...int ho protects against magic. People once believed that on alpurgisnacht, itches rode across the sky over the Harz Mountains of Germany. In an effort to ard off the itches, people banged pots and pans and lit torches. This day is still celebrated ith bonfires and other activities.Labor Day 1 May is often celebrated by raising maypoles and participating in parades. The Day of German Unity is celebrated on 3 October. On 31 October, some Germans observe Reformation Day, hich is also knon as Luthers Theses Day. On this date in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in ittenberg. In his ritings, he expressed his specific problems ith the Roman Catholic Church. This event marked the start of the Protestant Reformation.The Christmas season begins ith Advent, hich lasts from the Sunday closest to 30 November until 24 December. Christmas markets are held in tons, villages, and most large cities. Musical performances abound. Children put their shoes out the evening before Saint Nicholass day 6 December to receive small treats. Gifts are given on Heiliger Abend Christmas Eve, and the family relaxes on Christmas Day 25 December. The folloing day is also a public holiday.In the year 325, hen Saint Sylvester as pope, the Emperor of Rome decreed that Christianity ould be the official religion from that time forard. Saint Sylvester has since been associated ith getting rid of paganism. Saint Sylvesters Eve, or Silvesterabend, is celebrated on 31 December ith parties and midnight fireorks. Touching a pig on Silvesterabend is thought to bring good luck at home some people hang up a marzipan pig and touch it at midnight.. The Sedes celebrate both Ne Years Eve 31 December and Ne Years Day 1 January as public holidays. The Epiphany, or the day the Three ise Men are said to have come to the baby Jesus, is observed on January 6. Easter P sk is celebrated from Good Friday through Easter Monday. Children dress up like Easter itches, paint their faces, and collect candy from the homes of friends and neighbors. alpurgis Night 30 April, no celebrated ith bonfires and fireorks, is a festival dating from Viking times, celebrating the return of spring. Labor Day is observed on 1 May. Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter, is said to be the day Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven. hitsunday, 50 days after Easter, and hitmonday, the day folloing hitsunday, are both observed.Sedens grandest festival, Midsommar Midsummer is celebrated on the eekend closest to June 21, hich is Summer Solstice. This holiday also dates from Viking times, hen it as a fertility rite meant to ensure a good harvest in the autumn. Noadays, traditional songs are sung, and people dance around maypoles, hich are decorated ith birch leaves and floers. The custom of earing traditional regional dress to the celebration has regained popularity in recent years. Because the sun never sets in the northernmost part of Seden on 21 June, it is knon as the day that never ends.All Saints Day is on 2 November. A particularly lovely holiday in Seden is Lucia, on 13 December. Traditionally, on this day the oldest girl in each family ould don a hite dress, a crimson sash, and a cron of candles. She has become Saint Lucia, a fascinating saint closely associated ith both light and seeing. The girl dressed as Lucia, folloed by her sisters and brothers called maidens and star-boys, ho ould be dressed in similarly magical hite garments, served coffee and buns to members of the household early in the morning of 13 December. Noadays, Lucias are also chosen in their schools or day-care centers, and they might visit hospitals, factories, and offices, serving coffee, lussekatt saffron buns, glgg hot spiced ine, and gingerbread cookies. In Stockholm a contest is held to choose the Stockholm Lucia.Lucia begins the Jul Christmas season, hich reaches its pinnacle on Christmas Eve ith a smrg sbord and the exchange of gifts. The Jultomten Sedish Santa Claus as traditionally knon as a kind of gnome ho lived under the house and left gifts for the children at the door. Today, children eagerly aait his knock at the door on Christmas Eve. Some families keep the old tradition of dipping in the potdunking slices of bread in the broth from a boiled ham. The Christmas tree, placed in the house a couple of days before Christmas Eve, is not taken don until Saint Knuts Day on 13 January. On this day a party for children is held and the tree, having served its purpose, is tossed out an open indo as the celebrants sing a song about the end of the Christmas holiday.In addition to some national holidays, several religious holidays are celebrated in Luxembourg. National holidays include Ne Years Day, Labor Day 1 May, the Grand Dukes Birthdayalso called National Day 23 Juneand Fair Day early September. Fair Day occurs during fair season in the capital city, here an ancient shepherds market serves as the fairground and many traditional displays and events focus on sheepherding.Religious holidays include Shrove Tuesday February, Easter including Monday, Ascension, hitmonday, Assumption 15 August, All Saints Day 1 November, All Souls Day 2 November, and Christmas 24-26 December. Christmas and Easter are the most important holidays.At Easter, young children take part in a tradition called klibbere goen. According to legend, all church bells go to Rome three days before Easter for confession. The bells cannot ring because they are supposedly in Rome, so the boys use rattles to announce church services. hen the bells return on the Saturday before Easter, the children collect money and colorful Easter eggs from each home in the neighborhood as their reard. Most families color Easter eggs during this season, and on Easter Sunday children receive the eggs and other gifts hidden in the garden.Christmas celebrations begin eeks before the actual holiday. Some time before 6 December, small children place a shoe outside their bedroom before bedtime and expect to receive a piece of chocolate from Saint Nicholas Kleeschen if they have been good. Otherise, they might receive a birch tig from his helper, Housecker. Then, on 6 December, Kleeschen visits good children and brings them gifts. Small parades are often held in various cities to celebrate the event. On Christmas Eve, families have a large meal, and Catholics go to Mass. Almost all families have a tree in the home, and many have a nativity scene. Christmas Day 25 December is a family day.Carnaval is celebrated in the spring in many cities. There are also ine fairs, arts festivals, and festivals to mark historical eventsNe Years Day in Poland is celebrated on 1 January. Easter, in early spring, is a major holiday in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. It has a number of traditions associated ith it, including painting eggs and taking baskets full of food to churches to have the food blessed. Easter Monday is a public holiday. The morning of Easter Monday, children and some adults enjoy ater fightsater symbolizes life, ...
Download