Why wait a year for your next New Year’s Eve?

by Brett Atkinson on

How was New Year’s Eve in your neck of the woods?

If you were a little disappointed with how it turned out, don’t wait a full year before your next opportunity for end of year shenanigans. Just hop on a plane/train/taxi or chartered donkey and head overseas to intercept the coming of the new year in a different culture.

Chinese New Year kicks off on February 7 in 2008. Welcome to the Year of the Rat.

Around March 21, the Persian New Year or Nowruz is celebrated in Iran and across Central Asia. The traditional meal is Sabzi Polo Mahi, rice with green herbs and fish.

The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand celebrate Matariki or Maori New Year on June 5 2008. In the 21st century Matariki has been celebrated with renewed interest.

The Ethiopian New Year or Enkutatash falls on September 11. Because the Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the western calendar, the Millennium was only celebrated in Ethiopia last year.

That’s by no means a definitive list. Let us know about other opportunities for celebrating the New Year in other cultures and countries.

Thanks to kenyaoa on Flickr for the pic of Times Square

India’s Sticks and Dance Festival in Modern Times

by Abha Malpani on

In India, the concept of BYOB (bring-your-own-beer) is unheard of, but BYO Sticks is commonplace. I can’t believe I’ve called one of India’s most fun and celebrated festivals one of ‘Sticks and Dance,’ but truth be told, that’s exactly what it is.

During these nine-nights of Navratri (this year 12-20 October — depending in the moon), huge tents are set up throughout the country and people get together to dance ‘dandiya’ (dance with sticks). If you have watched any Bollywood films and wondered if we dance like that in India, the answer is yes — in weddings and in this festival.

As with most Hindu festivals, hundreds and thousands of people go to pray on the occasions; stampedes happen and people die, (in a country of over a billion, these things are unfortunately commonplace) but in general they are happy celebrations. People get together in traditional outfits or fused-modern ones, and as long as you have two foot-size wooden sticks and are willing to hit other peoples foot-size wooden sticks to the beat of drums, you are more than welcome.

This festival is probably India’s most joyous; attendance levels at work and educational institutions are low and political campaigns take a step back as they know people are too busy hitting each others sticks till the wee hours of the morning; except in Mumbai perhaps where open air fiesta has to shut at midnight. I laughed out loud when I read that in Mumbai, dancing is only permitted until midnight because of the noise levels, but dandiya venues managed to overcome that problem by offering guests headphones to wear while they dance!

Great time to visit India if you want enjoy rocking to Indian music and want to experience the cultural partying scene of the Indian youth.

Stonehenge Solstice Celebrations

by Willy Volk on

Broadly speaking, summer solstice — the longest day of the year, in the northern hemisphere, at least — is a time to celebrate the arrival of warm weather; the impending harvest; and — for some — the birds and the bees. Perhaps more than any other place on earth, summer solstice is associated with Stonehenge and Druids.

I don’t know if the all people who celebrate summer solstice at Stonehenge today are Druids — they look a lot the hippies I went to college with — but their celebrations look like fun. Generally speaking, they feature a lot of dancing and singing and didgeridoo’ing and jumping around. There’s some standing around, too, waiting for the sun to rise. It looks something like this:
But it also looks somewhat more peaceful, serene — and even mystical. Here’s a two-part series showing the celebrations. This is probably more what I had in mind when I think “summer solstice” and “Stonehenge.” Part I:
Part II:
Thee guys are definitely NOT Druids — or hippies:

This happens, too — but I don’t know why the revelers need to be naked:
If you put the right kind of music on, the celebration seems more mystical:

I’m not sure how “mystical” the event is, though:
In the end, a lot of people show up — including King Arthur!

Santa Barbara’s Summer Solstice Celebration

by Willy Volk on

This Thursday, June 21, is the Summer Solstice (or June Solstice, or Northern Solstice, or whatever you want to call it). The fact is, Thursday is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

Since most of us will be toiling at work on that long day, the organizers of the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration wisely decided to schedule their solstice celebration for Saturday, June 23. Sure, the day is a tad bit shorter — but Saturdays just feel more like party-days, don’t they?

Begun in 1974, today the Parade is the largest, single-day arts event in Santa Barbara County, drawing crowds of over 100,000 spectators from around the world. The theme of the Celebration for 2007 is “Stars.”

In addition to a parade — which features 1000+ starry-eyed participants, extravagant star-shaped floats, and whimsical star-inspired costumes — the event sports a festival with lots of star-themed crafts and food (star fruit, anyone?). Want an idea of what the event is like? Check the gallery of images from the past few years.

Sounds like fun: I’ll give it a gold star.

[Thanks, Michelle!]

Photo of the Day (9/30/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on


This picture totally reminds me of My Favorite Martian for some very odd reason. Could it be all the three-eyed alien like figures? Hmm… Out of the Gadling Flickr pool – SunToad took this one almost a year ago at a Halloween celebration in Tokyo Disneyland. While it’s still rather early to think about Halloween I thought the glowing eyes and lights and overall cuteness of the creatures deserved a moment of fame. Besides it makes me think of traveling out of this world.