Faces: People, Places, and Cultures articles from November 2008

Faces: People, Places, and Cultures archives from November 2008

It's time to party! Here are five fun celebration facts from around the world. Although different countries host these festivals, they are more alike than you might think.(High 5)
November 1, 2008... 1 Dance la diablada Travel high into the Andes Mountains and you will find the city of Oruro, Bolivia. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors take part in parades through the streets. Some dress as devils with horns, fangs, and...

The elegant elephant.(Critter Corner)(Esala Perahara festival and elephants in Sri Lanka)
November 1, 2008... The people of Sri Lanka have a thing for elephants. Not surprisingly, elephants are a main attraction during their religious festivals. To see elephants at their most regal, we're off to Kandy, a city in the center of Sri Lanka, to join the...

Happy New Year from Vietnam.(Tet)
November 1, 2008... Tet is a joyous time filled with wonderful sounds, colors, and scents. The most important Vietnamese holiday, Tet, marks the lunar New Year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In Hanoi, the capital city, families prepare for Tet by buying...

Dragon puppet.(Chinese New Year and how to make a dragon puppet )
November 1, 2008... Bursting firecrackers, delicious treats, and brilliant colors announce the Chinese New Year. The date of this most important holiday changes from year to year because it is determined by a lunar, or moon-based, calendar. But Chinese New...

Timkat: the ceremony of Epiphany: Lalibela uses the Julian calendar, and, according to the Julian calendar, Christmas (Genna) falls on January 7. Timkat falls 12 days later, on January 19.
November 1, 2008... The quiet village of Lalibela, Ethiopia, is transformed into a noisy, bustling place as tens of thousands of pilgrims, both young and old, arrive there in mid-January each year. They come to participate in the age-old rituals of Timkat, or...

A day for love.(Valentine's Day)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Long-stemmed roses, chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, words of love and devotion-it must be Valentine's Day. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Valentine's Day, February 14, is a date devoted to courtship in the United...

Carnaval time in Bolivia.(Carnaval de Oruro)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What event could draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to a city located on a high, windswept plateau between two Andean mountain ranges? It is the Carnaval de Oruro, the carnival in the city of Oruro. Oruro was...

Hornbill and water snake: Borneo Harvest Festival.(helat nyelo)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The hornbill and the water snake come together on the island of Borneo n Southeast Asia. as the Ngaju people celebrate the Harvest Festival. an important yearly event During the two-month period of the Harvest...

Celebrating a new day.(Afghanistan's Nowruz)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As winter melts into spring, schools and businesses close and Afghans celebrate the ancient Persian holiday of Nowruz (nah-ROOZ) on March 21. Nowruz. which means "new day," marks the vernal equinox in the Northern...

Growing up in New Orleans.(Mardi Gras)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many of us have seen images of Mardi Gras parades on television. Farrah Morell, a sixth-grader at the Hynes Charter School in New Orleans, is fortunate to be able to attend several Mardi Gras parades a day during the...

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its way.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Visit a mall near you in early spring and chances are you'll see parents lined up with their children for pictures with a giant white bunny. Somewhere near the bunny a large basket of brightly colored eggs is...

Celebrating freedom.(South Africa)
November 1, 2008... Fireworks, backyard cookouts, and parades are a familiar sight in the United States when freedom is celebrated. But the United States, by far, isn't the only country in the world with a holiday celebrating freedom. The people of South...

Celebrating children in Japan.(Hina Matsuri and Kodomo no Hi)
November 1, 2008... Japan is a land of tradition, and families both in the countryside and in the city celebrate the festivals of Girls' Day and Boys' Day (Children's Day) each year. Girls' Day, better known as Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival), began more than...

Celebrating strength and speed: the Naadam Festival.
November 1, 2008... Ask any Mongol what the most important national celebration is mid chances are they will tell you that it is the annual naadam (NAA-dam) festival. (Naadam means "game" or "competition" in Mongolian.) Also referred to as "the three manly games."...

The Eisteddfodau of Wales.(National Eisteddfod and the International Eisteddfod)
November 1, 2008... Wales is often referred to as the "Land of Song." And, indeed, it is. Singing as always been a major recreation Wales. The National Eisteddfod The Welsh love of words and song goes back many centuries and has resulted in the rich...

The festival of Ramadan.
November 1, 2008... Eleven-year-old Noor Sukhun fasts during the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, although she admits it is hard to sit in the school lunch room in Portland, Oregon, while her friends eat. Islam requires that all...

Sukkot: the feast of tabernacle.
November 1, 2008... Building a fort is a part of almost everyone's childhood. Whether it's a blanket draped over a table or a more elaborate structure made of wood in the backyard, forts offer kids the privacy and secrecy they crave. For Jewish children who...

El Dia de los Muertos.(the Day of the Dead)
November 1, 2008... Many believe that on El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), the souls of family members who have died return to share a feast with their living relatives. Families celebrate this special time in various ways. The celebration also varies...

Celebrating a Slava: a family's day of thanksgiving.(Patron Saint's Day)
November 1, 2008... "Sretna Slava!" or "Happy Patron Saint's Day," is the greeting from one family member to another as each enters the house on the special day of their family's chosen saint--a saint chosen by their ancestors more than 1,100 years ago. Each...

Ask faces!(questions about the Zanzibar International Film Festival, foods served during the first Thanksgiving, and the inventors of fireworks)
November 1, 2008... Here is your chance to send us your questions about people, places, and cultures from all over the world. Each month, our experts will answer several questions from readers like you. Want to know where the world's highest mountain is located?...

Face facts.('White Christmas' as the most recorded Christmas song)
November 1, 2008... "White Christmas" is the most recorded Christmas song, with more than 500 versions in a dozen different languages. 'IM DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS... IN VAYSE NITL... NOEL BLANC... BLANCA NAVIDAD... [ILLUSTRATION...

Christmas around the world.(Christmas celebrations in different countries)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chances are you've never received a partridge in a pear tree for Christmas, but you may have heard the song. Every year around the end of November (if not earlier), North Americans are inundated with Christmas songs,...

Nsue and the honeyguide.(Short story)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Silently he crept through jagged thornbushes. Bare feet moved swiftly over hot, arid soil to the edge of a waterhole where the kudu was drinking. The great animal suddenly looked up, spiral horns curving sharply into...

Hazel Green by Odo Hirsch.
November 1, 2008... I loved this book! The story revolves around the festivities surrounding Frogg Day. On Frogg Day, the adults of the Moodey Building march in a parade commemorating Victor Frogg, who was born in the building. Hazel thought kids should march in...

Say what?(children's reactions to a photograph of Elvis Presley)
November 1, 2008... from May/June FACES: Elvis [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Tastes like Chicken a la King."--Ann B. "Hmmm, I wonder if there's a doggie biscuit in there..."--Seth R. "Priscilla's here, you have to wake up!"--Simone L. "It's been 6...

Don't stop now!(Faces[TM] FROM THE PAST)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] World Health: Time for a Checkup! FAC0703 What could be more important than your health? You can hear in many languages around the world, If you've got your health, then you've got everything. But unfortunately, many...

Pinata pick up!
November 1, 2008... Danny has smashed open the pinata! Now find the two pieces of candy that are identical. Answer to Pinata Pick Up! on back cover: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]