Sitting in Europe’s southwestern corner, Portugal is a small European country that shares a border with only Spain and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its location, Portugal enjoys a robust mix of different cultures that add to the country’s unique flavor and influence its national holidays.

Strong Catholic Influence

As a result of being more or less surrounded by Spain, Portuguese holidays are strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, though there are also patriotic holidays, as well. While most countries celebrate religious holidays like Christmas and Easter, Portuguese people certainly don’t limit themselves to just the big ones and here are just a few.

• Carnival – Carnival is by no means exclusive to Portugal, though the Portuguese put their own unique spin on the 45-day long festival. Festivities can involve everything from wearing crazy masks to burning mannequins in huge bonfires.

• Assumption – Assumption celebrates the ascension of the Virgin Mary into Heaven as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. The holiday is celebrated with religious parades and some major feasting.

• All Saints Day – All Saints Day commemorates those whom are believed to have attained a perfect connection with God in Heaven. Portuguese people celebrate the holiday by giving up offerings, and many children celebrate by going door-to-door and collecting pastries and fruit.

There are other religiously themed holidays in Portugal, though the above are some of the more important ones.

Patriotic Holidays

Portuguese people are by are large very patriotic and justifiably proud of their native land. They enjoyed enormous global influence for nearly 600 years and converted into its current democracy after two violent revolutions in the 1900s.

With a history like that, patriotic holidays are to be expected!

• Freedom Day – Freedom Day celebrates the 2^nd revolution that occurred relatively recently in 1974 and overthrew the dictatorship that had ruled for 50 years previous.

• Portugal Day – Portugal Day commemorates the death of Luís de Camões, one of Portugal’s literary icons that wrote epic poems about the country.

• Republic Day – Republic Day celebrates the end of the 1^st revolution when Portugal kicked out the monarchy and switched to democracy.

There are several more nationalistic holidays, as well, though almost all of them as well as those above are celebrated the same: with generous amounts of food, fun, and fireworks.

Potuguese people enjoy a unique mix of religious and patriotic themed holidays, and, festive people that they are, certainly don’t ignore any chance to celebrate!

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South Africa is a country that has no shortage of holidays they celebrate. If you look at the lineup of South African Holidays for 2013 you will see that a lot of them are different in terms of meaning. Why might this be? Well we have to look at the make-up of a country like South Africa. The country is not comprised of one main group, although there are more of specific groups than others. But for the most part there are lots of different cultures in South Africa and the holidays there reflect this.

When you take a look at most countries you are going to see that a lot of them have very few national holidays. Most of their holidays are centered around religion and a lot of these are not celebrated by all. This can lead to lots of divisions amongst the people.  In South Africa though, you will find they have more public holidays than what you will find in most other countries. The main reason for this is because the country just has so much divisive history.

Travel to South Africa

Now just how many public holidays does South Africa have? Well there are about 12 public holidays. Whenever any of these holidays fall on a Sunday, then the Monday that comes after it is also a public holiday. Public holidays in the country are not what they used to be. In the past these public holidays were all about reflecting the beliefs of the ruling white minority government. It is nothing like this anymore. Now the government wishes for South African holidays to be for all the people in the country.

If you plan on going to South Africa to take part in some of their holidays then you will want to know where to go. The best place to focus on would be Cape Town. Cape Town always has some of the best holiday celebrations. There are numerous festivals there and also lots of rallies on all of the public holidays. Anyone can take part, as long as you know what the meaning of the public holiday is. On the  holidays in South Africa there are lots of thing people can do inside and outside. There are also annual events that take place in the mother city.

Here is a complete list of South African holidays for 2013:

The main theme for South African holidays in 2013 and the years that follow is diversity in celebrations. Should you go to the country to take part in any of their holidays be prepared for a lot of pride to be shown. But do not go unless you are really serious about taking part in their holidays. There is a lot of meaning in them, and in order for you to get the most out of them you need to understand that meaning. It should not be difficult to learn more about some of South Africa’s more important public and national holidays.

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If you are planning on celebrating some of the Russian holidays for 2013, then you will have a good selection to choose from. Those of Russian descent might already have a good idea of what their holidays are. But this might only be if they really are engrossed in their culture. Some people are of Russian descent, but might not speak the language.

Then you have some people who just are very Americanized and they have adopted the main holidays of this country. In any case, getting into Russian holidays is going to be good. The Russians really have a strong love for their holidays and this seems to be understood all over the world. They really seem to get into their holidays, but then again a lot of people around the world do.

