World Environment Day - United Nations Environment Programme. Christmas season celebrations in Australia. Violet Teague (1872-1951), Adoration of Shepherds, 1931, oil on canvas. Photograph by Colin Holden. Image courtesy of . Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world on 25 December. Protestant and Roman Catholic churches hold Christmas Day services on 25 December. The Eastern churches - the Ethiopian Orthodox church, Russian Orthodox church and the Armenian church - celebrate Christmas on 6 or 7 January. There have been rituals, parties and celebrations at this time of year for thousands of years. The birth of Jesus Christmas is the celebration of the . The 'Christmas story' tells of the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem, the angels announcing the birth to the shepherds in the fields, and the Magi (wise men from the East) visiting the stable and offering gifts to the newborn child. The origins of Christmas The choice of date is believed to have been influenced by the northern hemisphere , as well as ancient pagan rituals that coincided with the solstice.
Carols and music Food A. Tanabata, Japanese Star Festival. July 7th is called Tanabata or Star Festival in Japan. People celebrate the day at home and in schools. Many cities and towns hold festivals and have Tanabata displays decorating the main streets. In some regions, people light lanterns and float them on the river, or float bamboo leaves on the river.
The festival traces its origins to a legend that the Cowherd Star (Altair) and Weaver Star (Vega), separated by the Milky Way, are allowed to meet just once a year-on the seventh day of the seventh month. Tanabata originated more than 2000 years ago with an tale called Kikkoden. Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi After they got together, they were playing all the time and forgot their jobs. In Japan people write their wishes on narrow strips of coloured paper and hang them, along with other paper ornaments, on trees or bamboo branches placed in the backyards or entrances of their homes. Japanese festivals. Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs.
Some are so different that they do not even remotely resemble the original festival despite sharing the same name and date. There are also various local festivals (e.g. Tobata Gion) that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. It is commonly said that you will always find a festival somewhere in Japan. Unlike most people in East Asia, Japanese people generally do not celebrate Lunar New Year (it having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day, on January 1, in the late 19th century); although many Chinese residents in Japan, as elsewhere, still celebrate Lunar New Year.
In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival. Events within festivals[edit] Local festivals (matsuri)[edit] List of famous matsuri[edit] Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)[edit] Traditional Chinese Festivals - china. Christmas aound the world. Diwali, Festival of Lights. Click here to send Diwali Greetings! The best-known of the Hindu festivals, Diwali is celebrated throughout India at the New Moon on the fifteenth day of the auspicious month Kartika (october/november), as well as in Indian communities throughout the world.
Diwali, from the sanskrit: deepãvali meaning "a garland of lamps", is the right description for this remarkable Indian festival of lights. The celebration of Diwali, a moveable feast, occurs this year on October 26 in the Western Gregorian Calendar. A harvest festival and a celebration of the Lunar New Year, Diwali (or deepãvali) has strong astrological energies, like similar festivals the world over. The celebration of Diwali, a moveable feast, occurs this year on October 26, 2011.
The celebration takes different forms in different parts of India, but we will start with the flavour of the North. In North India, the lamps are lit to remind the community of Rama's return to his kingdom of Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile. Diwali. Culture, Festivals of India, Diwali.