Parties and celebrations all year round!

People have the need for events, gatherings and parties to celebrate the many phases of life. Celebrations take place all across the globe, and there are completely different traditions in different parts of the world. There are even great differences between the Nordic countries. Each month has its milestones and celebrations somewhere in the world. Let’s take a closer look at some of the things that happen in April, May and June.

📷  Painted eggs are central to the Christian Easter celebrations
What happens in january, february and march?
Hva skjer i juli, august og september?
Hva skjer i oktober, november og desember?
Kurv med mange fargerike påskeegg.
Kurv med mange fargerike påskeegg.
April med hvit tekst på sort bakgrunn.
April med hvit tekst på sort bakgrunn.

Easter

Easter is perhaps the most important holiday for Christians and Jews all over the world. In Norway Easter starts on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal or spring equinox. We call this Palm Sunday.

📷  A Jewish family celebrating Pesach

A Jewish holiday

Easter is historically considered to be a Jewish holiday in memory of when Moses led the people of Israel out of enslavement in Egypt, which we can read about in the Bible. The people of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for many years, and they longed for the land that God had given them. After escaping Egypt, the Jews introduced many different rituals to remember this event. This is still celebrated across large parts of the world, and its Jewish name is Pesach.

The most important holiday of Christianity

The Christian church around the world celebrates Easter in memory of the suffering, death and rebirth of Jesus. Easter morning (Easter Sunday) is the highlight of the church’s Easter celebration.

Spring festival, Easter bunnies and crime books

Easter also has its origin in the Roman celebration of the start of new life when winter turns into spring. Old traditions such as the Easter egg, Easter bunnies and daffodils are still common. Nowadays, Easter crime, Easter puzzles and Easter holidays have become part of the celebrations.

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Read more about easter
Jødisk familie med to voksne og to barn feirer påske rundt et festdekket bord.
Jødisk familie med to voksne og to barn feirer påske rundt et festdekket bord.

Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela is a Hindu festival held every twelve years. It is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. The festival lasts for 55 days, and it is important to make sure that you wash yourself in the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna. Faithful Hindus believe that bathing in these rivers will cleanse the soul and forgive any sins. A lot of people also bring some water back home with them to drink or wash their hands in holy water between festivals.

The battles between gods and demons

According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela started with a battle between the gods and demons over a cup of amrita, the nectar of eternal life. Drops of the nectar fell to the ground, some of which fell in Allahabad in India where the festival is held.

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The month May written in white on a black background
The month May written in white on a black background

Vappu

In Finland the 1st of May is a large spring festival. The celebrations start the day before, and university students make most of the noise and fuss, a bit like the ‘Russ celebrations’ in Norway. But, it is also a big national holiday which celebrates ‘Workers Day’. On May 1st, people flock to the streets, eat brunch at a restaurant or have a picnic in the park. It is a day that should be spent with friends and family.

Doughnuts and sima

#1 Vappu-donuts are an obligatory treat. A lot of people will visit cafes to buy fresh doughnuts.

#2 Something else that is common is drinking sima. It is an alcohol-free sweet brew made from water, yeast, lemon and raisins.

A surefire winner during Vappu is therefore to invite your friends and family around for doughnuts and sima.

Colourful overalls

The students have lots of arrangements and traditions. There is an official Vappu magazine that is sold on the streets. The sellers wear colourful overalls and a black and white student cap so that they are easy to spot if you are in town.

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Smultringer med sukker, rosa serpentiner og to glass med brunaktig sima.
Smultringer med sukker, rosa serpentiner og to glass med brunaktig sima.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that is mainly celebrated in the city of Puebla. People remember the victory of the Mexican forces over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Many believe that this day is Mexico’s Independence Day, but that is Grito de Dolores, which is celebrated on the 16th of September. 

📷  A boy hits the pinata, which is a typical party game in Mexico

Mexico defeated France

In 1861, France tried to occupy Mexico. This was punishment for Mexico not repaying large loans it had got before. France was successful at first, but at Puebla, the Mexican army was victorious. One year later, France had control over the country. Five years later, the French were beaten and thrown out.

A big celebration in the US

Cinco de Mayo is not really a big celebration in Mexico, but in the United States, Mexicans and other Latin Americans celebrate. They tie friendship bracelets and gather together. They will eat Mexican food, and in several towns in the US, parades and concerts are arranged.

