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So cool to read about everyone's home tradition they miss the most! I'm from England but I've been living in the States for five years and the thing I miss the most is Bonfire Night on November 5th.
The best thing about Bonfire Night is the fireworks, oh, and the bonfires! … and the history behind it. Basically, Guy Fawkes and his friends tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. They nearly did it too – they hired a room under the House of Parliament and filled it with explosives. But someone told the royal palace. The authorities found Guy Fawkes in the room guarding the explosives, and he was sentenced to torture and death.
So it's a tradition that celebrates the fact that the king survived. It also means people don't forget what happens if you plot against your country. There's a kind of poem about it that starts 'Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.' That's why we build a 'guy' – a life-size model of Guy Fawkes – and burn it on the bonfire. Pretty dark and horrible when you think about it!
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It is great to read about your tradition. I would like to experience it someday because it is very famous in South America. I am from Colombia, and our most famous tradition is the 'Flower Festival'. This tradition is celebrated from August 1st to 10th every year. There are many events, but the best one is the 'Flower Parade', where people carry wooden frames on their backs called 'silletas', decorated with beautiful and varied flowers. They also write messages about life, the environment, and other topics. People vote for the best 'silleta', and the government awards prizes to the winners. During those days, there are also other events, such as concerts, classic car parades, and antique car exhibition
There are several traditions in our country, aren’t there? I'm from Mexico too! I think Independence Day is another important day to remember. It’s quite similar to Bonfire Night because we also have fireworks all day.
Wow, there are so many home traditions around the world. In Vietnam, we have one too. It's beautiful, fun and a little bit weird: traditional Tet cleaning rules.
As you may know, Vietnamese people - along with some communities in Asia such as Chinese, Singaporeans, and Korean - also celebrate the Lunar New Year based on the lunar calendar.
In Vietnam, we call the Lunar New Year 'Tet'. It's the biggest celebration of the year, marked by many traditional customs and rituals - one of them is 'cleaning'.
Before New Year's Eve, the house must to be cleaned from top to bottom - especially the 'bàn thờ tổ tiên', the ancestral altar where we place old framed photos or tablets to honor and remember our ancestors. This tradition is meant to sweep away the dirt (and bad luck) of the old year and welcome good fortune in the new one. However, during the first 3 days of the new year, sweeping is avoided, even if the house becomes a bit dirty, because it's believed that doing so could sweep away good luck.
This can sometimes lead to funny situations, which we call 'National Cleaning Days'. You clean your house together with your family, and the street with your neighbors. It's tiring but fun. And during Tet, if you accidentally sweep the house, you might get in trouble with he elders.
It's so wonderful to read about everyone's traditions.I am from Myanmar but I've been living in Korea for five years.I miss my country's traditions and foods very much. Myanmar is very famous for its delicious cuisine and beautiful cultures. We have many festivals, with the most famous being The Water Festival, aslo known as Thingyan and Thadingyut Festival. We celebrate water festival in April.During water festival, we make a lot of delicious foods that everyone can enjoy all the food while participating the festival. We splash water on each other and some visit to the monasteries to perform good deeds . The water festival is celebrated to cleanse away the bad things and welcome The Myanmar new year with good luck.You can also enjoy traditional dance performances at night.The Water Festival brings back many childhood memories for me. Therefore it's the festival I miss the most when I am away from home.
It is fascinating to read about other countries’ traditions. I am from Myanmar, which was called Burma in the 90s. Our country, Myanmar, has many traditions according to each month. Among them, I like the Thadigyut festival most. The Thadingyut festival, also known as the Lightening festival, is held on the full moon day of the Burmese Lunar month of Thadingyut. As a custom, it is held at the end of the Buddhist Subbath (Vassa) and is the second most famous festival in Myanmar after Thingyan festival (Myanmar New Year festival). People enlighten and festoon he streets, houses, and public buildings with candles, colored electric bulbs for three days, which are the day before the full moon day, the full moon day, and the day after the full moon day. Children play with firecrackers during the festival. On full moon day, some people go to pagodas and monasteries to pay homage to the Triple Gems, pay respect to monks, and offer food. Young people usually pay respect to their parents, teachers, and elderly relatives and offer them some fruits and other gifts. Also, while paying homage, the younger people usually ask for forgiveness for the wrongdoings they have caused to their parents or the other elderly relatives throughout the year. Traditionally, the elders tell their youngsters that they forgive any of their wrongdoings and continue to bless them with good luck and gift pocket money. It is also usual for younger siblings to pay homage to their older siblings. In return, the elder ones wish good luck for them and give them some pocket money.
What a story! I've never heard anything like that. Maybe in Italy we are less cruel :) But in Central Italy, there are many festivals and historical events that celebrate the Medieval era. In these festivals, the participants usually dress like average medieval people and play funny games to recreate the medieval atmosphere.
It's so cool to read about other countries' traditions! I'm from Colombia, and there, we celebrate a similar tradition in December.
We make a little rag doll that represents everything that happened during the year, especially the bad things.
On December 31st, after meeting with our family and having New Year's Eve dinner, we burn the rag doll, which we call the "Old Year doll." It symbolizes leaving behind all the negative things from the year.
This way, we’re ready to welcome the new year and everything it may bring.
That’s a tradition from my country, and many of my friends who live abroad also make the rag doll and celebrate this tradition in the country where they live.
Hello, everyone! I am Alina from Romania and I have read your comments. Man, You are brutal with that Guy Fawkes !! One Romanian tradition is that we slaughter lamb on Easter or a day before. I do not understand that and I'm not a big fan of lamb meat.
BYE Y'ALL
Hello everyone :). I am reading comments about your countries and it is so fascinating.
My name is Marijana and I am from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country in Europe.
I am a Serbian and we have many different traditions about the wedding day, in fact, each city has different traditions. When the bride arrives at the groom's house, before entering the house, she should take an apple, and throw it over the roof of the house.If it works the first time, there is a belief, they will be very happy in marriage. <3