If you really want to learn about some of the Russian holidays for 2013 you will need a complete list of what they are. Below is a complete list:

The Russians really take the opportunity to get into these holidays. One reason for this is because they do not limit what they will do in order to celebrate. Anything goes when it comes to their holiday celebrations. Russians love getting the chance to get away from the daily grind. It gives them a chance to indulge themselves in various festivities, eating and drinking.

Even though the Russian might love to celebrate wildly on their serious holidays, this does not mean they do not take the time to appreciate what the day might mean. Every holidays is special in its own way, but there are definitely some that have more meaning than others. It is not a rare event at all that certain holidays will differ when it comes to their attributes or what they might mean.

The assortment of holidays in Russia are designed to present a blend of the old and new, religious and secular, professional as well as private. Their national holidays are made to reflect multicolored Russian history. Christian traditions were mixed with pagan ones and as a result they are strongly associated  with the seasons and agricultural cycle. Holidays that represent the church are mixed those introduced during the communist regime.

The good thing about all of this is the Russians do not seem to mind at all. Each Russian holiday in 2013 is going to be celebrated. One more thing, if a holiday falls on a weekend then people get an additional day off of work. The reason for this is because it is considered bad for people to miss a day off because a holiday falls on a weekend.

The Russia holidays for 2013 do not have to be limited to those who are of Russian Descent. Anyone who wants to learn about them can do so and this will open their minds to different cultures. Learning about any one of the holidays included in the list in this article is easy. But it might be better for people to focus on holidays that are deemed most important, because there will be lots more information on these.

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In certain countries the holidays they have are not really big news. Maybe for a few of the more serious religious holidays people  might really take them seriously. Other than this, holidays come and go without much fanfare in a lot of countries. In New Zealand this is not the case. When serious national holidays come along in New Zealand they are indeed big news. Should you ever decide to go down there during this time you will see just how serious they are when it seems like everything has come to a standstill.

What They Mean To The People

In New Zealand it is not all about just the national holidays. The public holidays also get a lot of attention. People down there seem to travel a lot on these days. So if you were to decide to go on vacation, this will mean you will have a difficult time getting around in a car. It might be a good idea for you to either avoid coming during certain times or make sure you have made plans to deal with the traffic.

Now what about the public holidays in New Zealand for 2013? These are the days that you think people would not really celebrate. One reason would be because they have to work on these days. When people have been at work all day the last thing they want to do when they get off is expend any more energy. This is certainly the case in America. Well in New Zealand, the people summon up the energy for some of their more serious public holidays. This means even if they have to work on these days they will still commit special time to observe certain public holidays.

Here is a complete list of New Zealand holidays for 2013:

From the short list above you can see that there are not too many holidays overall in New Zealand. But there are public holidays celebrated that are not mentioned. These might take place in certain parts of the country and are not widespread enough to be mentioned. You can take the time to learn about them though by going to the main tourist website for the country.

The main focus in New Zealand though is for their national holidays. These are the days where you are going to see great displays of celebration. The people there are of different cultures, so there might be different ways they celebrate. However, people come together to share in the pride they have for their country on the days that count.

Seeing as how there are so few New Zealand holidays in 2013, it should not be too hard for you to learn about them. A thorough understanding of these holidays will make you decide if you want to experience any of them up close and personal. You can also learn which ones have the most significance and why they are paid extra attention to when they come around.

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At first it might seem like there would not be too many holidays in Mexico, but there actually are. Understand that Mexico is a Catholic

country. So because of this they observe a lot of the Catholic days of obligation in the country. Plus, they have their own holidays that are unique to only them. Factor in a few American holidays that they also celebrate and you have a nice mix.

Here is a complete list of the Mexican Holidays for 2013:

There are things you can do in order to keep up with a lot of Mexican holidays in 2013. Most of the focus will revolve around the Catholic holidays seeing as how there are so many of them.

The first thing you can do would be making a note of all the Catholic holidays America has. This is important, because as you can see from the list above, Mexico has a lot of the same ones. The country is Catholic so this should be easy. All you would need to learn is if there is a slightly different meaning associated with each one. This is best learned by asking someone at a Mexican Catholic church. They would be able to really help you.

