a
time for playful pranks and practical jokes. The celebration
dates back to Roman times when a king and slave would trade
places for a day, fulfilling each other’s roles amongst
much merry-making. While
playing your jokes, keep in mind that it’s a day of
fun, so keep your sensitivy and make jokes that everyone will
laugh about (the person you trick included).
Evangelismou
March 25th Evangelismou
is a Greek festival that celebrates three important events:
Greek National Independence Day, the Annunciation (Christian
holiday) and the spring equinox. Festivities are marked with
speeches and folk dancing and many Greeks wear traditional
clothing on this day.
St. Patrick’s Day
March 17th  St.
Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland which
celebrates the patron saint of the country, St. Patrick. Held
on March 17th every year, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated
all over the world by those of Irish descent (and those who
are “Irish for a day”).
A parade
is held in many of the Irish cities, towns and villages and
a special mass is attended by many of the Irish Catholics.
St. Patrick’s Day is considered a Catholic holy day
in Ireland, though in recent years it has evolved into a more
secular holiday. The traditional
emblem of St. Patrick’s Day is the green shamrock. St.
Patrick was known for using the 3-leafed shamrock to explain
the concept of the Christian Holy Trinity, and many of his
followers wore the shamrock on his feast day after his death.
Today the shamrock has become of symbol of Ireland itself
and St. Patrick’s Day in particular. For more information
on St. Patrick’s Day, complete with fun activities to
do, check out the our culture section,
as this month’s highlight is Ireland.
International Women’s Day
March 8th According
to the UN, “Women continue to be among the poorest:
the majority of the world’s absolute poor are women.
Three quarters of the women over the age of 25, in much of
Asia and Africa are illiterate. On the average, women receive
between 30 to 40 cents less than males for the same work.
Everywhere women continue to be victims of violence, with
rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of
disability and death among women of reproductive age.” March
8th is International Women’s Day. It is celebrated in
many countries and promoted by the United Nations. It is a
day to “reflect on the progress made to advance women’s
equality, to assess the challenges facing women in contemporary
society, to consider future steps to enhance the status.”
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/ Ideas
for celebrating: 
Check your
local community listings for events and activities
Research local women heroes.
Share a meal with the female heroes in your life.
Check out some of the interesting women’s history sites
and share some of the interesting stories you’ll find
at dinner throughout this week.
National
Women’s History Project (American)
Internet
Women’s History Sourcebook
International
Institute of Social History – Women’s History
Hola Mohalla
March 7th Hola Mohalla
is an sacred festival of the Nihangs community and is held
at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab every year. It started as a gathering
of Sikhs for military exercises following the festival of
Holi. Today it is held to remind the people of valour and
defence preparedness, pay homage to the cty where the foundation
of the Khalsa was laid and allows each member of the Nihang
community to display his/her skills in Gatkha (much like European
fencing), horse riding and taming. The 3-day festival also
includes music and poetry competitions as well as mock battles.
People from all over the world travel to Anandpur Sahib to
participate in the festival. Ideas
for celebrating:
This is a great time to learn more about the Sikh community
and their history. Check out the following sites for more
information:
Budhadal.com
Indian
Hospitality
Punjabi
Cultural Society of Chicago
Hold your own poetry or music competitions. Give everyone
10 minutes after dinner to compose a song or poem, then
share with the rest of the family.
Make a Punjabi feast for dinner. The cuisine of Northern
India is delightful. Check for recipes at:
Punjab
Online
India
Server
Leap Year
February 29th, 2004 Every
four years an extra day is added to the calendar to keep it
synchronized with the seasons. The day is always added on
to February. While a non-leap year has only 28 days in February,
a leap year (which this one is) has 29. In essence, you are
getting a whole extra day this year. If you can, take this
Sunday to do only fun things, since an extra day in the year
should be spent in a very enjoyable way.
Ideas
for spending your “extra day”
Go
to the zoo
Go to a petting farm
Spend the day in pajamas – spend the day reading
Have a family spa day – have bubble baths, give
each other pedicures and lounge in your bathrobes
Go swimming
Play leap frog in honour of the leap year
Losar, the Tibetan New Year
February 21st, 2004 Tibetan
New Year falls on February 21st this year. Losar
as it is known, is the most important festival in Tibet and
celebrations start on the 29th day of the 12th month of the
Tibetan calendar. New Year’s Eve is called Lu Yugpa
and on this day Tibetans clean their houses and neighbourhoods.
Offerings are made at monasteries and decorations are put
up. Unfinished business and unhappy memories are dealt with,
and rituals are performed to chase away evil spirits so the
New Year can start off on a positive note. A fun
custom of the day is the making and sharing of dough balls
with different fillings in them. Sometimes they are added
to a soup and sometimes they are made with barley crumbs.
They may contain chilies, salt, wool, rice or coal and the
filling is supposed to be a humorous observation about the
finders’ disposition, or indication of the year ahead.
Chilies mean the person is talkative or will have an angry,
argumentative year, white ingredients are considered good
luck, coal indicates a black heart, salt is a sign of a virtuous
year ahead, wool means a lazy year is about to start, butter
indicates an easy year. Other festive foods include sweet
rice, tea, butter, fried biscuits, fruit, and sweets. These
are placed on family altars and shared with friends and family,
as Losar is a time of feasting and food is important symbolically.
