party phD: Canada Day

Photo Credit: Rick Harris

Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, is a Canadian federal Statutory Holiday celebrated on July 1st. Canada Day commemorates the July 1 1867 signing of the British North America Act [the Constitution Act] which joined the British North American Colonies Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and and the Province of Canada into a federation of 4 provinces and established the Dominion of Canada. It took some time for Dominion Day to catch on, mostly because many Canadians considrered themselves British subjects for a long time still after Confederation.

Canada Day is celebrated in many different ways across the country, varying from culture to culture. The range of activities includes fireworks displays, barbeques, concerts, face painting, air shows, festivals, citizenship ceremonies, parades and parties. Canadians flock to these [mostly outdoor] events draped in flags and wearing red and white clothing and accessories to show their national pride. Many events are televised on national television, especially fireworks shows and concerts featuring big name Canadian artists.

Since Canada Day is so close to the United States' Independence Day, there are actually some festivals that celebrate the friendly bond between the two countries during their time of patriotism. Detroit Michigan and Windsor Ontario hold the annual International Freedom Festival and Buffalo New York and Fort Erie Ontario celebrate with the Friendship Festival.

As a proud Canadian, I will be sharing Canada Day with my friends today at a backyard BBQ. I made some cute Canada Day cupcakes which I will post a picture of tomorrow. Happy birthday Canada and happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!

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party phD: Earth Day

Photo Credit: Earth Day Canada

Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is a 39-year-old day of celebration for the Earth. The focus of Earth Day is on conservation, preservation, education, awareness and appreciation. The importance of ecology and Earth education had become a prominent topic in the 1960's and so in 1970, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson constructed an 'environmental teach-in' to be held on April 22. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed each year on April 22 by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries.

Photo Credit: Biographical Directory of United States Congress

The significance of April 22 has long been debated, but the truth seems to be that Sen. Nelson chose this date because he felt it would maximize participation on college campuses. Other theories surrounding the date of Earth Day include the birthday of Julius Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day, the birthday of John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club and the birthday of Vladmir Lenin [suspected by those who suggested the event was a Communist trick].

In many places, Earth Day has expanded to Earth Week and, in some cases, Earth Month. Events of every kind happen during Earth Day/Week/Month from galas to grassroots garbage clean ups. If you are looking to find an event in your area, click here for Earth Day Network listed events. Or, use this funky widget to find a Canadian event near you.

If you are around the GTA, I suggest this event. Alternatively, check out Disney's amazing new film, out today, called Earth. View the trailer below.

How will you be celebrating Earth Day?

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party phD: Passover

Photo Credit: Alan

Passover is a Jewish and Samaritan festival and Holy day commemorating God mercifully sparing the Hebrews when the tenth plague killed every firstborn son in Egypt [Exodus]. The Bible says that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves. The Hebrews were instructed to mark their homes with the blood of a lamb and, upon seeing this, the Angel of Death passed over them. When Pharaoh freed the Hebrew slaves, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for their bread to rise. In commemoration, no leavened bread is eaten for the duration of Passover, also earning it the name "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matza, unleavened bread [also called Matzo], is the primary symbol of the holiday.

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan [March/April in the Gregorian calendar], the first month of the Hebrew calendar's festival year. In 2009, Passover spans from April 9-16. In Israel, Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services and holiday meals.

The Seder
A large part of the Passover celebration involves a feast called the Seder. In Hebrew, Seder means 'arrangement' or 'order'. The Seder is held on the first and sometimes second night of Passover. The Seder is all about tradition and family ritual and is a key component of Jewish religious and cultural identity. Families gather at the table to read one of the Haggadah, the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Seder customs include drinking of four cups of wine, eating matza and partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate.

The Seder Plate
The Seder Plate ["ke'ara"] is a plate with symbolic food arranged in a special way. Each item symbolizes a part of the story of Exodus.

Three matzot are placed on top of each other on a plate or napkin, and then covered.
The matzot are symbolic of the three castes of Jews: Priests, Levites, and Israelites.

The following items are placed on a cloth or plate placed above the three matzot:

• The Shankbone ["z'roa", symbolizing the lamb sacrifice]
• The Egg ["Beitzah", symbolizing the festival sacrifice]
• The Bitter Herbs ["Maror" and "Chazeret", symbolizing the harshness Jews endured while enslaved to the Egyptians]
• The Mixture ["Charoset;", symbolizing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves while building]
• The Vegetable ["Karpas" which is dipped in saltwater. The saltwater represents the tears shed by the Jews during their enslavement]

Passover is full of amazing imagery, tradition and history. There are many steps to the Passover Seder, including blessings, ritual asking of questions, and the order in which food and wine is consumed.

President Obama added a second-night seder to his official schedule, to be observed April 9, 2009. This is the first time that a sitting president is known to have hosted, and observed, a seder at the White House.

Do you celebrate Passover?

