Happy May Day 2026!

This Northern Hemisphere festival is a traditional spring holiday. May Day is an ancient observation related to Floralia (which was a festival for Flora the Roman goddess of flowers), the Celtic festival of Beltane, and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. Rites and celebrations include the raising of and dancing around a Maypole, the crowning of a May Queen, gifts of May baskets (little baskets of candy and spring flowers), festive picnics, and bonfires (in certain counties in Ireland). It is a day to celebrate spring and the fastly approaching summer. Flowers, sunshine, and sweet treats for all!

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Happy Hogmanay 2025 - 2026!

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's celebration that takes place over the course of several days. While the festival and its customs date back to pagan celebrations of winter solstice, the word Hogmanay itself is harder to trace. Scholars have guessed that the word possibly comes from the French, Norse, or Goidelic languages.

The largest Hogmanay event, held in Edinburgh, kicks off with a torchlight procession tonight, December 29th, 2024. An enormous crowd of celebrants can enjoy a carnival atmosphere overflowing with Street Theatre, Fire Performers and Drummers, before the Massed Pipes & Drums and Vikings from Shetland’s South Mainland Up Helly Aa’ Jarl Squad (SMUHA) lead the procession in a river of light through the capital’s historic Old Town.

Events continue through the 30th. This year, the Night Afore Concert at Ross Band Stand, Princes Street Gardens features Stornoway's folk-rock stars Peat & Diesel. And on the 31st, you can attend the Silent Adventures Mega Silent Disco, or enjoy Edinburgh's Street Party featuring live music, DJ’s, giant screens, International Street Theatre, Pipers, drummers, funfair attractions, and delicious street food & drink. Then Wet Leg are set to headline Concert in the Gardens this Hogmanay, ringing in the New Year beneath the spectacular backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. Joining them are Scottish favourites Hamish Hawk and Lucia & The Best Boys for a night of anthems, energy and of course an overwhelming firework display at the stroke of midnight created by pyrotechnic wizards Titanium

Photo: Keith Valentine

There are many charming New Year's customs in Scotland. "First footing" is the idea that the first person to cross the threshold of your home is a harbinger of good luck. Starting immediately after midnight, people call on friends, going from house to house for much of the night and even into the morning and next day, with over half the population of Scotland observing the practice of "first-footing." It is good luck for the "first-footer" to be a tall, dark male. Traditionally, this male would bring gifts of a coin (symbolizing prosperity), bread/ black bun fruitcake (symbolizing food), salt (flavor), coal (warmth), or a drink (good cheer). These days, a "first-footer" usually just brings the whiskey!

January 1st is Ne'erday, a contraction of New Year's Day. The celebrating and "first-footing" continue, and many Scots still observe the day with a special dinner of steak pie. And for a real pick-me-up hangover cure, you can try the annual Loony Dook costumed cold plunge which takes place in the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry. Show up in costume--over your wet suit of course, it's freezing! 

Haud Hogmanay, everyone!

https://edwinterfest.com/hogmanay

Feliz Día de los Muertos 2025!

Today is Día de los Muertos, a joyous, upbeat holiday originating in Mexico but now widely celebrated here in the United States. It is a day to celebrate and remember ancestors and departed loved ones. Altars are created in homes that feature pictures of dead loved ones along with favorite objects and food they liked when they were alive (called ofrenda or offerings), decorated sugar skulls, imagery of skeletons and calacas (a figure of a skull or a skeleton), colorful paper cut-outs, candles, and copious amounts of marigolds.

Families go to cemeteries to tend to family plots, gravesides and tombs. There is a carnival-like atmosphere in Mexico as huge crowds descend upon cemeteries to hold all night vigils and cook food not only for themselves but also for the spirits of the departed who can visit this earthly realm one night a year. Old women sit in chairs by the graves while children run and play tag, musicians play and sing, and people sit and talk with family members.

In the United States, the largest Día de los Muertos celebration is held in San Francisco. A street parade with drumming and dancing attracts thousands of people who dress up in traditional skull face paint and costumes. Nearby Garfield Park is home to many altars honoring the lives of friends and family members. Some altars invite people to participate by adding photos of lost loved ones. The video below, by KQED Arts is a wonderful introduction to the festival and its deeper meaning.

