Katrien Vander Straeten's Blog
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
Bali rules! It has so many festival and holidays and ceremonies, for this and for that... It has no less than 19 public holidays (compared to 10 in the US), many of them "bridge holidays" to extend the many religious or cultural festivals.
Check it out in the new article: Bali's 2007 Holidays and Festivals!
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
We have planned a trip to Singapore and Calcutta, India, in November. From Singapore we are planning to visit either Bali or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
It is hard to decide which one we want to visit. I'm doing some research on these places, their history and culture (we're not ones for beaches).
Any suggestions are welcome!
Bali, I found, is the Land of Holidays. For instance, they celebrate at least four (4!) New Year's Days a year. Read more on these in this week's article.
I hope to have sorted out the many, many other Balinese holidays by next week. Be sure to tune in then!
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
In almost a month it will be Mother's Day, in my view one of the most important of secular holidays in the world - I held this belief even before I became a mother myself.
The holiday has fascinating origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, and connections with the Virgin Mary. But we owe our modern Mother's Day to two brave women, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, they fought for recognition of mothers all over the world.
Read all about that in The Historical Meaning of Mother's Day
So don't forget: 13 May is the day. There are many mothers to honor:
- the mothers who gave birth to us, who raised us
- the Mother Church, which you may interpret any way you like, as the fount of our spiritual birth and strength
- and last but not least, in these times of growing ecological trouble, let's also honor our Mother, the Earth (Rhea or Gaia among the Greeks)
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
I have always been interested in counting. You just have to be excited by it!
For instance, counting your blessings, eager count downs to special events - the coming of Sinterklaas, a highly anticipated visit from friends and family, the launch of a space shuttle, the exact second of the New Year...
My 19-month-old has started counting. She has known the numbers, from 1 to 10, in three languages, for a while now, but until now they were mere sounds. Even when she "counted" the five fingers of a hand correctly, some more prodding revealed it was from memory, not from understanding. Now, however, she is counting: one - two - three (then: four - four - four). You can see the excitement in her eyes, no doubt mirroring my own.
The Jewish people have always struck me as people who value the count: they often organize the world - natural, supernatural - in terms of orders and numbers. Imagine my joy when I discovered that they devote an entire "literugical season" to counting.
They "count the Omer": a 49-day period from the second day of Pesach to the festival of Shavuot. Every evening on those days they recite, out loud, solemnly, in Hebrew and using a precise formulation, the day and the week of the Omer.
I wrote two articles about this here:
I think we should all spend some time, at some point in the day, every day, counting. We could count the days of the New Year as it gradually grows old, the weeks we have spend with our loved ones, the years we have lived this life here on Earth. Just selecting what would be the best yardstick and starting point of our count would be a wonderful exercise in self-discovery and meditation.
It would be a reckoning of praise for the time and joy we have received so far. And a reminder that more is to come, and that we should make it count.
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
In the past I've written a lot about how many festivals mark the seasons. In many of my "Origins of" articles I've focused on how astronomical events, climate and the old agrarian calendar lie at the foundation of many of our holidays and celebrations.
In this week's article I've set them all in a row: all those Festivals that Mark the Seasons.
The list is not complete by far, and suggestions of more seasonal festivals are as always very welcome!
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
A couple of weeks ago I witnessed a fascinating and alarming exchange between a mother and her teeenaged daughter.
I was at a coffee shop, indulging in some cafe au lait and a long entry in my journal while my daughter slept in the stroller, when my ear picked a discordant note out of the hubbub.
The daughter, I discovered, was trying to gain her mom's approval for a tattoo. The conversation was a true example of talking at cross purposes. The mother would not hear of it, the daughter was clearly taken aback by such reticence, had obviously not prepared her case in advance, and proceeded in giving all the kinds of reasons that parents don't want to hear - the main one being: "all my friends have one!"
It ended with both mommy dearest and darling daughter leaving the coffeeshop stonefaced and silent.
It made me wonder: what is tattooing all about, what is its history? What were and are the functions of tattoos? And: what is tattoo culture today? What can tattoos on modern-day bodies mean?
Read these articles to find out:
- The History of Tattooing: A summary of the past of tattoos shows its many functions
- Tattoos: Reasons, Responsibilities: The message on the body: personal and political
- Tattoo Advise for Parents and Teenagers: Good and bad reasons for getting that tattoo
- Tattoo tips, resources, and facts
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
Though I am no longer practicing Catholic, I was raised as one and the customs and stories still reverberate deeply in me. Seeing worshippers people leave the Christian Churches in my neighborhood on Ash Wednesday, crosses written in ashes on their foreheads, made me realize that Easter, that "cornerstone of Christianity", is nearing soon.
I also realized that my memory on the exact events was a bit blurry. Putting them in order for this week's articles familiarized me with them again.
I put together a detailed timeline in two articles:
- Part 1 summarizes the events and celebrations of the Passiontide and the Holy Week up to Good Friday.
- Part 2 deals with the last three days of Holy Week: Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
While I was already contemplating April - I know, it's not even March yet! - the weather turned nasty. We can't complain, really, in Boston. It was our first big snowstorm and not even such a biggie. I rather like the extra sunshine, reflected off the snowbanks and icesheets, and even enjoy slipping and sliding a bit, as long as I'm not carrying precious cargo such as my toddler.
