Holiday Prep and celebrations

[el henry]

I've talked to some people who were under the impression that Christmas Day is the 12th day of Christmas, which would make the 1st day the 13th of December.

Because so many people decorate so early, a lot of people have forgotten the tradition of putting up and decorating your Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. That's because Dec 25th is technically the start of the season, running through Jan 6th.

I certainly have not forgotten. My poor father went out Christmas Eve after we were asleep to buy and decorate the tree. We were told that Santa put up the tree.

I don't think that had anything to do with the 12 days of Christmas though. Although I am 85-90% Celtic descent (Irish, Scottish, Cornish) we had no ethnic traditions, and certainly no religious one despite Epiphany, about keeping the tree up for 12 days. It stayed until the needles fell off.

 

[CellarDweller]

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

 

[elbkup]

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Interesting footnote: MLK was a Boston University School of Theology grad; I attended and graduated from BU with BS and MA and am a long term BU employee now retired… MLK Day was celebrated at BU long before it became a National Holiday; I remember my former boss being irate that his staff was given yet another day off so soon after the Holiday Intercession and tried to make us come to work on January 15!! We rose up in defiance and shouted him down. To us that day was well worth remembering and celebrating..

 

[CellarDweller]

Is there anyone on the forum who celebrates Lunar New Year?


Many Asian countries celebrate new year at this time, including Vietnam and Korea. Lunar New Year, often called the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China and and many other Asian communities. It is an annual 15-day festival that begins with the new moon between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 in Western calendars. The festival lasts until the following full moon. The holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors.

How long are the Chinese New Year festivities?​

Chinese New Year in 2024 falls on Feb. 10 and ends with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. Celebrations last up to 16 days; the Chinese public holiday lasts from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17.

This year is the Year of the Dragon.

 

[elbkup]

Is there anyone on the forum who celebrates Lunar New Year?


Many Asian countries celebrate new year at this time, including Vietnam and Korea. Lunar New Year, often called the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China and and many other Asian communities. It is an annual 15-day festival that begins with the new moon between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 in Western calendars. The festival lasts until the following full moon. The holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors.

How long are the Chinese New Year festivities?​

Chinese New Year in 2024 falls on Feb. 10 and ends with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. Celebrations last up to 16 days; the Chinese public holiday lasts from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17.

This year is the Year of the Dragon.

My friends Richard and Yun who live in Boston celebrate; every year I send them a set of Burdick’s special Lunar New Year chocolates, this year featuring milk and dark chocolate dragons! The flavors are a bit different including pineapple, coconut, red bean, mango, black sesame, and ginger of course. LNY is close to Richard’s birthday too so he gets his own more traditional gift. They really love getting the packages!!
They have visited China during the celebration and brought back mementos for me in the past.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Is there anyone on the forum who celebrates Lunar New Year?


Many Asian countries celebrate new year at this time, including Vietnam and Korea. Lunar New Year, often called the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China and and many other Asian communities. It is an annual 15-day festival that begins with the new moon between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 in Western calendars. The festival lasts until the following full moon. The holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors.

How long are the Chinese New Year festivities?​

Chinese New Year in 2024 falls on Feb. 10 and ends with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. Celebrations last up to 16 days; the Chinese public holiday lasts from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17.

This year is the Year of the Dragon.

My apartment building lobby is decorated with red lanterns hanging from each light fixture around the walls and a display on the central table. In Richmond BC, our population is close to 75% Asian descent (depending on whose statistics you take from when) and the majority of those are from China or Taiwan. A lot of our signage is in English, French, and Chinese, as are corporate phone messages. So Chinese New Year is big where I live. I've got CNY greeting cards (Hallmark et al) on my bookcase from my doctor, dentist, bank manager, hairdresser....and my cat got one from his vet .

 

[CellarDweller]

I'm not sure if anyone on the forum celebrates, but Ramadan is approaching.

 

[heyang]

Is there anyone on the forum who celebrates Lunar New Year?


Many Asian countries celebrate new year at this time, including Vietnam and Korea. Lunar New Year, often called the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China and and many other Asian communities. It is an annual 15-day festival that begins with the new moon between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 in Western calendars. The festival lasts until the following full moon. The holiday began as a time for feasting and to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors.

How long are the Chinese New Year festivities?​

Chinese New Year in 2024 falls on Feb. 10 and ends with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. Celebrations last up to 16 days; the Chinese public holiday lasts from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17.

This year is the Year of the Dragon.

Yes, we do. Starts with cleaning the house before CHinese New Year and having an immediate family dinner before the New Year begins. Then another family meal with the extended family where we exchange treats and give red envelopes to the kids (as long as you're unmarried, you're a kid....) We have several dragons in the family. My aunt, me, my cousin, my other cousins' daughter and my nephew. Alas, the trend will not continue as no one in the family is expecting a baby this year.

