Join The World Party

Holidays are History, and holidays are about differences in peoples, their individuality and the unique characteristics of both individuals and groups. On the other hand, they are also about similarities, and about how certain beliefs, values and attitudes are the same the world over. Studying holidays, and traveling to places during holiday times to experience those holidays and festivals, is the key to a greater cultural understanding.

I think the following quote from Martin Luther King Jnr sums up my feelings very well:
"We have inherited a large house, a great 'world house' in which we have to live together - black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu - a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace".

All people on earth have feasts and fasts and celebrations of every kind.
They celebrate FAMILY HOLIDAYS and NATIONAL HOLIDAYS.
They also have RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS, which are recognized by all the people of that religion regardless of where they live.

As time went by people added other holidays to be celebrated according to each nation's history. They commemorated escape from destruction by great floods. They celebrated victories won over enemies. They made joyful holidays when they gained independence from tyranny. And when great religious leaders arose to teach justice and peace, these leaders were also remembered in holidays.

That is why anyone who is interested in the beliefs and history of a nation can become familiar with them through a study of that nation's holidays. The study of holidays is like the study of languages - the better we come to know other languages the better we understand the people who use them.

And everybody loves a holiday. People await the celebration as if they were expecting a welcome guest. Often there are special foods and fixed rituals, fireworks, parades and dancing, and these are part of the excitement.

So, we hope that you will enjoy sharing some of these holidays with us here at Zone451.

Images and Text copyright Vivienne Mackie, 1994.
No reproduction, electronic, written or otherwise, without prior written consent.

Back to Holidays Articles...