Now what you would want to do is make sure if you live in American and you will be celebrating Mexican holidays that you are celebrating them on the right day. Just because some Catholic holidays fall on certain days in America does not mean they will fall on the same days in Mexico. So do some research. You can always make reference to the list above just to be sure or you can speak to a leader of a Spanish church.

The next thing you want to do is make sure you are celebrating specific holidays the way they are supposed to be celebrated. Yes, in America certain Catholic holidays are celebrated a certain way. But if you are of Mexican descent you want to be sure the way you celebrate these days correlate with the way they are celebrated in your country. This is even more so if you plan on going down there for one of these holidays.

Lastly, taking the focus off of Mexican holidays in 2013 that are Catholic, you want to make sure you know what American holidays Mexico shares. A lot of  holiday dates vary in Mexico, as they do in the States. But for the most part a lot of the mainstream holidays are going to be on the same dates unless you learn otherwise.

The Mexican holidays for 2013 are going to be better than ever. If you are of Mexican descent be sure to share knowledge about them to other people who might not know of these special holidays. There are website with more complete information  on the many holidays if you are interested in learning more as well. A lot of the holidays that were mentioned on the list were not national holidays, but a nice number of them are.

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The U.S holidays for 2013 have never been more important. It seems like people are facing more uncertainty then they ever had, and one thing that keeps them together is the anticipation of certain holidays. People were starting to get away from taking the time to celebrate these all important days. Yes, there are some days that are more important than other. However, all of them offer you the chance to relax and get yourself in a good mood, if not just for a short while.

Setting aside time for US holidays 2013

Understand that people are so busy with school, work, and other obligations that they do not get any real time to spend with people they really care about. The only time they might see family and friends is on the weekends for short periods of time. Maybe they might only see them when they are dead tired from other things. The U.S holidays offer them a chance to spend time with family and friends that they would otherwise not get a chance to.

What you do when you spend the holidays with family is friends is create memories. These memories are what you are going to need in the future to help you get through rough patches. When you feel depressed you can call on memories from the holidays. When you feel anxious you can call on memories from the holidays. When you just feel down about life altogether you can call upon holiday memories to get you through these times.

Not all U.S holidays for 2013 are going to be ones where you get off of work or school so you can spend time with friends and family. This does not mean that you cannot take the time to enjoy them anyway.

Here is a complete list of all the U.S holidays for 2013:

January 1          Tuesday            New Year’s Day 2013

January 21        Monday            Martin Luther King Day 2013

January 24        Thursday           Belly Laugh Day 2013

February 2        Saturday           Groundhog Day 2013

February 12       Tuesday            Lincoln’s Birthday 2013

February 12       Tuesday            Mardi Gras Carnival (New Orleans) 2013

February 14       Thursday           Valentine’s Day 2013     -

February 18       Monday            Presidents Day and Washington’s Birthday 2013

March 10           Sunday              Daylight Saving (Start) 2013

March 17           Sunday              St. Patrick’s Day 2013

March 29           Friday                Good Friday 2013

March 31           Sunday              Easter 2013

April 1                Monday           April Fool’s Day 2013

April 1                Monday           Easter Monday 2013

April 22              Monday           Earth Day 2013

May 5                Sunday                Cinco de Mayo 2013

May 12              Sunday                Mother’s Day 2013

May 18              Saturday          Armed Forces Day 2013

May 19              Sunday             Pentecost 2013

May 20              Monday           Pentecost Monday 2013

May 27              Monday           Memorial Day 2013

June 14              Friday                Flag Day 2013

June 16              Sunday              Father’s Day 2013

July 4                 Thursday          Independence Day 2013

July 28               Sunday              Parents’ Day 2013

September 2     Monday            Labor Day 2013

September 8     Sunday              Grandparents’ Day 2013

September 11    Wednesday       Patriot Day or September 11th 2013

September 16   Monday            Stepfamily Day 2013

September 17   Tuesday            Citizenship Day 2013

September 27   Friday                Native American Day 2013

October 14        Monday            Columbus Day 2013

October 16        Wednesday       Boss’s Day 2013

October 19        Saturday           Sweetest Day 2013

October 31        Thursday           Halloween 2013

November 3      Sunday              Daylight Saving (End) 2013

November 11     Monday            Veterans’ Day 2013

November 28    Thursday           Thanksgiving 2013

November 29    Friday                Black Friday 2013

December 2      Monday            Cyber Monday 2013

December 7      Saturday           Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2013

December 25    Wednesday       Christmas Day 2013

December 31    Tuesday            New Year’s Eve 2013

As you can see there are a lot of U.S holidays for 2013. You can pick and choose the ones you will devote the most time and energy to. Chances are there are some that have more meaning to you than others, and you can keep on creating more this year.

