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So cool to read about everyone's home tradition they miss the most! I'm from England but I've been living in the States for five years and the thing I miss the most is Bonfire Night on November 5th.
The best thing about Bonfire Night is the fireworks, oh, and the bonfires! … and the history behind it. Basically, Guy Fawkes and his friends tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. They nearly did it too – they hired a room under the House of Parliament and filled it with explosives. But someone told the royal palace. The authorities found Guy Fawkes in the room guarding the explosives, and he was sentenced to torture and death.
So it's a tradition that celebrates the fact that the king survived. It also means people don't forget what happens if you plot against your country. There's a kind of poem about it that starts 'Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.' That's why we build a 'guy' – a life-size model of Guy Fawkes – and burn it on the bonfire. Pretty dark and horrible when you think about it!
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So cool to read about everyone's home tradition ... - Remember, in a forum you are part of a long conversation with a lot of other people so they might ask you questions.
In the South of Brazil we celebrate German traditions, it's because in the colonization process many Germans came to live in this part of Brazil, so every October we have a party with typical costumes and lots of food and beer.
I have read a lot about traditional history, such as Halloween, the Color Festival in India, and the Water Festival in Myanmar. I'm from Myanmar, the country next to India. Most of the countries have an interesting traditional festival. Have you ever heard of the Water Festival before? If you haven't, I would like to discuss it with you. In Myanmar, my country celebrates this important day in April and names it "Thingyan Festival". We don't have the exact date because we celebrate it in two days or three days to welcome the Myanmar New Year. Historians note that Thingyan was first celebrated during the Bagan period, coinciding with the establishment of the Bagan Kingdom in the 9th century. Historical evidence suggests these festivals were celebrated throughout the reign of King Anawrahta in the 11th century, continuing into the 12th and 13th centuries. Some historians speculate that a similar water festival was celebrated during the Pyu era (2nd century), although evidence remains inconclusive. The festival is recorded on a stone inscription at Sawhlawun Pagoda dating to 1291.
In ancient times, a cannon (သင်္ကြန်အမြောက်,Thingyan a-hmyauk) was used as a signal to notify the people that Thagyamin already descended Earth, which means the Thingyan Festival had already started. Once the cannon was fired, communities, including the members of the Burmese royal family, came out with pots of water and sprigs of thabyay, then poured the water onto the ground with a prayer. A prophecy for the new year (သင်္ကြန်စာ, Thingyan sa) will have been announced by the brahmins (ponna) and this is based on what animal Thagyamin will be riding on his way down and what he might carry in his hand.
In December 2024, Thingyan was inscribed in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under "Atā Thingyan."
Hi everyone
The tradition I like most in my country is the "São João" Party. This is a huge party that takes place on June 24th (specifically), but in the state where I live (in the Northeast of Brazil) the party lasts the whole month.
We have a lot of music (called "forró" - it comes from English and means "for all"), typical food (made with corn), and people of all parts of nation comes to our region to enjoy this season.
For me, the best part is the food and dancing a lot of "forró" with my wife.
Great! It's my favorite tradition too!
My birthday is on March and I live in Rio de Janeiro, even so I make my birthday's party with São João's decorations ad a lots of "Forró".
What a instesting history! That makes me remember a similar tradition in Venezuela 'cause consist burning a clothes doll as well but ist name is Judas. It's the same Judas of the Jesus' history I think..
That was a very interesting and deep tradition. In Colombia at the end of the year people used to burn a cloth doll to receive the new year but this usually happens in villages and rural areas.
what an interesting tradition! my country is somalia and we have a shared celebration with other Muslim countries, that being eid al fitr and eid al adha, one is after ramadan which is the fasting month for muslims , whrere we celebrate the end of the fasting ,the other is during the pilgrimage that muslims do every year to mecca the holy city in soudi arabia , a huge feast is done using a sacrificial cattle then is shared between the the poeple doing the pilgrimage and the rest goes to the poor people.
It was so cool to read about home traditions that people have around the world. Not leave far away bonfires, I want to tell about Ivana-Kupala. Ivana-Kupala night is on 7th of July, it is traditional pre-Christian, old-Slavic feast of east Slavs. The most horrible thing about this feast that mainly peoples they made a sacrifice by burning a person. However, over time, human sacrifice was replaced by the burning of an effigy. All of it was done for a good harvest. In general, the ceremony takes place in the following sequence: an effigy of Kupala and/or Marena is placed, around which tanks are driven and songs are sung; a bonfire is lit, over which people then jump; the effigy is torn apart; it is drowned in water or burned; wreaths are thrown into the water; tanks are driven and songs are sung all night. The central object of the celebration is the bonfire, and in some places the fire for it was obtained in an archaic way - by rubbing wood against wood. Fate was determined by the behaviour of the wreath: if it drowned, the girl who launched it would not marry. If the wreath floats well and the candle burns brightly, the girl will get married; if the wreath spins in place, she will still be a girl. If the wreath floats far and touches some shore, the girl will get married there. Most traditions now play the role of symbols and are hardly believed in or performed.
However, the fact remains that the holiday has always been considered youthful, mysterious, pleasantly disturbing and cosy. There was nothing better in the summer than spending an evening by the river, singing songs by the fire and jumping over it, or telling fortunes with girls on boys.
I do not know how to describe our country tradition. Maybe I need to read more passages about our country tradition to find how to engage this topic.
So nice to know about others traditions and customs. In my country Algeria and other Muslim countries we celebrate Eid Al Adha. In the 10th of Dhu-Alhijja (the 12th month of the Hijjri calendar), we celebrate it on the honor of Prophet Ibrahim' devotion by giving an animal which is generally a ram as a sacrifice. At the same time, Pilgrims perform Hajj rituals in Mecca.