A Family Celebrates the Vietnamese New Year

Read how one Vietnamese family celebrates New Year’s in a uniquely Vietnamese way—preparing and eating traditional foods, observing special traditions, watching fireworks and a dragon dance, and sharing good times with family members. Spring is coming, the period of time to which I always aspire. It means that the New Year is also coming soon. … Read more

Our Chinese New Year

I thought originally that I would have a lonely Spring Festival in the U.S. this year, but afterward I knew I was wrong. Instead of it, Shelly and I had a very happy and busy holiday. It is the right time for our Chinese New Year Eve on Friday. My friend Shelly and I were … Read more

Beautiful New Year’s Customs in Argentina

It’s a hot day in Argentina, Buenos Airs. We are in summer. Everyone is happy because we are going to start another year. My grandmother told me we are going to have my favorite food for dinner: a salad with crayfish, turkey with potato cream and dulce de leche ice cream for dessert—our special food for New … Read more

Our New Year’s Resolutions

Readers from Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela share their resolutions. One of my resolutions for next year will be to save enough money for my son’s education. I’d like to have less stress in my life and dedicate more time to my family. To show … Read more

New Year’s Customs from Around the World

Around the globe, countries have special or unusual New Year’s customs. Some customs are shared; others vary from country to country. Some are amusing, such as the Thai custom of throwing water on people; and many are intended to bring good luck during the new year ahead, such as the Spanish custom of eating 12 … Read more

The Teuila Festival in Western Samoa

In Western Samoa, there’s a big festival called The Teuila Festival. It is one of the biggest events in the country, and it goes on for two weeks. During the festival you can see a lot of different colors of costumes from each different group. Lots of entertainment happens during this festival. The most exciting … Read more

Carnival in El Callao, Venezuela

Carnival in Venezuela is celebrated during the month of February, forty days before Good Friday. Carnival has existed in Venezuela since the colonial period. It was first celebrated only in Caracas. Today, however, it is also celebrated in coastal towns and other places, especially in El Callao, a small mining town. El Callao was founded in … Read more

Carnival in La Chimana, Venezuela

In my country, we have five days to enjoy Carnival. We always go to the beaches, but we have a special beach called La Chimana where we like to go to celebrate during Carnival. The special thing about our Carnival is that we celebrate with a lot of balloons. But maybe you will ask me, “Why balloons?” … Read more

Los Diablos de Yare: The Devils of Yare

In Venezuela, we have many festivals in various places several times a year. One party is called the Devils of Yare, and it is famous for its music that uses only drums, its traditional dance and red clothing, multicolor masks, and colorful jewelry. This festival is also famous for beautiful costumes and dancing in the street. … Read more

Ramadan in Turkey

There are a lot of different types of celebrations in Turkey. Some of them are from our religion. These annual festivals are celebrated two times a year. They are organized by the Islamic calendar. According the the Christian era (A.D.), both of them are celebrated 11 days earlier than the previous year’s annual religious festival. … Read more