The Moon Festival – Mid-Autumn Festival (also called the Mooncake Festival) falls on September 19th in 2013. What is the Moon festival? Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate “zhong qiu jie.” Children are told the story of the …

Pinjore Heritage Festival – One of the oldest yet well maintained Mughal Gardens of the world, Yadavindra Garden was the venue for the first ever Pinjore Heritage Festival. The festival was cerebrated with great enthusiasm and glory. The festival was organized to promote the rich cultural and historical tradition of the region. The Pinjore Heritage Festival in Pinjore, Haryana is …

O-Shogatsu – Japanese New Year, unfolds over 3 days starting on January 1st, and is an official national holiday. The Japanese New Year is a three-day series of community and family events revolving around themes of good fortune and “firsts.” Many O-Shogatsu rituals are celebrated in a community and family context and there is little emphasis on sharing them with …

The Boxing Day is celebrated as a public holiday or bank holiday in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada, United Kingdom and several countries in Commonwealth of Nations with Christian people. In South Africa this holiday is known as the Day of Goodwill. Boxing Day History The Boxing Day originated in England in the midst of 19th century under the …

Hampi Utsav, also known as the Vijaya Utsav, Festival of Hampi has been celebrated from the times of the Vijayanagar reign. This event has been reiterated as the “Nada Utsava” by the Government of Karnataka. Hampi being a World Heritage Site is a international tourist spot. This festival is attributes to the mega cultural extravaganza, held from 3rd November to 5th …

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a 4 day event held 60 miles outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It began in 2002 and has quickly grown to be one of the country’s premier festivals. Traditionally the focus has been jam bands with a fair sprinkling of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock and pop. In recent years the lineup has branched out a …

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Day — Honoring a Civil Rights Leader Who Gave His Life For Justice. A federal U.S. holiday on January 21, but it’s not a holiday in India. Martin Luther King Day pays tribute to the best-known leader of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. King fought to see racial justice and equality become a …

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after …

Passover celebrates the Jewish exodus from Egypt, which is considered the pivotal event in the history of the Jewish people. Date Passover, called Pesach in Hebrew, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, generally between late March and mid-April, and continues for seven days. In Jewish communities outside of Israel (the Diaspora) it lasts …

Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day — Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. The name Shrove comes from the old middle English word ‘Shriven’ meaning to go to confession to say sorry for the wrong things you’ve done. Lent always starts on a Wednesday, so people went to confessions on the day before. This became known as …