Note: to people who refer to the placemats in Chinese restaurants for their Chinese horoscope sign. If your birthday is in January or early February, it's likely that you are the sign of the previous year as the Lunar new year typically occurs mid-February. The date is different every year. So, if you were born between Jan1-Feb 13 of 1964, you are a rabbit, not a dragon.

 

[CellarDweller]

 

[CellarDweller]

So this weekend is Easter weekend. Is anyone doing anything?

I'll be getting together with family on Sunday.

I decorated my windows with a flag of the Easter bunny, pink lights, and light up Easter eggs.

 

[Jeanie19]

So this weekend is Easter weekend. Is anyone doing anything?

I'll be getting together with family on Sunday.

I decorated my windows with a flag of the Easter bunny, pink lights, and light up Easter eggs.

Pictures?

 

[Diana Delafield]

So this weekend is Easter weekend. Is anyone doing anything?

I'll be getting together with family on Sunday.

I decorated my windows with a flag of the Easter bunny, pink lights, and light up Easter eggs.

I use my dolls for holiday decorations. I tell them they have to work for a living here.

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

 

[iluvtodd]

View attachment 7814

Todah rabah, LolaSkatesinJapan! We had to miss the Purim festivities @ our synagogue this year (I always participate in the Purim "Shpiel"/play). After all, we couldn't attend services & listen to the reading of Megilat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) while we were @ the Bell Centre in Montreal, cheering on the men. So we took turns reading the chapters of the Megillah in English on Sunday after the gala. I brought our groggers (noisemakers) with us & some Hamantaschen (the 3 cornered Purim fruit filled cookies).

Happy Easter for everyone who celebrates the holiday!

I will start my Passover shopping (for the special food we use for the holiday) by Tuesday of the coming week. Passover is a little over 3 weeks from now!

 

[TallyT]

So this weekend is Easter weekend. Is anyone doing anything?

Eating a lowering number of hot cross buns (choc chip, apple and cinnamon, sticky date, fairy bread.... I am not brave enough to try the Vegemite and cheese one though). I'm trying to be good about chocolate, but someone gave me a chocolate bilby.....

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

Todah rabah, LolaSkatesinJapan! We had to miss the Purim festivities @ our synagogue this year (I always participate in the Purim "Shpiel"/play). After all, we couldn't attend services & listen to the reading of Megilat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) while we were @ the Bell Centre in Montreal, cheering on the men. So we took turns reading the chapters of the Megillah in English on Sunday after the gala. I brought our groggers (noisemakers) with us & some Hamantaschen (the 3 cornered Purim fruit filled cookies).

Happy Easter for everyone who celebrates the holiday!

I will start my Passover shopping (for the special food we use for the holiday) by Tuesday of the coming week. Passover is a little over 3 weeks from now!

Happy Purim!

I'm not Ashkenazi, I'm mizrachi (Israeli, my grandparents fled from Yemen to Israel) so maybe our holiday celebration routines are a little different, but same as you I totally missed any Purim celebrations this year. We're a very small community here in Tokyo, I'd say mostly Israelis who go to our local Chabad (which building the rabbi and his family live in, so it's very welcoming and small), and my only taste of Purim was what the Chabad sent, some foods the rabbanit made and are always very much appreciated (they are also mizrachi, so the foods have always the much missed home taste) Had skating practices I couldn't run away from, and the Chabad is quite far from here, I just didn't go.

Hoping to be able to make it for Pesach.

 

[4everchan]

I just ate a Viennese chocolate bread. Will prepare some very nice meals all weekend but... Really the weekend is for resting from worlds, cleaning and filing my taxes... Fun...

 

[labgoat]

I have a very traditional Easter planned. After I get off work I have a breakfast of Naleśniki planned before church. Then a bit of sleep before a dinner of ham, beets with horseradish, holubtsi (cabbage rolls), baked baby potatoes, salad and a tiramisu layer cake and braided egg bread.

I wish a very Happy Easter to those who are celebrating. I have had a rough year so far and am seeing the clouds begin to clear. Some things that have been troubling me are beginning to resolve and I am starting to be more at peace as I prepare for some positive changes in my life.

 

[yuumagical]

So this weekend is Easter weekend. Is anyone doing anything?

I'll be getting together with family on Sunday.

I decorated my windows with a flag of the Easter bunny, pink lights, and light up Easter eggs.

I'll just be attending an Easter brunch with my family. It'll be good to hang out with them and recover a little bit more from the crazy stuff that went down in the Centre Bell.

 

[4everchan]

I am having bubbles and chocolate mousse (made it myself of course).... this feels like grown up easter... plus it does take lots of eggs to make decent mousse so eggs + chocolate