HOLIDAYS

Even if it is not a public holiday, be aware that many businesses in Europe will give employees the afternoon or the whole day as a holiday. For instance in Portugal, while Christmas Eve is not a national holiday, most companies give their employees the day or afternoon off to prepare and to be with their families, and many businesses will close earlier than normal.

Christmas Eve marks the culmination of the Advent period before Christmas that started on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve. Many churches will mark the end of Advent with midnight church services.

In Latin America, Christmas Eve marks the end of a nine-day period before Christmas, called ‘Las Posandas’ which represents the none months of labour for the Virgin Mary before she gave birth to Jesus.

Sonam Losoong (Farmers’ Harvest) is a New Year celebration of the Sikkimese Bhutia. It is called Namsoong by the Lepchas. The festival marks the time when the farmers rejoice and celebrate their harvest. Although the festival is celebrated privately among family members and friends there is an air of festivity all around. The Black Hat dance takes place at this festival commemorating the victory of good over evil, with ‘chaams’ held in many monasteries two days prior to Losoong.

The festival of Lossong is celebrated with traditional gaiety and colour both by the Lepchas and Bhutias. On the occasion pujas are performed for peace and prosperity for the new year. Certain competitions are also held in traditional skills, such as archery and the merry-making will continue for days.

The purpose of the day is mourning victims of Boko Haram insurgents, the victory recorded by the Nigerian Military and the remembrance of fallen soldiers and volunteers who have sacrificed their lives fighting Boko Haram since 2009 in different parts of Borno State.

Boko Haram, an ISIS-aligned jihadist group, has killed over 30,000 people and displaced 2.3 million from their homes. At one time it was the world’s deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index.

In mid-2014, the militants gained control of swathes of territory in their home state of Borno.

In December 2016, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the army had seized one of Boko Haram’s last bases in northeastern Borno state, marking a key stage in the offensive against the armed group.

A long campaign in the 1,300sq km forest in Borno led to the “final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest” on Friday, Buhari said in a statement at the time.

Governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima, said: “Based on Buhari’s announcement, the Sambisa forest became deceased or dead at about 1.35 pm on December 22nd 2016.”

As a result, Shettima announced that: “This day will be marked as Public Holiday in Borno for the purpose of celebrating the strength and the victory of our Armed Forces”.

In Chinese, Dongzhi (‘dongzhi’ in Mandarin and ‘dung zi’ in Cantonese) means ‘extreme of winter’ and the Dongzhi festival marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

The winter solstice occurs when the earth is tilted at its maximum annual angle away from the sun creating the day with the shortest amount of daylight.

The solstice marked the middle of winter in many ancient cultures. Solstice literally means ‘the standing still of the sun’ as the sun appears to do just that on sunrise on the solstice before it rises ever so slightly south on the next day. 

Noting the arrival of the shortest day, was a time for celebration. Of course, winter wouldn’t end for several months, but to know that you were past the middle and that the dark, cold nights would start to get shorter is an event that has been marked by feasts and rituals since the dawn of civilisation.

As long ago as the  Zhou period (circa 1100BC-256BC), the Chinese were already observing the winter solstice as a state holiday.

This turning point of the year is an important aspect of Dongzhi with a traditional custom in parts of China being that on Dongzhi everyone turns one year older.

Certainly, the festival is a time to gather with your family and a common activity in southern China is the making and eating of a sweet soup containing balls of glutinous rice, called tangyuan. The spherical tangyuan, which can be stuffed with meat, some kind of sweet paste, or without filling, symbolise fullness and completeness.

In Hong Kong, tangyuan is almost always served as a dessert; the most popular fillings are sesame, red bean, or peanut paste. The clear syrup is sometimes flavoured with ginger or osmanthus flowers.

In Korea, a popular traditional food to eat on Dong-Ji is Patjuk, a red bean porridge. The custom is that the red colour of the porridge can ward off evil spirits and cure sickness.

The United States invaded Panama on December 20th 1989, in an operation codenamed Operation Just Cause. The U.S. stated the operation was “necessary to safeguard the lives of U.S. citizens in Panama, defend democracy and human rights, combat drug trafficking, and secure the neutrality of the Panama Canal as required by the Torrijos–Carter Treaties”.

It represented the largest United States military operation since the Vietnam War.

On December 29th 1989, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling the intervention in Panama a “flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States”. A similar resolution was vetoed in the Security Council by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Noriega was captured and flown to Miami to be tried. The conflict ended on January 31st 1990.