For more information or if you would like to attend the festival, visit:
https://dayofthedeadsf.org

Bonne Fête de La Toussaint 2025!

Aujourd'hui est le jour de La Toussaint en France.

La Toussaint by Emile Friant (1863-1932)

Today is La Toussaint in France, a national holiday. Toussaint (pronounced "TOO-sawnt") is a combination of the word tous ("all" in French) and saint, meaning "All Saint's Day." The festival is closely related, in intent and spirit, to the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in Latin cultures (previously here). It is a day to remember, celebrate, and honor departed loved ones and ancestors.

In France, the general population are not very religious, so this once-Catholic celebration has become a secular national holiday. People visit cemeteries to have picnics and to tend to the graves of family members and decorate them with chrysanthemums, a flower symbolizing death (a symbol shared with Day of the Dead); generally, the French do not use this flower for any other purpose.

Bonne fête nationale, Juillet 14, 2025

To our friends and allies in France, bonne fête aujourd'hui!

Happy May Day 2025!

This Northern Hemisphere festival is a traditional spring holiday. May Day is an ancient observation related to Floralia (which was a festival for Flora the Roman goddess of flowers), the Celtic festival of Beltane, and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. Rites and celebrations include the raising of and dancing around a Maypole, the crowning of a May Queen, gifts of May baskets (little baskets of candy and spring flowers), festive picnics, and bonfires (in certain counties in Ireland). It is a day to celebrate spring and the fastly approaching summer. Flowers, sunshine, and sweet treats for all!

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Happy Hogmanay 2024 - 2025!

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's celebration that takes place over the course of several days. While the festival and its customs date back to pagan celebrations of winter solstice, the word Hogmanay itself is harder to trace. Scholars have guessed that the word possibly comes from the French, Norse, or Goidelic languages.

The largest Hogmanay event, held in Edinburgh, kicks off with a torchlight procession tonight, December 29th, 2024. An enormous crowd of celebrants accompanied by pipers and drummers, fire, and fanfare in a river of light wind through the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town.

Events continue through the 30th. This year, the Night Afore Disco Party at West Princes Street Gardens and set against the backdrop of the iconic Edinburgh Castle features Hot Dub Time Machine with The Cuban Brothers and High Fade. Then December 31st is Auld Year's Eve. The Concert In The Gardens will be headlined by Scottish band Texas and guest Callum Beattie. And of course the world-famous "Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party" will culminate, as usual, in an overwhelming firework display at the stroke of midnight.

There are many charming New Year's customs in Scotland. "First footing" is the idea that the first person to cross the threshold of your home is a harbinger of good luck. Starting immediately after midnight, people call on friends, going from house to house for much of the night and even into the morning and next day, with over half the population of Scotland observing the practice of "first-footing." It is good luck for the "first-footer" to be a tall, dark male. Traditionally, this male would bring gifts of a coin (symbolizing prosperity), bread/ black bun fruitcake (symbolizing food), salt (flavor), coal (warmth), or a drink (good cheer). These days, a "first-footer" usually just brings the whiskey!

January 1st is Ne'erday, a contraction of New Year's Day. The celebrating and "first-footing" continue, and many Scots still observe the day with a special dinner of steak pie. However, the annual Loony Dook which takes place in the Firth of Forth (a wacky costumed cold plunge for charity), is not part of the official 2024-2025 Edinburgh Hogmanay events and after being cancelled  in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, it is unclear if it is going to happen on January 1, 2025.

Haud Hogmanay, everyone!

https://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/
http://www.visitscotland.com/

Feliz Día de los Muertos 2024!

Today is Día de los Muertos, a joyous, upbeat holiday originating in Mexico but now widely celebrated here in the United States. It is a day to celebrate and remember ancestors and departed loved ones. Altars are created in homes that feature pictures of dead loved ones along with favorite objects and food they liked when they were alive (called ofrenda or offerings), decorated sugar skulls, imagery of skeletons and calacas (a figure of a skull or a skeleton), colorful paper cut-outs, candles, and copious amounts of marigolds.

