Festival and special days

[ZULMA JOHANA VELASCO]

April Fool's Day
It is celebrated in Colombia on December 28, inoffensive jokes are made throughout the day, a tradition of more than 2,000 years and with a tragic origin. Commemoration of the killing of all children under the age of two ordered by Herod upon learning that the Messiah was born. With the passage of time, the pagan tradition was removing the tragic aspect to date until it became the "Day of the Innocent Saints": an opportunity to play tricks on the naive and then repeat the phrase "that innocence is worth you".

Cinco de mayo.
May 5 commemorates the triumph of the Mexican Army over the French invader after the Battle of Puebla. A date that is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico where many believe that Mexican independence is celebrated.
On the morning of May 5, 1862, a battle began in Puebla (central Mexico) in which the Mexican army (some 2,000 soldiers and some 2,700 armed civilians) confronted the French armed forces, some of the most experienced in the world. that historical moment, but with strategies not adapted to the terrain. The French Army had advanced in the last four months from the coast of Veracruz with the intention of invading Mexico, after the failure to pay 80 million dollars in debt. The battle of Puebla lasted all day and the Mexicans were victors, for the first time since the French had entered the territory.

The ANZAC Day
Is one of the most important national days in Australia. It is celebrated every year on April 25 and commemorates the anniversary of the first military action of the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand in the First World War, which together with Great Britain, landed in Gallipoli (Turkey) in 1915. The acronym ANZAC represents Australian and New Zealand Army Corpsy. It is used to describe the soldiers who took part in these forces.
The campaign in Gallipoli did not achieve its military objectives and in fact resulted in the loss of many Australian and New Zealand soldiers, more than 8,000 dead in 8 months. The arrival in Gallipoli generated a great impact and, despite its failure, created a powerful legacy of courage and brotherhood that shaped the identity of both countries. With the explosion of World War II and after other wars, ANZAC Day serves today to remember all the soldiers who fell while serving the army.

Groundhog Day
Is a folkloric method used by farmers, from the United States and Canada, to predict the end of winter, based on the behavior of the animal when it comes out of hibernation on February 2.
According to the belief, if the marmot, when leaving its burrow, does not see its shadow, because it is a cloudy day, it will leave the burrow, which means that winter will end soon. If, on the contrary, because it is a sunny day, the marmot "sees its shadow" and goes back into the burrow, it means that the winter will last six weeks more.
Groundhog Day marks (approximately) half the period between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (similar to the Halloween party, which marks half the period between the autumn equinox and winter solstice) .
This tradition is celebrated throughout many American populations, and even in Canada (where the most famous marmot is called Wiarton Willie); however, it is the Marmota Phil of Punxsutawney, in the State of Pennsylvania, the most famous, with a tradition of more than a century (concretely since 1887), in which each February 2 is intended to predict the duration of winter by the behavior of Phil, marmot immortalized by the movie Groundhog Day (in Spain: Caught in time).

Valentine's Day
Is a traditional celebration that has been assimilated by the Catholic Church with the designation of Valentine as the patron of lovers.1 It became popular in many countries, and in modern times especially in the Anglo-Saxons expanding to other places from the twentieth century mainly the day when couples in love express their love and affection to each other. It is celebrated on February 14, the Valentine's Day. In some countries it is known as Valentine's Day and in others as the day of love and friendship.

In Colombia it is not celebrated as, in September, love and friendship is celebrated.

Origin of Easter - Day of Resurrection for Christians
For Christians, the origin of Easter is simply the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus Christ, the true Messiah promised in the Old Testament, was crucified and resurrected during the Jewish Passover. Since that amazing event occurred, those who believe in Christ as their Messiah have honored that day, and have often celebrated it with the traditional Passover. As the gospel of Christ spread through all non-Jewish nations, people who did not often celebrate Passover, the pagan rites of Passover were gradually assimilated into what the Christian church called the "Day of Resurrection." Committing the commandments of God with the comforts of the world is as old as the nation of Israel itself.


Las Posadas are popular festivals that are celebrated in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama during the nine days before Christmas, that is, from December 16 to 24. These celebrations remind people of the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph from their departure from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where they look for a place to stay and await the birth of the baby Jesus.
To this novena it is usual to add a series of non-religious traditions and celebrations. In Colombia and Ecuador the Ninth of Aguinaldos is celebrated, religious celebration very similar.
The Posadas were created from the first evangelizers: the friar Agustino Diego Soria obtained from Pope Sixtus V indulgences for the realization of the nine pre-Christmas masses in the days before Christmas.
In the eighteenth century, the celebration, although it continued to take place in the churches, began to take more strength in the neighborhoods and in the houses, and religious music was replaced by popular singing.
The Ninth of Colombian Aguinaldos was created by Fray Fernando de Jesús Larrea, born in Quito in 1700, ordained in 1725 and then preacher in Ecuador and Colombia. Fray Fernando wrote it at the request of the founder of the Colegio de La Enseñanza in Bogotá, Mrs. Clemencia de Jesús Caycedo Vélez. Many years later, the religious of La Enseñanza, Mother María Ignacia, modified it.
The evangelizing friars, to facilitate the teaching of the Holy Mother Catholic Church to the natives, made representations of the pilgrimage of Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary on their way out of Nazareth on the way to Bethlehem to be registered in the census ordered by César Augusto and, subsequently, , the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, son of God. These representations are made up of nine Posadas, which begin on December 16, and consist of requesting accommodation on that symbolic road to Bethlehem until December 24, the day before the birth of Jesus.
During this pilgrimage the hardships for which they had to spend until finding accommodation in a stable of Bethlehem are noted.


Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese New Year): The exact date of celebration varies every year, since it is determined by the lunar calendar, although it ranges from approximately January 19 to February 20. In any case, it is the most important holiday in the country, to the point that the first commemorative events start a week before. Heir to the Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian traditions, the faithful believe that the gods visit Earth in this period, after which they return to heaven coinciding with the eve of the new year. To protect themselves from the evil spirits during these days, the peasants place in front of their houses the so-called cay neu (or 'sign-tree'), a bamboo pole from whose end hangs a clay tablet with a piece of yellow cloth. Also, until its ban in 1995, the population threw firecrackers to scare away the demon Na A and his consort. On the first day of the Têt, the population tends to worship their ancestors. Both the eve of the New Year and the three following days are festive.

[Núria]

This holiday is celebrated at the end of October.
It celebrates the end of autumn and it honours the souls of the dead.
Children dress up as monsters, devils and witches.
In the evening the children go from house to house and ask for sweets.
In some countries the children go to school wearing their masks and costumes and they have a party.
People decorate their houses with pumpkins.*