About 300 Panamanian soldiers and 214 civilians were killed during the invasion, according to official estimates, while the U.S. military reported 23 deaths among its troops. Human rights groups believe the number of Panamanian dead could be higher.

“It took us a long time to achieve this demand, and finally, the day has arrived,” said Trinidad Ayola, president of the Association of Friends and Relatives of Victims of December 20th.

In March 2022, President Laurentino Cortizo, the president of Panama declared an annual national holiday to commemorate Panamanians who died during the 1989 U.S. invasion of the country.

The decree signed by the President establishes December 20th, the date of the invasion, as a national day of mourning. “By enacting this law, we settle a debt with the nation, with those who died in that tragic event, who we remember with respect,” Cortizo said

By the end of the 15th century, Portuguese explorers, such as Vasco da Gama, had discovered a new sea route to India, making Goa an attractive base for the new trade routes. In 1510, the Portuguese overthrew the ruling Bijapur sultan Yusuf Adil Shah with the help of a local ally, establishing a permanent settlement in Goa. This was the beginning of Portuguese rule in Goa that would last for over 450 years.

Goa prospered, becoming the largest city in Asia for a time, with a population of over 40,000. It became known as ‘Rome of the East’ and boasted over 300 churches.

By the middle of the 18th century, Portuguese Goa had expanded to most of its present-day state limits. Though they lost other possessions in India, the borders of Portguese control stabilised, forming the Estado da Índia Portuguesa or State of Portuguese India, of which Goa was the largest territory.

After India gained its independence from the British in 1947, India requested that Portuguese colonies on the Indian subcontinent be ceded to India. In line with the approach of the Estado Novo government regarding its overseas territories, Portugal refused to negotiate on the sovereignty of its Indian territories. The Portuguese argued that India had no rights to this territory because the Republic of India did not exist at the time when Goa came under Portuguese rule

On 19 December 1961, the Indian Army invaded with Operation Vijay. The operation took 36 hours and ended with the surrender of the Portuguese Governor General Vassalo da Silva and the annexation of Goa, and of Daman and Diu islands into the Indian union. Goa, along with Daman and Diu, was organised as a centrally administered union territory of India. 

On 30 May 1987, the union territory was split, and Goa became India’s twenty-fifth state, with Daman and Diu remaining a union territory.

Bhutan’s official name is the Kingdom of Bhutan. It is also known as “The Land of the Thunder Dragon.” This refers to Druk the mythical dragon, a national symbol of Bhutan.

Bhutan was first unified in the early 17th century by a Buddhist monk, Ngawang Namgyal. It was ruled under the Tibetan dual system of government led by the Zhabdrung – reincarnations of the mind, body and speech of Ngawang Namgyal.

In the late 19th century, Bhutan was being pulled apart by conflicts with Tibet and the British Empire.

This led to a power struggle between regional leaders with Ugyen Wangchuck, the Ponlop of Tongsa in central Bhutan emerging as the dominant figure in Bhutan, uniting the country and establishing better relations with British India.

The rise of Ugyen Wangchuck highlighted the ineffectiveness of the dual system and in November 1907, an assembly of religious leaders and, government officials was held, which decided to end the 300-year-old dual system of government and to establish a new absolute monarchy with Ugyen Wangchuck as the king.

December 17th 1907 saw the Coronation of His Majesty the First King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Ugyen Wangchuck. This established the Wangchuck Dynasty which continues to rule Bhutan.

The Druk Gyalpo is the official title of the head of state of Bhutan, meaning “Dragon King” in Dzongkha.

This is Bhutan’s most significant national holiday and is widely celebrated throughout the country.

The white color of the dragon in Bhutan’s flag represents purity, the yellow represents the Kingdom of Bhutan’s yellow Kabney, the orange represents the Buddhist tradition, and the jewels represent Bhutan’s wealth and security.

Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands. From the 1860s, Bahrain had been a British protectorate.

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was made the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death. Born in Jasra, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman ibn Hamad.

During his 38 year reign, Bahrain gained its independence from the United Kingdom on August 15th 1971, and Bahrain underwent an economic transformation into a modern nation and a key financial center in the Persian Gulf area.

At the age of 65, Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa died of a heart attack on March 6th 1999 at the al Sakhir Palace in Manama shortly after his meeting with the United States defense secretary William Cohen. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a legal instrument that sets out the political relationship between the four countries that constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten in the Caribbean and the Netherlands. It is the leading legal document of the Kingdom. The Constitution of the Netherlands and the Basic Laws of the three other countries are legally subordinate to the Charter.