Right now the world overall seems pretty gloomy and it is easy to get depressed or down about it. But you do not have to let this happen. Granted, at the moment the U.S might not be in the best economic shape. It might not be a time to be really optimistic. It might not be a time to feel enthusiastic. None of this means that you cannot get into the holiday spirit though.

In the U.S we need holidays more than we ever did in order to refocus and appreciate what really matters in life. We need them so we can lighten up for a while and get a break from the harsh realities of the world. The U.S holidays in 2013 offer you a perfect chance to do this. Start making special plans now so you are well prepared.

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Some of the holidays change dates but a lot of them stay the same. Canadian holidays for 2013 are going to be celebrated with the same zest that they are always celebrated. But before we get into the complete list of Canadian holidays for 2013, we need to learn exactly what holidays are taken the most seriously and why.

Now the first thing you have to understand about Canada is that they are not too different from the United States when it comes to holidays. In fact, a lot of the holidays in America are also celebrated there. There are a few holidays though that are unique to Canada, and most people who are not from the country have never heard of them before. These unique Canadian holidays differ when it comes to the way they are celebrated, the dates they fall on, or what they mean to the country as a whole.

Similar to the United States, Canada recognizes a number of Christian holidays. This means they celebrate Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. There is one big different in Canada then what you will find in the United States though. In the United States people do not get that much time to celebrate these days. People might get maybe a day or two off of work. In Canada it is different. People are given several more days off to spend with family and friends.

An example of this would be the Monday after Easter takes place. The Monday is an official holiday. Also, the day right after Christmas is an official holiday called Boxing Day. In the United States the day after these two Christian holidays are a time of dread, because it means people have to get back to work.

In Canada Thanksgiving is also celebrated, but not in the same way it is celebrated in the States. In Canada it comes about from a different set of circumstances and it also is celebrated on a different date then it is in the U.S. In Canada, thanks is given on the second Monday in October. It is given because of the 1872 recovery of the Prince of Wales from a bad illness.

Now that we have discussed some of the holidays celebrated in Canada, lets have a full look at Canadian holidays for 2013.

As you can see there are some similarities to U.S holidays, but then there are some major differences. In any case, the Canadian holidays for 2013 are something you can choose to take part in or not. Maybe you just want to learn more about them, and knowing what they are gives you a chance to do this. You do not have to be Canadian in order to learn about and appreciate the unique holidays they have. Take the time to educate yourself or ask someone who is Canadian about these holidays.

The post Canadian Holidays 2013 – Exactly What Holidays Are Celebrated? appeared first on The World Events.

There are a lot of Indian holidays in 2013. It is the same as it is in the United States when it comes to this. Meaning there are a lot of holidays, but not all of them are as important as others. The unique thing about India is that they have a very mixed culture. What exactly does this mean as far as celebrating holidays goes? Well lets look at the United States for example. There are lots of cultures who all have a unique set of beliefs and values. Even though some of them celebrate American holidays, not all of them are celebrated depending what group they belong to.

India is the same way. There are a lot of different people in the country and a lot of them have very different ways of living. A lot of people in India do not follow the same religion, even though from the outside looking in it might appear this way. One thing is certain though, they all share a very common Indian nature. This means they all will pay respect to the major Indian holidays for 2013.

The Indian holidays are many. In fact, there is such a wide variety of Indian holidays that they are just called Festivals and celebrations. Every year there are about 43 festivals that are celebrated through India. This is especially true in places like Mumbai. Some of these celebrations are for the birthdays of well respected Indians that have passed away such as Mahatama Ghandi. The most popular and some of the most well known festivals in India would be Diwali, Holi and Durga Purja.

Here is the complete list of Indian holidays for 2013:

There are some Indian holidays that are similar to American ones such as Christmas and New Years Eve. Make no mistake about it though, the bulk of holidays celebrated in India are unique to the country. The meanings of all of these holidays would be very tough to explain in such a short period of time, but what you can do is take the time to learn about some of the more important ones. Pongal for instance would be a good one. Rath Yatra would also be a good one.

Exercise patience if you decide to learn about the Indian holidays. A lot of them are going to include names of people you may have never heard of or just names that will be next to impossible to pronounce. But as you learn more about the Indian Holidays you will come to appreciate them and maybe even decide to visit the country in the future so you can be a part of some of the more popular ones.

