Category: Annual Celebration

Raksha Bandhan (or Rakhi) is a Hindu festival, taking place on the full moon in the month of Sravana, which celebrates brotherhood and love. The word Raksha means protection, whilst Bandhan is the verb to tie. On this day, sisters tie rakhi (a bracelet made of interwoven red and gold threads) on the wrists of their brothers to protect … Continue reading “Raksha Bandhan 11 August”

Black Country Day 14 July – this day was chosen as it is considered to be the date of the inception of the Newcomen engine, the first commercially successful engine. Invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, it was first installed at Coneygree Coal Works in Tipton and was used to pump water out of mines. A replica … Continue reading “Black Country Day 14 July”

Bastille Day celebrates the storming of the Bastille – a military fortress and prison – on July 14, 1789, in a violent uprising that was a turning point in the French Revolution. Holding gunpowder and other supplies valuable to revolutionaries, the Bastille also symbolized the callous tyranny of the French monarchy, especially King Louis XVI … Continue reading “Le quatorze juillet”

Asalha Puja falls on the sixth lunar month (typically July), and commemorates Buddha’s first sermon after enlightenment which took place in the Deer Park in Benares (Varanasi), India. The festival offers a chance for Buddhists to reflect on the sermon’s four noble truths: there is suffering, suffering is caused by attachment, there is a plane … Continue reading “Asalha Puja (13 July)”

World Chocolate Day is an annual global celebration of chocolate, taking place on 7 July, which is thought to be the anniversary of the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550. (Personally, every day is World Chocolate Day for me. We used to regularly use the machine below as children, pestering our Mum and Dad … Continue reading “World Chocolate Day (7 July)”

This year marks the 5th national Windrush Day and 74 years since more than 500 Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean, upon the request of the British Government, arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, to help rebuild Britain after World War II. An estimated half a million people made their way to England. Since the SS Empire Windrush … Continue reading “Windrush Day 22 June”

Shavuot is one of the Jewish harvest festivals, also known as the festival or feast of ‘Weeks’. It takes place seven weeks (fifty days) after the first day of the spring festival of Passover and this year starts on the evening of 4 June, ending on the evening on 6 June. Originally an agricultural festival, … Continue reading “Shavu’ot”

Festa della Repubblica is celebrated on 2 June each year and marks the referendum of 1946, which resulted in the creation of the Italian republic. Italy became a nation on 17 March 1861, when most of the states of the region were united under King Victor Emmanuel II, hitherto king of Sardinia. On 2 June … Continue reading “Festa della Repubblica”

Vesak (also Wesak or Buddha Day) 6 May is considered the holiest day in the Buddhist calendar. It is celebrated annually on the full moon of the ancient lunar month of Vesakha in May and commemorates the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. The day is observed as a public holiday in many Southeast … Continue reading “Vesak – Buddha Day 6 May”

The Lusophone world celebrates 5 May as the International Day of the Portuguese language and culture. The language is spoken by over 250 million people in nine countries and is the third most widely spoken European language, after English and Spanish. World Portuguese Language Day highlights the important role this language plays in preserving human civilization … Continue reading “World Portuguese Language Day 5 May”