When the moon is full on the tenth month of the Hindu calendar, the Tamil celebrate Thaipusam, a major Hindu festival in honor of Lord Murugan. In 2013, the Thaipusam will fall on January 27. Devotees come together for a procession, carrying signs of their devotion and gratitude. Lord Murugan …
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Southeast Asia is predominantly Muslim and Buddhist, so Christian traditions like Good Friday 2013 are celebrated in varying degrees and shades of religious fervor. The scale of celebration is also influenced by the prevailing political and cultural conditions such that Good Friday can either be a business-as-usual day, or a …
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New Years Day is the time when the new calendar year begins according to the Gregorian calendar, and falls on the 1st of January. Festivities on New Year’s Eve, and on New Year’s Day itself, provide some of the most dazzling sights and sounds in Southeast Asian countries; in some …
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The Chinese New Year celebrations are considered to be the most important of all the traditional Chinese holidays and festivities. This event starts on the first day of the first month according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar (a calendar where dates indicate both the moon phase, and the time of …
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Malacanang, the seat of the Philippine government, has announced this early that there are 16 holidays to look forward to in 2013. There are 10 regular holidays and 6 special non-working holidays. One special (working) holiday was announced for schools. Because the Philippines also has a significant Muslim population in …
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The Tamil Thanksgiving of good harvests, Pongal, originated in South India, but today expands to several countries where Tamils have migrated. In Singapore, for example, it is one of the largest Hindu festivals celebrated considering the large population of Tamils. The Pongal Festival begins on the 10th Tamil month, known …
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No one in the world knows a good water fight, like the Thai do. The Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year, involving water, lots of it. The word Songkran, derived from the Sanskrit language, means to pass or move into. This passing refers to the sun, moon, and …
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