As with any season, there are multiple holidays throughout the world & Spring is no different. Let's take a moment to discuss them & learn something new.
Before we do, we wish you a happy whatever you choose to celebrate. Now, onto the holidays...
Some of the holidays are religious in nature. Easter & Passover being prime examples that are celebrated in a variety of ways world wide. (Easter being a Christian tradition & Passover based in Judaism.)
Holi also has a religious component, being celebrated by Hindus. It originated in India but spread throughout Asia & the western world as Indians have immigrated. The religious component is the celebration of the divine love of Indian deities Radha & Krishna. Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring/the end of Winter in India, as well as functions as an invocation of a good Spring harvest season. Holi is also known as the Festival of Colors, when brightly colored celebrations take place out in the streets!
Nowruz is the start of the Iranian calendar, which is the Solar Hijri calendar, coinciding with the Spring equinox. Nowruz has been historically observed by Iranian peoples but has expanded. It was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. House cleaning is normally done before the arrival of Nowruz, along with buying new clothes & flowers for the new year. During the Nowruz holidays, people are expected to make short visits to the homes of family, friends and neighbors. Typically, young people will visit their elders first, and the elders return their visit later. Visitors are offered tea and pastries, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and mixed nuts or other snacks. Traditional dishes include Samanu, a sweet paste made from germinated wheat & wheat flour prepared in a large pot. Another common dish is sabzi polo, a dish of rice & chopped herbs.
Another new year celebration is the Songkran Water Festival in Thailand. Songkran is usually celebrated from April 13 through April 15, which also means that this holiday takes place at the height of the Thai summer. It is a break from work and an opportunity to hit the road, with many traveling back to their hometowns to reconnect with family & friends. Pouring water is a significant act during Songkran, symbolizing cleansing, reverence, & good fortune. Activities include bathing important Buddha images, splashing water on family & friends, folk plays, games, music, & feasting. In 2023, UNESCO also added Songkran to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
For those of us who love a good food related holiday, Bosnia has a holiday called Cimburijada, which is the Festival of Scrambled Eggs. It is celebrated on the first day of Spring in the town of Zenica, Bosnia. Residents gather together & share a communal meal of scrambled eggs. The Festival of Scrambled Eggs ends up being shared food & shared drinks, amongst friends & family, all while listening to music.
The last Spring Holiday we would like to mention is the Qingming Festival, which is also known as Tomb Sweeping Day. It is a day in China when people traditionally visit ancestral tombs to sweep them. For thousands of years, Chinese citizens of all socio-economic backgrounds have gathered to remember the lives of the departed & to perform the Confucian familial piety by tomb sweeping, perform groundskeeping & maintenance, to pray for their ancestors, & to offer remembrances.
Regardless of how we slice it, holidays throughout Springtime are community based - whether it is friends & family or just getting out to touch grass & be merry. As usual, food plays a big part of the holidays.
So, go outside, play in the water, spend time with friends and family, check in on your elders, have fun with the kids in your life. And don't forget to stop by the library - find a program or two that you want to invite a friend to attend!