In any case, about April: I had a great time researching and writing two articles, one about April Fools' and one about the April Fish, a special kind of April Fools' prank in Europe.
Both the day and the fish are very intriguing, since we can speculate till eternity come, and never know if we ever got to the truth of their meaning or historical origin. April Fools is one of those slippery "holidays" that arose out of many local customs and traditions, and you don't even know when it officially came to be known as "April Fools"... There is also a lot of misinformation out there on the net, so I had to do a bit of debunking as well (always fun).
What April Fools' pranks have you played, or were you the victim of? We'd love to hear!
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
O dear.
I decided to investigate “The Hindu New Year”. Turns out: there is no ONE Hindu New Year. There are many, too many!
Nevertheless, I couldn’t put the matter aside. So first I researched the Many Indian Calendars and then I could tackle the Many Hindu New Year's Days.
So sorry if reading those only confuses you more, but at least you will get some idea of the complexity of the issue!
If you have anything to add, please do let me know (no, I really mean it, truly).
Be sure to read my article on Holi and Dhuleti, which is also coming up soon, on 2-3 March.
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
The sky in Boston is a sunny, bright blue. There’s that dry, crisp air that makes the nights so perfect for stargazing – no water molecules that might reflect the cities many lights, drowning out the stars a second time around – if only one wouldn’t succumb to hypothermia after five minutes.
Freezing but sunny and dry... or warmer but wet and dark? It is hard for me to chose – if indeed the choice were up to me, which it is not.
The Pennsylvanian groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, has chosen: on 2 February he did venture out of his bower, predicting an early Spring for 2007.
Let’s see, let’s see. All my research into seasonal festivals and calendars has made me realize how much we humans have wrecked the perfectly good natural balance of sun, moon and earth. If the cute groundhog can account for all our meddling, “chapeau!” as we say in French: hats off! - also those top hats, Punxsutawney officials!
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
Though we in New England wouldn’t know it, being frozen and blasted with wind chill, but having to do without the soothing boon of snow, so far… spring is around the corner!
This means spring festivals andFebruary and March holidays are being celebrated around the world.
As celebrations of the reviving of nature, all of these have the elements of hope for a new beginning, exuberance, color, flowers and fire in common. In short, they are all good fun!
- On 18 February 2007 there is the happy and colorful celebration of the Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of that wonderful animal: the Pig!
- On 20 February it is Carnival, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, another Christian celebration that is often called the anti-Lent: a “Fat Tuesday” of indulgence and merrymaking for the lean forty days of the Lenten fast that follow.
- On 2 and 3 March Hindus all over the world celebrate Holi and Dhuleti, the joyous two-day festival of spring, fire, the Full Moon and, last but not least, color. Lots of color!
- From 1 to 5 March, Jews celebrate Purim, a five-day festival that has a lot in common with Holi: lively, noisy and merry. (article coming soon!)
- On 18 March it is Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom. Most churches hold a special service on this fourth Sunday in the Season of Lent, commemorating the time when the faithful would return to the church of their childhood: their “Mother Church”. It is the UK’s Mother’s Day, when mothers receive gifts, cards and flowers.
- On 8 April, it is Easter Sunday, the Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is a solemn and holy but also joyous affair, with many references to the resurrection of nature. How about those Easter Eggs and Easter Bunnies? (article coming soon!)
- Early in spring the Japanese celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival, which centers on holy shrines and mountains. (article coming soon!)
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
In my home country, Belgium, we don't have baby showers, and the whole thing sounds very strange to me. I have many questions. Will there be men, children? A cake in the shape of a diaper? Will I have to play the reputedly cheesy games? Guess the flavor of baby foods - and don't they all taste the same anyway, namely of nothing? Is my gift appropriate?
What with all these questions and the suspense killing me, and my usual insistence that I approach a strange custom with at least a modicum of knowledge, I had to do some research.
And what better than to share my findings with my readers here on Suite101?
Read:
Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten
The coming month of February is filled with fun festivals:
- 2 February brings us the hilarious Groundhog Day.
- On 11 February many places around the world will celebrate Carnival.
- 14 February or Valentine’s Day is of course the time for a little romance.
- And on 18 February the Chinese New Year inaugurates the Year of the Pig.
For many Christians this is a time of respite from solemn religious holidays. The Christmas Season ended on the eve of 8 January, and “Ordinary Time” is again in effect... until the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, on 21 February.
Carnival is in many ways a last “pig-out” before the fast of Lent. Saint Valentine’s Day, too, has become in its commercial form an “anti-Lent” of sorts: a day of love, partying and gifts of food and riches.
Articles:
- Groundhog Day
- The Origins of Saint Valentine’s Day
- The Origins of Carnival
- The Season of Lent
- Lent Days of Forgiveness
- Chinese New Year
- Year of the Pig
Other February festivals and holy days:
- 15 February is the Mayahana Buddhist Parinirvana Day or Nirvana Day.
- 16 February is the Hindu Night of Shiva, or Maha Shivaratri.