Families go to cemeteries to tend to family plots, gravesides and tombs. There is a carnival-like atmosphere in Mexico as huge crowds descend upon cemeteries to hold all night vigils and cook food not only for themselves but also for the spirits of the departed who can visit this earthly realm one night a year. Old women sit in chairs by the graves while children run and play tag, musicians play and sing, and people sit and talk with family members.

In the United States, the largest Día de los Muertos celebration is held in San Francisco. A street parade with drumming and dancing attracts thousands of people who dress up in traditional skull face paint and costumes. Nearby Garfield Park is home to many altars honoring the lives of friends and family members. Some altars invite people to participate by adding photos of lost loved ones. The video below, by KQED Arts is a wonderful introduction to the festival and its deeper meaning.

For more information or if you would like to attend the festival, visit:
https://dayofthedeadsf.org

Bonne Fête de La Toussaint 2024!

Aujourd'hui est le jour de La Toussaint en France.

La Toussaint by Emile Friant (1863-1932)

Today is La Toussaint in France, a national holiday. Toussaint is a combination of the word tous ("all" in French) and saint, meaning "All Saint's Day." The festival is closely related, in intent and spirit, to the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in Latin cultures (previously here). It is a day to remember, celebrate, and honor departed loved ones and ancestors.

In France, the general population are not very religious, so this once-Catholic celebration has become a secular national holiday. People visit cemeteries to have picnics and to tend to the graves of family members and decorate them with chrysanthemums, a flower symbolizing death (a symbol shared with Day of the Dead); generally, the French do not use this flower for any other purpose.

Happy May Day 2024!

This Northern Hemisphere festival is a traditional spring holiday. May Day is an ancient observation related to Floralia (which was a festival for Flora the Roman goddess of flowers), the Celtic festival of Beltane, and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. Rites and celebrations include the raising of and dancing around a Maypole, the crowning of a May Queen, gifts of May baskets (little baskets of candy and spring flowers), festive picnics, and bonfires (in certain counties in Ireland). It is a day to celebrate spring and the fastly approaching summer. Flowers, sunshine, and sweet treats for all!

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Happy Hogmanay 2023 - 2024!

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's celebration that takes place over the course of several days. While the festival and its customs date back to pagan celebrations of winter solstice, the word Hogmanay itself is harder to trace. Scholars have guessed that the word possibly comes from the French, Norse, or Goidelic languages.

The largest event held in Edinburgh kicks off with a torchlight procession tonight, December 29th, 2023. An enormous crowd of celebrants accompanied by pipers and drummers, fire, and fanfare in a river of light wind through the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town.

Events continue through the 30th. Then December 31st is Auld Year's Eve. Street parties, outdoor concerts, and indoor concerts (there is a traditional candlelit concert at St. Giles' Cathedral, and this year rock group Pulp headlines the Concert In The Gardens in the West Princes Street Gardens) all culminate in an overwhelming firework display at the stroke of midnight.

There are many charming New Year's customs in Scotland. "First footing" is the idea that the first person to cross the threshold of your home is a harbinger of good luck. Starting immediately after midnight, people call on friends, going from house to house for much of the night and even into the morning and next day, with over half the population of Scotland observing the practice of "first-footing." It is good luck for the "first-footer" to be a tall, dark male. Traditionally, this male would bring gifts of a coin (symbolizing prosperity), bread/ black bun fruitcake (symbolizing food), salt (flavor), coal (warmth), or a drink (good cheer). These days, a "first-footer" usually just brings the whiskey!

January 1st is Ne'erday, a contraction of New Year's Day. The celebrating and "first-footing" continue, and many Scots still observe the day with a special dinner of steak pie. However, the annual Loony Dook which takes place in the Firth of Forth (a wacky costumed cold plunge for charity), is not part of the official 2024 Edinburgh Hogmanay events and it is unclear if it is going to happen, albeit unsanctioned.

Haud Hogmanay, everyone!

https://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/
http://www.visitscotland.com/