Battle of San Jacinto, Nicaragua September 14th

The month of September could be called Independence Month in Nicaragua.  Several different events have taken place during the month, from Christopher Columbus discovering the area to the actual independence of the country and regian from Spain to what I am going to focus on today, the Battle of San Jacinto in 1956.

The battle took place a few years after the independence from Spain while the region was trying to stabilise itself and find it's place.  There where two opposing factions one of which hired an army from the north to fight it's battles for them.  Unfortunately, the army commander, William Walker, decided he wanted to take over and turn the area over to the United States.  The factions who had split apart to fight with each other came together over this and on September 14th out numbered and lacking in adequate equipment the people who would soon be truly Nicaraguans defeated William Walker's army through ingenuity and bravery.  This all happened on the day before Independence Day through out the region.

Today the 14th is celebrated with parades formed from the students, police and army, with the students making up the majority of the participants and many of them in fancy dress and traditional clothes.  The president gives out the Presidental Medal to the top students and teachers.  Of course the national flag is hung through out the country and in every house.  This is a time of year to be very proud of the country they are and be patriotic and that is just what they do.

Links: 

http://www.answers.com/topic/nicaragua-battle-of-san-jacinto-day-event

http://vianica.com/go/specials/5-independence_Nicaragua.html

Mooncake Festival in China, September 12, 2011

World's largest Mooncake from 2009The Mid Autumn Festival also known as the Mooncake Festival is celebrated in China on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.  One of the biggest festivals it has it's origins dating back 3000 years.

During this time of year the giving and receiving of the traditional mooncakes is a very big deal.  

There are a number of different ledgends that are associated with the festival and it's history.

I had the good fortune to have been in China in 2009 during the festival.  During the actual time I was in Shanghai on a tour and the tour guide told us that people received so many mooncakes that the people have found ways around getting many more then they could eat.  Now some people give gift certificates for mooncakes but there is a market so they can be exchanged for money.  I can't say I really like the mooncake I got to eat but I did try a couple.  The only thing I really regret is that I did not get a chance to try a Haagen Dazs mooncake.  The tour guide said that was the best one you could get, those are ones you don't trade in.  It is important that you visit you family during this time and of course give Mooncakes, the gift certificates where more for bosses.A selection of Mooncakes

Now I have to admit I should have posted this yesterday but was a little slow getting this festival out.  I really enjoyed it and had to share it since I actually got to be there for it.

Hope you had a great Mooncake Festival!!!

 Don't forget to leave a comment or send me your favorite festival, celebration or holiday so I can feature it here.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/midfallstory.htm

UPDATE!!

So I decided that to celebrate the Mooncake Festival here at work I would offer MoonPies, not the samething but the closest I could get on short notice.

Chuseok Korea September 12, 2011

One of the biggest if not the biggest festival celebrated in Korea is Chuseok.  A harvest festival held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month which this year falls on September 12.  This is a three day celebration where Koreans will visit their ancestors graves and there ancestral homes, leaving offerings and cleaning the graves.  The families will also get together to enjoy a harvest meal as many cultures do at this time.  There also may be contests like archery and a style of wrestling from Korea.

The festival is tied to the moon with a traditional dance done by the women and children under the moon light, Ganggangsullae

Chuseok Dance-1 Some rights reserved by geekgurl7

Also the food that is eaten at this time is Songpyeon and is shaped like the moon as well.

Image gotten from http://savstrom.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/i-will-eat-songpyeon/

So enjoy this festiv time of year and Happy Chuseok!

Thank you to Ask a Korean! for his help with this and if you have further question about Korea take a look at his sight and maybe even ask a question.

Other links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuseok

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650

Greek Festival, Greek Orthodox Church, Nashville TN Sept 9-11, 2011

The Greek festival was this last weekend and I was able to stop by for a few minutes the last day of the festival and catch some of the great dancing they had there.  I have added the video I shot to the post so you can see how great the kids did.

There was also a lot of great food to try and some very nice vendors with lots of great great themed things for sale, including children's books written in Greek which I thought was very cool.  There are some other videos on youtube if you would like to see more.

Chrysanthemum Festival or Kiku no Sekku in Japan 9 September

A Chinese festival from between 25 A.D. and 220 A.D. that made its way over to Japan, it is also known as the Double Nine Festival since it is on the ninth day of the ninth month.  After the adaption of the western calendar (thus becoming September 9th) it has become largely forgotten. 

During the time when people did still remember this and celebrate it they would clean their body and soul with chrysanthemum sake or wash their body with chrysanthemum water.  Unfortunately since the flower does not bloom at this time of year people no longer remember this festival in Japan but I believe it is still recognized in China where the lunar calendar is still used for some things.  I will be going into the festival in much more detail for that post when the Ninth day of the Ninth month comes around.

Thank you to the Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville TN for help in researching this.

And remember if you have any comments or correction please leave a message and I would love to hear what your favorite festival, celebration or holiday is, leave a comment here, http://twitter.com/holidayaday or email holidayaday (at) gmail dot com.

Celebrate every day!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysanthemum_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Ninth_Festival

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%8D%E9%99%BD#.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E3.81.AB.E3.81.8A.E3.81.91.E3.82.8B.E9.87.8D.E9.99.BD