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Eid ul Fitr 2013 is going to be celebrated on Thursday, the 8^th of August this year.  If you are hoping to take part in it then you need to know exactly how it is celebrated though. This will help you to prepare yourself and you will also have a deeper appreciation for the day.

How You Can Prepare And Celebrate It

Eid ul Fitr represents the end of the month of Ramadan. This is a month where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. During these times they are not allowed to eat any food, nor are they allowed to drink anything while it is still daytime out.

The reason why fasting is so important to the Muslims is because of what it represents. It represents sacrifice. Sacrifice is a way to show appreciation or a way to show a certain level of commitment. Fasting also means self-restraint and purification. You might not want to take part in the fast that leads up to Eid ul Fitr 2013, but it will make the day have a lot more meaning for you if you did. Muslims in the states who are serious will follow the month of Ramadan.

Not only is the month leading up to Eid ul Fitr about fasting, but it is also a way to pay respect. During this times Muslims take part in 5 daily prayers and there are a number of family gatherings held during the night for the Iftari. Iftari means the breaking of the fast.

Eid ul Fitr is is the ending of the month long fasting as already stated. Muslims look at this as a reward for all they have gone through during this time. So this means when they get the chance to celebrate they make sure they celebrate hard. Eid does not start though until the sighting of the new moon. But once it does take place it is a happy occasion for all. It is a time to spread about happiness, love and other positive emotions.

In 2013 like other years, Eid ul Fitr is going to be celebrated with a great sense of enthusiasm and energy. People are going to do some of the things they have always done such as decorating their houses or making nice tasting sweets in order to celebrate the festival. This is something you might want to think about doing in order to celebrate Eid ul Fitr.

One of the best ways for you to celebrate Eid would be for you to make sure you wear new clothes. New clothes represent purification. Seeing as how you would have just completed a month of fasting, the new clothes are appropriate. There should also be special prayer ceremonies in nearby mosques you can take part in.

Another thing you might want to do in order to celebrate Eid ul Fitr 2013 would be to give gifts and cards to family and friends. The gifts do not have to be elaborate, just colorful and thoughtful. They should be in line with what the holiday represents in order to give them meaning.

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Rath Yatra 2013 is going to take place this year on July 10^th, Wednesday. Those who have never gone to the festival will appreciate the event. It takes place in the town of Puri, which is a temple town in Orissa. It is located on the east coast of India. On Rath Yatra, the deities of  the Jaganath temple Lord Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra are paraded around in colorful clothing and accessories. They are inside of chariots called raths, and these are pulled by countless devotees who believe they will be rewarded for their efforts.

What are the preparations for the Rath Yatra festival?

You would be surprised at the amount of preparation that goes into Rath Yatra. The preparations actually begin several months in advance. First, the chariots to be used must be properly prepared.

The chariots used the previous year are no good. Every wooden chariot created has to be made new and it has to follow very strict religious specifications. The idols of all three deities are also created from wood, and they have to be religiously replaced with new ones after about 12 years.

How does the festival begin?

The festival starts with the Ratha Prathistha or what is called an invoking ceremony in the morning. However, Ratha Tana or chariot pulling is the most fun part of the festival. This starts up late in the afternoon when the chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhdra start rolling.

Every one of these carriages has different specifications that have to be met. The chariot for Lord Jagannath is called Nandighosa. It has 18 wheels and is about 23 cubits high. The chariot of Balabhardra is called Taladhvajahas, and it has 16 wheels and is about 22 cubits high.

Then you have Devadalana, which is the chariot of Subhadra. It has 14 wheels and it is about 21 cubits high. All of these chariots are not plain looking at all. They are all draped with very colorful clothing to make them look nice. They are also decorated using an assortment of different accessories that give them a glamorous look.

Even though pulling the chariots is hard to do, you would be surprised at how many devoted people turn up each year in order to do it. The reason why is because it is considered to be a very pious deed.

However, this is not the only reason. So many people are willing to pull the chariots because of what they believe it will do for them. It is said that touching any part of them is equal to going through a number of different cleansing rituals. One touch is supposed to cleanse the human soul and release it from all sins.

If you want to go to Rath Yatra 2013, then you should start preparing now by making accommodations. The festival does not last that long, but it is an experience you will not forget. The people are friendly and the atmosphere is really vibrant.

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