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17 May

The Norwegian national day is celebrated on the 17th of May. The celebration is in memory of the day that Norway got its own constitution in 1814. The day is celebrated across the whole country, and also in many places across the world where Norwegians live. It is Norway’s biggest day of celebration and people dress up in their finest clothes, walk in parades and have lots of fun in schools and nurseries. A lot of hot dogs and ice cream are eaten, and the ‘Russ’ (graduates) celebrate that they have completed secondary school.

Read more about 1814
17. mai tog, 2016
17. mai tog, 2016
The month June written in white on a black background
The month June written in white on a black background

Juneteenth

On 19 June, 1865, African-American slaves in Texas were set free. Freedom meant that they were able to make decisions about their own lives. A century and a half later, people across the United States continue to celebrate the day, which is now a national holiday. This means that every state in the United States has some form of celebration on this day. The word Juneteenth is made up of the words June and nineteenth.

Freed slaves in Texas

The Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865 was mostly about ending slavery. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery, whilst the Northern states were against it. Eleven states in the south wanted to leave the American Union and govern with their own politics, particularly with the intention of keeping slavery. After several years of war, the Northern states were victorious, and slavery came to an end. Two months after the end of the war in 1865, slaves in Texas were told that they were free.

Abraham Lincoln

The American president, Abraham Lincoln, was strongly against slavery, and on January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which was supposed to forbid slavery. But this only applied to the Southern states that wanted to break away from the American Union (USA).

National holiday

June 19th originally marked the liberation of the slaves in Texas after the ‘Northern states’ (the Union, USA) had won over the ‘Southern states’ (Confederate States of America, CSA) in the American Civil War of 1861 – 1865. In 2021, President Joe Biden took the lead in making the day as a national day to remember. Today, all of the American states mark Juneteenth in one form or another. Juneteenth has also become a celebration of African-American culture with parades, concerts and parties.

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Read more about slavery
Fargerikt postkort om Juneteenth der en afrikansk kvinne står i fargerike klær som flagrer i vinden.
Fargerikt postkort om Juneteenth der en afrikansk kvinne står i fargerike klær som flagrer i vinden.

Saint John’s Eve

On the evening of June 23rd, Saint John’s Eve is celebrated in Norway. It is the longest day of the year before the sun turns and the days get shorter and darker. It comes from the pagan tradition of celebrating summer solstice. Bonfires are lit, and wild summer flowers are picked, but both the fire and the flowers are associated with mystery. Manypeople also take their boats out, and celebrate with friends and family. In Sweden and Finland it is called ‘Midsummer’s Eve’, and the celebrations are bigger than they are in Norway. In Sweden and Finland the day of celebration will always fall on the nearest Friday between 20 and 26 June.

The party night of witches

Superstition will have you believe that Sankthans Eve is the witches’ party night. On this eve, the witches fly on their broomsticks to the mountain Bloksberg. «Burning the witch» at the stake was believed to be a way to get rid of these scary and evil creatures.

Flowers under the pillow

Magical things are believed to happen on this night, and if you lay seven different flowers under your pillow, you will get to know who you will marry. Sankthans therefore also has a focus on fertility.

John the Baptist

The day of Sankthans on the 24th of June is in memory of the birth of John the Baptist. In the Bible we can read about him being Jesus’ second cousin, and that he introduced the practice of baptisms. A lot of people went to church on Sankthans Eve. This is also why the day has been called “jonsok” which means wakeful night for John, and John and Hans are short for Johannes. The word ‘saint’ means that John was a saint. This is a holy person who has close contact with God, and to whom people can pray if they need help.

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The White Nights Festival

Each year The White Nights Festival is celebrated in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia. The festival gets its name from a weather phenomenon that comes during the period 21 April-21 August and which looks like the midnight sun. This means that it never completely gets dark, only twilight, or white clouds. The reason for the weather phenomenon is that St Petersburg is close to the Arctic Circle.

Spectacular fireworks

The festival starts on  June 12th and finishes on July 2nd. There are a lot of events that happen during the festival, but it is perhaps the spectacular fireworks display – Scarlet Sails – that people look forward to the most. It also marks the end of the school year.

📷  Fireworks over Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Music festival and carnival

During the festival there is a separate music festival – Stars of the White Nights – where there are ballet and opera performances shown every night in the city’s large theatre and concert halls. Several places also invite you to be a part of a carnival. The most famous one is the historical carnival where actors dress up in period costumes from the time when Peter the Great and Catherine the Great ruled the country. Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703.

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Fyrverkeri over Peter- og Pauluskatedralen i St. Petersburg.
Fyrverkeri over Peter- og Pauluskatedralen i St. Petersburg.

Sources:

  • Dybdahl, Audun: sankthans i Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Hentet 14. desember 2022 fra
    https://snl.no/sankthans

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