On the
first day of the New Year, the woman of each house collects
the first bucket of water of the year from the well at sunrise,
burning incense and giving the first portion of the festival
foods as an offering to the nagas (serpents and spirits
of the underworld). Families
wear new clothes and perform a formal ceremony at their family
altar. After this special Buddhist rite, families visit with
neighbours and wish each other “Tashe Delek!”
(Good Fortune). Tibetan
prayer:
At this very moment for the peoples and nations of the earth,
May not even the names of disease, famine, war, and suffering
be heard, But rather may pure conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity
increase, And may supreme good fortune and well being always
arise. Ideas
for celebrating:
Make dough balls filled with the traditional ingredients listed
above to share with your family over dinner. A great time
for a talk about the plight of the Tibetan people! To learn
more about the issues surrounding Tibet, check the following
sites: The
Tibetan Government in Exile
Tibet Online
International
Campaign for Tibet
Valentine’s Day
February 14th Valentine’s
Day, celebrated on February 14th, is a special day to celebrate
love and friendship. There are many different ways to celebrate
this day, and while many traditions have been passed down
through the years, others are created as couples and families
celebrate each year. At Earthy Family we invite you to celebrate
Valentine’s Day in a way that is special to each member
of your family, celebrating all the different types of love
in your lives. For more
information on Valentine’s Day, check out our special
Valentine’s section.
Groundhog Day
February 2nd Groundhog
Day, celebrated on February 2nd, foretells the end of winter.
It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, 6 more weeks
of winter will follow. If he doesn’t see his shadow,
spring is just around the corner. In our modern world it is
Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania that delivers this weather
forecast, but the tradition is an old one that dates back
hundreds of years to the festival of Imbolc. Traditionally,
Imbolc is the day to make candles as it is at this time that
we can see the light through the day is growing longer. For more
information on the history of Groundhog Day, check out StormFax.com Ideas
for Celebrating:
Check for your own shadows. Set aside a specific time that
you will check, then all head outside to see if your shadow
has come with you. Remember – no shadow means spring
is just around the corner! Make candles
to celebrate the return of the sun. For great candle-making
ideas, check out Lumina
Candle’s website.
International
Friendship Month
February 2004 February
is International Friendship Month! What a great time to learn
about families in other parts of the world, make friends internationally
and celebrate our global diversity! Ideas
for Celebrating:
Make a Flat You and “travel” to another part of
the world. Check the Flat
Stanley project for more information. Check
the Planet
Friendship site for ways to get involved in internationally
friendly initiatives. Check
Kids’
Space Connection for penpals from around the world and
ideas on projects to increase your international understanding.
Learn
about other cultures in our Culture Section.
Chinese New Year
January 22nd, 2004 The Chinese
calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles and thus the new
year falls on a different day of the Western solar calendar
each year. This Chinese year, the year 4701, begins on January
22nd. Each year is designated by one of 12 animals in the
Chinese calendar. This year is the Year of the Monkey (which
means much mischief will be afoot this year). Click
Here to find out what Animal sign you were born under.
Click
Here for additional information on the Year of the Monkey. The days
before Chinese New Year’s are spent thoroughly cleaning
and decorating the home (often with red banners, as red is
considered especially auspicious), preparing special foods,
getting a haircut and mending old clothes. Everything is meant
to look fresh and new to set the tone of the coming year. Hongbao,
or red packets (red envelopes with money in them) are given
to younger generations to symbolize luck and wealth. Foods
of the holiday are also very symbolic and dumplings are served
to represent wealth, and jiu (a hard liquor) is served to
symbolize longevity. Red
is said to be the luckiest colour and most celebrants decorate
their homes with red banners and dress in red for the celebrations. Ideas
for celebrating:
Host a Chinese potluck and invite your friends and family
over to celebrate the Chinese New Year with you. Be sure to
decorate your home with red!
If there is a large Chinese community in your town or city,
check to see what will be going on. Often dragon dances, parades
and other festivities are scheduled and open to the public.
Check your local listings or contact the local Chinese cultural
centre or cultural association. The bright and open celebrations
are not to be missed! For more
information on Chinese New Year’s check out the following
sites:
Fortune
Angel discusses the New Year in great detail: Enchanted
Learning has a number of craft suggestions, including
great instructions for Chinese Lanterns Chinese
Astrology gives forecasts for the year to come
Arbor day – Jordan
Jan 15th, 2004 The country
of Jordan celebrates Arbor Day on January 15th each year.
Thousands of trees are planted on this day each year throughout
the country. There is a great deal of attention paid to the
connection of the needs of the environment and the health
of the people and country at Arbor Day celebrations. As Jordan
is a country with few freshwater supplies, trees are chosen
for their drought resistance and environmental contributions. Ideas
for celebrating:
Plant a tree (or an indoor plant – see this week’s
Odds n Sods for more information on
indoor plants)
If it’s too cold to plant outside where you are right
now, talk about trees and the need for native species plants.
January is a great time to start planning for summer gardening
and researching plant species native to your local area now
will provide you with all the information you’ll need
when it comes time to plant in spring.
Children’s Day in Uruguay
January 6th, 2004 Uruguay
celebrates Children’s Day on January 6th. Before going
to bed on the evening of the 5th, children leave their shoes
by the Christmas tree along with food and water for the 3
Wise Men and their camels. When they wake on the 6th, the
shoes are filled with gifts from the Magi, who visited the
baby Jesus, and the food and water are gone. The custom relates
to Epiphany celebrations around the world.
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