Indian Festival
The Milwaukee Native American Indian Festival is truly and amazing event. For three days in September every year, thousands gather in Milwaukee, USA, to celebrate Indian culture. Last year, I was lucky enough to attend the festival and experience it for myself.
The preparations take months. Dance teams from all over the country practise to compete in the tribal Pow Wow dance contest. Indian craftsmen work to produce the many traditional items on display. Then, in the week before the festival, the stalls are put up and the food is prepared, so that everything will be ready for the big day.
The celebrations began at 4pm and there was plenty to see and do. I visited a traditional Indian village, watched skilled craftsmen carve totem poles, and even learned how to do tribal Indian dancing. It was also a great opportunity to sample some traditional native dishes, like corn bread and buffalo burgers.
The festival was fun, entertaining and educational. It was a wonderful way to learn about Native American culture and celebrate the end of summer.
Tet Festival
Tet is a national and family festival. It is an occasion for every Vietnamese to have a good time while thinking about the last year and the next year. At Tet, spring fairs are organized, streets and public buildings are brightly decorated and almost all shops are crowded with people shopping for Tet. At home, every is tidied, special food is cooked,offerings of food, fresh water, flowers and betel are made on the family altar with burning joss- sticks scenting the air. First-footing is made when the lucky visitor comes and children are given lucky money wrapped in a red tiny envelope. Tet is also a time for peace and love. During Tet, children often behave well and friends, relatives and neighbors give each other best wishes for the new year
In Vietnam the Mid-Autumn Festival, known as Tet Trung Thu in Vietnamese, is one of the country's mostimportant holidays, along with Vietnamese Lunar New Year, and National Day, etc. Tet Trung Thu usually takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. In 2014, it was on September 8th.
The traditions surrounding this holiday date back thousands of years, and they place a huge emphasis onchildren. It is thought that the festival was originally celebrated to give parents time to catch up with their children after the summer harvest was completed. Children were believed to be the purest and most innocent, and thus they were the closest connection to the sacred and natural world.
The Mooncake Festival
Today, the approach of Mid-Autumn is signaled by the appearance of stalls selling mooncakes all over the country's streets. These cakes are very rich and are often filled with varied ingredients. Mooncakes are the most important traditional food related to Tet Trung Thu, and they are extremelyly popular.
Year by year, the Mid-Autumn mooncake stands increase in number. Boxes of mooncakes are often presented as gifts before the approaching of the holiday.
Perhaps the best place in Vietnam to observe Tet Trung Thu is Hoi An, a historical town in the central region of the country. The town is densely packed with shops, providing a prime target for lion dancers. The river running through town is covered in floating lanterns, and the atmosphere is extremely magical.
In other parts of Vietnam, the festival is largely enjoyed by children and young people. The kids go around the local areas with different types of lanterns in hands, whereas the youth prefer to go out with friends to have a dinner or a few drinks.
Occasionally we might even see a dragon, the most sacred of all animals, which is controlled by well trained dancers. The dance often attracts a huge crowd, and once in a while the man who carries the animal's head set off a firework through the dragon's mouth and thrilling the crowd. It is a MUST that this tradition needs to be kept alive.