The first version of the Charter, which described the relationship between the Netherlands, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles, was signed by Queen Juliana on December 15th 1954. This version lasted for a couple of decades until November 25th 1975, when Suriname became an independent republic.

Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country’s dissolution in 2010 when the island became a special municipality (officially, a “Caribbean public body”) within the country of the Netherlands. It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean; the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba, and all three are known as the Caribbean Netherlands.

Kingdom Day became a new public holiday in the Netherlands Antilles in 2008, replacing Antilles’ Day (October 21st).

After the split of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao announced that KIngdom Day would no longer be a public holiday in Curaçao.

It’s believed that the European chestnut originated in Asia Minor and that the ancient Greeks introduced chestnuts to the Mediterranean region around 1,000 B.C. Chestnuts were spread far and wide by the Romans, who extended the cultivation of this nut into central and northwest Europe. It’s believed that these nuts were originally given the Latin name Castanea, named after the Roman town where the tree was common.

According to popular lore, chestnut roasting was common during the 16th century in Rome, and they were sold by street vendors. The tradition of roasting chestnuts then made its way into the United States, where it became popular and was commonly associated with the Christmas season. In 2015, this holiday was created by an unknown source to celebrate these tasty nuts.

On December 13th 1974, the Maltese constitution was substantially revised.

This effectively changed Malta from being a Commonwealth realm into a republic. The British monarch was no longer head of state and Sir Anthony Mamo became the first president of Malta. Sir Anthony remains to this day the only person from outside politics to have occupied the post.

The decision to become a republic was driven by the political climate of the time. The Labour government, led by Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, pursued a foreign policy emphasising neutrality and independence. Mintoff championed that Malta’s destiny lay in charting its course, free from the vestiges of colonial influence.

Despite independence and becoming a republic, British troops did not leave Malta until March 31st 1979; this was the first time in its long history that Malta was free from foreign soldiers. That day is commemorated by another public holiday – Freedom Day.

December 13th is also the Feast Day of Saint Lucia, the patron saint of Malta.

The Story behind this celebration demonstrates how the Catholic faith gained importance in the hearts of the Mexican people. It is a story of miracles and faith that marks an important change in the history of Mexico.

The Spaniards, after they conquered Mexico, had in mind the goal of converting the indigenous indians into catholicism. But the spaniards encountered many difficulties because the Mexican people had existing strong beliefs in their many gods. It wasn’t until the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Juan Diego that this started to change.

Juan Diego was a young indigenous Indian walking toward the Hill of Tepeyac on December 12th 1531 when he was stopped by the appearance of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary appearing to Juan Diego was a young woman with black hair and dark skin which looked more like an indigenous person. She ordered Juan Diego to go to the Bishop and ask him to build a church at the Hill of Tepeyac. Juan Diego then ran to the Bishop to tell him what the Virgin Mary had told him. The Bishop didn’t believe what this young man was telling him and decided to ignore the petition.

The Virgin Mary appeared again in front of Juan Diego and told him to collect flowers from the top of the hill, but because it was December Juan Diego knew that there was not going to be any flowers at the rocky hill. Upon reaching the top of the hill, Juan Diego was surprised to see that it was covered with colorful and beautiful flowers. Juan Diego, as he was asked to, collected the flowers using his overcoat and ran again to see the Bishop.

Juan Diego gave the coat full of flowers to the bishop, and here the bishop discovered the image of Virgin Mary’s picture was miraculously traced on the coat. Seeing both the unseasonal flowers and the image of the Virgin, the Bishop realized Juan Diego had told him the truth, and The Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe was built on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico City. 

The basilica at Tepeyac is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, and the world’s third most-visited sacred site

The region of modern-day Burkina Faso did not attract colonial attention until the late nineteenth century. By 1898, the kingdoms that now make up the majority of the region corresponding to modern-day Burkina Faso had become a French protectorate.

These territories were added to the Upper Senegal and Burkina Faso colony of French West Africa in 1904. Over the years, regions within the area were split apart into different colonies, before Upper Volta was created on September 4th 1947 becoming an overseas territory of the French Union.

On December 11th 1958, The Republic of Upper Volta became a self-governing autonomous republic within the French Community.

It was nearly two years before Upper Volta gained its full independence from France in August 1960. Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso in August 1984.