Visitors to San Francisco’s Chinatown next month will have the opportunity to enjoy the 19th Annual Autumn Moon Festival.  Moon Festival celebrations are not yet commonplace in the US, although they’ve been held in Asia for over a thousand years.  The festival is a changing of season event, a time to give thanks for a plentiful summer harvest, and the changing of the moon and the seasons.  Often equated to a sort of “Chinese Thanksgiving,” it’s a way to mark the passing of one season to the next, and to give thanks for the abundance of life.
Of course, just like …read more

Today, we get to celebrate Chinese New Year. I thought it would be fun to have Chinese food, but I didn’t want to make my favorite restaurant deliver on a special holiday, so I hunted around for some delicious recipes.
Let’s start with Chinese style green beans from Busy Family Meals. Mmm. I love these beans. The key is to make sure you don’t overcook them. The best way to eat this dish is with very crisp beans.
Next, let’s move on to Chinese dumplings from Noodles and Rice. Not as good as the entire Dim Sum experience, but still …read more

August 31 is Merdeka Day, the national independence day, in Malaysia. It celebrates the proclamation on August 31, 1957 that gave the Federation of Malaya independence from Britain. It wouldn’t be until 1963 (and the breaking off of Singapore into a separate state) before Malaysia, the country, would come into being.
Merdeka Day is celebrated with parades, music, and the showing of the flag. Above is the 2008 celebration in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Whether Malaysia is as free as it could be is open to debate. Read more about this on b5media’s blog about Malaysia, “The Kuala Lumpur Traveler.”

August 12 is a national holiday in Thailand. It’s Queens Day as well as mother’s day, a day that celebrates the birth of the country’s Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara (pictured above) as well as mothers throughout Thailand.
Queen Sirikit is a much-loved sovereign in this constitutional monarch and the wife of King Rama IX. This will be her 76th birthday.

August 9 is National Day in Singapore. The day marks the anniversary to that country’s independence from Malaysia in 1965. The biggest event on National Day is the National Day Parade, a huge event that includes military presentation, parachutists, musicians, dancers, and all sorts of displays. NDP 2008 is being held at Marina Bay as was last year’s event (pictured above) and is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators.
(photo © waycool27/cc license)

We’ve been talking a lot lately about July 4th, but (of course) the United States holiday isn’t the only Independence Day that we’ve written about here at All Holiday Cafe…and we’ll be covering more (Bastille Day is coming July 14th). Below are just a few of our Independence Day posts:
Philippines Independence Day (June 12)
Italian Republic Day (June 2)
Texas Independence Day (March 2)
Lithuanian Independence Day (February 16)
Sri Lankan Independence Day (February 4)

June 12 is Philippine Independence Day, a public holiday in that country. It commemorates that day that the Philippine “Declaration of Independence” was signed following the defeat of the Spanish army by Philippine revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aquinaldo (who would become the Philippines first president).
The date is marked by patriotic speeches and parades throughout the Philippines. In the United States, a large parade is held in New York City, a city with a large Filippino population.
b5media has a number of bloggers who live in the Philippines. I wish them and other Filippino readers a very happy Independence Day!
(photo © …read more

Ruth at b5media’s “Let’s Visit Asia,” reminds us that May 19 is Vesak Day through the Buddhist countries of Asia. This day, sometimes called “Buddha’s Birthday,” celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Gautama Buddha.
To celebrate Buddhists assemble at their temples for services, hymns, and offerings of jost sticks and flowers.
(photo © Newscom)

Sometimes what one country celebrates as a holiday has a very connotation in another country. One such observance is Liberation Day in Vietnam. No American over 45 or so can forget the images of Americans, foreign nationals, and South Vietnamese who had worked for the Americans being airlifted off of the roof of the American Embassy on April 30, 1975. The footage speaks for itself:

Today, in Vietnam, the holiday is marked as a national holiday with festivals and feasts. In Vietnamese communities overseas, the day is generally marked as a somber day of reflection.

April 29 is Shōwa Day in Japan. It is the anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), who reigned from 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito’s reign saw Japan move from a primarily rural country into an industrial power. He also oversaw the turbulent years of Japan’s involvement in World War II, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the subsequent occupation of Japan. Rather than a day to celebrate, Shōwa Day in Japan is a day to reflect on this troubled part of the nation’s history.
Shōwa Day also begins Golden Week in Japan, a week that …read more