Spring Festivals | Suite101.com

Posted by
Katrien Vander Straeten
Jan 30, 2007

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!)