Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, known in modern Chinese as the "Spring Festival" is an important
Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.
Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern
Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of the New Year falls on the
new moon between 21 January and 20 February In 2017, the first day of the Chinese New
Year is on Saturday, 28 January.
The New Year festival is centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and
traditions. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Chinese
New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations,
including Mainland China, Hong Kong Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, and the Philippines. Chinese New Year is considered a major
holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar New Year celebrations of its
geographic neighbours.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese New
Year vary widely. Often, the evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for
Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to
thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good
incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-
cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and
"longevity". Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper
envelopes.
Australia Day

Australia Day is the official National Day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it
marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port
Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britainat Sydney Cove by
Governor Arthur Phillip. In present-day Australia, celebrations reflect the diverse society and
landscape of the nation, and are marked by community and family events, reflections on
Australian history, official community awards, and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new
immigrants into the Australian community.
The meaning and significance of Australia Day has evolved over time. Unofficially, or
historically, the date has also been variously named "Anniversary Day", "Foundation Day", and
"ANA Day". 26 January 1788 marked the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern
seaboard of Australia (then known as New Holland). Although it was not known as Australia
Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with
the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales held in 1818. On New Year's
Day 1901, the British colonies of Australia formed a Federation, marking the birth of modern
Australia. A national day of unity and celebration was looked for. It was not until 1935 that all
Australian states and territories had adopted use of the term "Australia Day" to mark the date,
and not until 1994 that the date was consistently marked by a public holiday on that day by all
states and territories.
In contemporary Australia, the holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the
Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honours list and
addresses from the Governor-General and Prime Minister. It is an official public holiday in
every state and territory of Australia, unless it falls on a weekend in which case the following
Monday becomes a public holiday instead. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship
ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation.
Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia.
Some Indigenous Australian events are now included. However, since at least 1938[7] Australia
Day has also been marked by some Indigenous Australians protesting what they see as the
invasion of their land by Europeans, and its celebration as a national holiday. They prefer to
call it "Invasion Day" or "Survival Day" and advocate that, alternatively, the date should be
changed.
Children's Day

Children's Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world to
honor children globally. Children's Day began the second Sunday of June in 1856 by the
Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea,
Mass. That Sunday of June Dr. Leonard held a special service just for children to Dedicate
them. Dr. Leonard christened the day, Rose Day. Later it was named Flower Sunday. Still later
the second Sunday of the month of July was named Children's Day.
Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout
Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in
other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other
cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and
remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.
In 2008 the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity by UNESCO.
The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-
translation of its original name,Día de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the
day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took
place at the beginning of summer. Gradually it was associated with October 31, November 1
and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints'
Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building
private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the
favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors
also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating
back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The
holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for
honoring the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational
purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day"
associated with the Catholic Church.
Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was
unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The
people and the church rejected it as a day related tosyncretizing pagan elements with Catholic
Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in
the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few
indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated.
In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican
government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has
introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.
The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other culture's observances of a time to
honor the dead. The Spanish tradition included festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of
families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.