Celebrating a festival or national holiday.
By LeighB
@LeighB (700)
Thailand
April 11, 2011 11:16am CST
This week, over the South East Asia region, sees the start of their New Year or Lunar New Year.
In India, they celebrate a harvest festival called, Baisakhi, from 13th -14th April. People gather together to sing and dance in the traditional fashion in brightly coloured clothes.
In Thailand, they celebrate from the 13th - 15th April (in some parts celebrations last right through until the 20th) and it is called Songkran. They celebrate by pouring water over each other however nowadays it has changed from a gentle offering of water into people throwing buckets of iced water at one another. Although, it is the start of the Thai New Year, it is also to pay thanks to the goddess of the river for the on coming rainy season.
In Cambodia, it is from the 14th - 16th April and is called the Khmer New Year. Like Thailand, the Cambodians used to throw water at people, but the government has since past an act making it illegal to throw water due to the amount of road accidents and deaths caused through this practice.
Do you celebrate any festivals or holidays that are not originally of origin to the country you now live in?
If so, what and why?
2 responses
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
12 Apr 11
Hi there Leigh. It is very interesting to hear about these festivals and national holidays in the South East Asia region. I traveled to Canada last summer and when I was there on the 1st July they had Canada Day.
In my home country we have Christmas Day on 25th December and Easter in April. These are religious holidays for the Christian people. Everyone in my home country likes to celebrate Christmas to give and received presents. New Year's Eve happens on 31st December. People tend to party that evening and count down just before midnight. The 1st January is New Year's Day.
When I studied in the Netherlands I saw the Dutch people celebrate St Nicholas Day. I traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan when I was in my mid twenties. It was fascinating to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It is interesting to find out the Cambodian government band the throwing of water. I know that the festivals in my home country come from the Holy Land.
1 person likes this
@LeighB (700)
• Thailand
12 Apr 11
Hi maximax, What type of celebration did they have in Canada for Canada day?
Christmas and New Year both in December and St. Valentine's day in FEb. are celebrated nowadays in South East Asia, too. It is amzing how the Western celebrations have swept across the globe. But the nice thing is they still keep their own traditions alive also. The other celebration that seems to have spread is St. Patrick's Day, what with all the Irish based bars around the World, it is now celebrated not just in Ireland and the US. Hallowe'en is another celebration that seems to have swept across the globe.
@madmarycash14 (57)
•
26 Apr 11
i agree that halloween has caught up with asian countries. some parts of the philippines celebrate halloween with kids going trick or treating in costumes. there are also costume parades where people are mostly dressed up as supernatural creatures or other entities they want to be. when there's free candy, who can't resist?
@LeighB (700)
• Thailand
26 Apr 11
Free candy will always get children dressing up and enjoying themselves, thanks to Hollywoods brainwashing. But let's hope, these Western celebrations don't destroy the conventional holidays of special to each country throughout the World. It is so nice to travel and experience foreign cultures, not just the Hollywood idea of how festivals should be celebrated!!
