Lantern Festival

As mentioned in a previous post, the Lantern Festival marks the 15th and final day of the Chinese New Year celebration. This festival is also known as the Yuan-Xiao Festival or Shangyuan Festival. This particular event officially ends the New Year festivities.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple in design, and only the emperor and noblemen had ornate lanterns. Now, lanterns are more embellished with various and complex designs. Many lanterns are made in the shapes of animals. The lanterns are said to symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and starting anew.

There are many different beliefs and legends about the origins of the Lantern Festival. A lot of them tend to focus more on ancient mythology.

In modern practice, the Lantern Festival is a major celebration during the Chinese New Year. There are many lanterns released to give the illusion of a virtual ocean of lights. The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 38-meter-high pole, with fireworks spewing from its mouth. Another popular activity at this festival is guessing lantern riddles. These often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant harvest, prosperity, and love.

picture found on qoolwellstuff.blogspot.com

Holi, Holi, Holi!

This is the celebration I've been most anticipating for so many reasons. There is so much I could say about this event simply because the culture that it originated in is very rich and filled with a long history.

Honestly, I have no first-hand experience with the culture or this celebration, but I will do my best to describe it in some detail while containing my excitement.

Holi is a religious festival held every year among the Hindu people to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring. It does have some religious meaning as well present in Hindu mythology. The event is also known as The Festival of Colors which represents many colors of spring. During the festival people throw colored powder at each other.

While Holi is a Hindu festival, it is celebrated in many other places across the world. It has even come to my university (UCO) and will be held on April 9th! I have never participated in this celebration, but I think this is my year!

I wish I had more insight on this festival because it definitely shares a "colorful" side to an already diverse culture. But here's a blog from someone who has a different perspective than mine here.

UPDATE: UCO's Holi Festival has been moved to April 11th due to weather. Hope to see ya there!

Carnevale di Venezia

What is it about wearing a costume that feels liberating? That grants a certain freedom? The freedom from ourselves and to be anyone, or anything, we want to be. The disguise seems to give us power and mystique -- to tell us, "Anything is possible."

In America, the possibilities are endless for just the one night in October, but at Carnevale in Italy, playful mischief runs rampant in the cobbled streets of Venice.

Piazza San Marco is usually the place to be during the weeks of Carnevale where people of all shapes, all sizes, and all colors of the spectrum are seen. Venetians will go out of their way to impress both the locals and the tourists with their elaborately decorative masks and dress, walking the streets and posing for pictures. But Carnevale is more than that.

History of Carnevale

The celebrations of carnevale are rumored believed to have began after the victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima" -- or Venice at that time -- against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia, in 1162. Rejoicing, the Venetians celebrated their victory in San Marco Square.

The dancing and dressing up in rich and colorful garments went on for several centuries until the 17th century. And if today's standards of Carnevale are any indication, sounds like that would have been one helluva party in that time! Unfortunately, the festival met its decline in the 18th century.

After a long absence, the carnival returned in 1979. The Italian government decided to bring back the festivities to share Venezia's culture and history by using Carnevale as the centerpiece for their efforts. Today, around 3 million visitors attend the event of the festival.

Behind the Mask

Wearing masks is a common practice during Carnevale and are traditionally worn from December 26th to Shrove Tuesday (we may commonly call this "Fat" Tuesday) just before the start of Lent.

Here are some common masks worn at Carnevale:

The Bauta

The Columbina

Medico della Peste

The Moretta

The Volto (Larva)

Let the Celebrations Begin

The huge "Festa Veneziana" sets the stage for the beginning of Carnevale, inviting guests in with poetry, music, and colors on the banks of Cannaregio.

The Best Masked Costume Contest is held twice daily throughout Carnevale at the Gran Teatro of Piazza San Marco. Here, parades, street artists, masked groups and traditional dancers perform on the stage of the Gran Teatro.

The parade of the "Marie's" to San Marco Square

Another one of the many activities of Carnevale is the "Festa delle Marie." Traditionally, the Venetian Doge would offer extravagant jewelry as a bridal dowry to 12 beautiful Venetian maidens every year. These maidens are considered to be the most beautiful in all of Venice.

The festivities during Carnevale are not in short supply with everything to entertain you. Music, singing, dancing and, of course, mischief are around every corner of the winding narrow streets of Venice. But with all of the activities going on there is only one rule to keep in mind: Carnevale ogni scherzo vale ~ Anything goest at Carnevale...

NOTE: NONE of these photos were taken by me nor do they belong to me.