Saint David’s Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David’s death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebrated since the canonisation of David in the 12th century, by Pope Callixtus II, though it is not a public holiday in the UK.
It’s related to the late winter festival cycle. According to pagan beliefs, the winter was a time of evil, so the Kukeri had the task to chase away everything evil the winter represented with their scary masques. Therefore it’s not a counterpart of Halloween. It’s rather related to the traditions that came to be associated with the Lent, even though there is no sanctioned carnival tradition in the Orthodox Church. The Lent celebrations, like Kukeri or jumping over fires, were and are very much frowned upon by the Church. The only similarity to Halloween are the scary masques.
The second month of the year traditionally plays host to some really interesting events, festival and happenings all across the globe. Here is a list of some of the most interesting events that should have taken place in February 2020 and 2021. However, we only mention the ones that start during the month so you may find some events like the Sundance Film Festival, and the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival missing from the list.
Hungary’s pro-family policies are getting results and could help dramatically boost the country’s birth rate over the coming years. The rate of marriages has risen sharply in Hungary since the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán assumed office in 2010, according to the figures published by the European Union’s statistical agency Eurostat. The figures, going back to 1960, break down the number of marriages per 1,000 people in the EU.
According to the data, the European Union average is 4.5 marriages per 1,000 people per year, and those numbers have not shown significant changes in the past 20 years.
Kurentovanje is a Slovenian meat-and-mouth folk ritual in honour of spring and fertility, which is a carnival to banish winter. An analogue of Maslenitsa. The origins of Kurentovanje are doubtful, but it is likely associated with Slavic paganism. Typical dances from the month of March take place in […]
Basel Carnival is part of the city’s identity culturally speaking, it is at the heart of its creative energies and represents three days when the city goes wild. Owing to its uniqueness and quality, it has been added to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. In 2021, the Carnival in Basel (Fasnacht) will not take place as usual and will be a little different from the major event that we know and love. More information
The five-year-long conservation of one of the most important Gothic relics in Poland has been completed.
Traditions, records and extraordinary ‘valentines.’
The oldest valentine in the world.
There is a legend that the very first Valentine card in the world was written by Saint Valentine before his execution. But the officially registered love note, dated February 14, 1415, belongs to the Charles, Duke of Orléans, who wrote love letters to his wife while he was in the Tower of London. This Valentine is now kept in the British Museum.
While religious venues all over the Netherlands are often recycled into apartments and bars, some Dutch observers see covert outside pressure, namely the anti-religious strategy of Western elites as the key driver behind this process.
Carnival, or the “Fifth Season,” is in full swing in Germany. From Thursday, costumed revelers will be crowding the streets to celebrate parades and never-ending parties. Here is our guide to carnival and its greetings.
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