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party phD: Palm Sunday

Photo Credit: Eric Molina

Palm Sunday is a Christian Feast Day which falls on the Sunday before Easter.
Palm Sunday ranks as one of Christianity's holiest days, second only to Christmas and Easter. It falls on the last Sunday of Lent and marks the beginning of Holy Week. It is called a 'moveable feast' as it is not celebrated on the same day each year. In 2009, Palm Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday April 5th. This day commemorates the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem before his Passion and Crucifixion.

The significance of Jesus riding a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches is a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah. In biblical times, the regional custom called for kings and nobles arriving in procession to ride on the back of a donkey. The donkey was a symbol of peace; those who rode upon them proclaimed peaceful intentions. The laying of palm branches indicated that the king or dignitary was arriving in victory or triumph.

The scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by waving palms and carpeting his path with them has given this Christian feast its name. In the Gospel of John, he specifically mentions palm fronds which were a symbol of triumph and of victory, in Jewish tradition, and is treated in other parts of the Bible as such.

Palm Sunday traditions are long-standing. The ceremony begins with the blessing of the palms. The procession follows, then Mass is celebrated. Afterward, many people take the palms home and place them in houses, barns, and fields.

In some countries, palms are placed on the graves of the departed. In colder northern climates, where palm trees are not found, branches of yew, willow, and sallow trees are used. The palms blessed in the ceremony are burned at the end of the day. The ashes are then preserved for next year's Ash Wednesday celebration.

Figs are sometimes considered a traditional Palm Sunday food because Jesus had wanted to eat figs on his journey into Jerusalem. Some people refer to Palm Sunday as 'Fig Sunday' and make foods containing figs. Click here for some fig recipes.

Palm Sunday is an occasion for reflecting on the final week of Jesus' life. It is a time for Christians to prepare their hearts for the agony of His Passion and the joy of His Resurrection.

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party phD: April Fools' Day

Photo Credit: Jonathan Assink

April Fools' Day, also known as All Fools Day is a faux-liday 'celebrated' on April 1st in many countries around the world. Read on to find out more about this day of pranks and jokes.
The origin of April Fools' Day may have had little to do with the way it is now celebrated. There is no real 'first April Fool's Day' to speak of. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, where those who celebrated the arrival of spring too early were dubbed 'April Fools', while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar, where those who hadn't yet switched to the Gregorian calendar and attempted to celebrate New Year's on what was now April 1st were called April Fools. Whatever the origin, we have no come to mark this occasion by playing pranks on people.

April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world. In some countries, the jokes only last until noon such as Canada, The UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In other places, such as the USA, the jokes can last all day.

Photo Credit: MarthaStewart.com

Martha Stewart's website has some cute ideas for some April Fools' Day pranks to pull on friends and family including this one where you secure a rubber band around the handle of the sink sprayer so when someone turns on the water it shoots from the sprayer instead of the faucet!

What pranks have you successfully executed for April Fools' Day?

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party phD: St Patrick's Day

Photo Credit: Paweł Bąk

why do we celebrate st. patrick's day? what does a saint have to do with green beer and shamrocks? and what does a man born in 5th century britain have to do with ireland in the first place? read on to learn more.

st patrick
st. patrick was born in [roman] britain near the end of the 4th century and is said to have died on march 17th 460. when he was sixteen years old, patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who transported him to ireland. he spent six years in captivity working in solitude as a shephard. patrick turned to religion to guide him and it is believed that this is the time when he began to dream of converting the irish people to christianity.
when he escaped from capitivity, patrick returned to britain. he wrote that he experienced a revelation wherein an angel told him to return to ireland as a missionary. patrick subsequently began a long religious training and was ordained as a priest. he was sent to ireland to minister to christians living in ireland and to begin to convert the irish.
familiar with the irish culture, st patrick used this knowledge to incorporate traditional irish ritual and imagery into his teachings to make it more natural for the irish (who were mostly involved with nature-based pagan ritual at the time). by the 8th century, he became widely known as the patron saint of ireland.

the religious holiday
march 17th is st. patrick's religious feast day. it was placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the catholic church in the early part of the 17th century, although it was widely celebrated in the local irish church from a much earlier date. it is a holy day of obligation for roman catholics in ireland, meaning they are obligated to attend mass on this day. the holiday almost always falls in the season of lent. often bishops may grant an indult from the Friday 'no meat' observance if st. patrick's day falls on a friday. when March 17th falls on a Sunday, church calendars move the holiday to the following monday.

the secular holiday
non-religious st. patrick's ["st. patty's"] day celebrations are generally themed around everything 'irish' and the colour green. both christians and non-christians around the world celebrate the secular version of this holiday by wearing green, eating irish food or green food and drink and attending parades and parties. in ireland, st. patrick's day has traditionally been a religious occasion without any secular observance. up until the 1970s, irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17th! in 1995, the irish government began a national campaign to use the holiday as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase ireland to the rest of the world.

wearing green
traditionally, st. patrick is associated with the colour blue, specifically 'st. patrick's blue'. the change to ireland's association with green rather than blue probably began around the late 18th century and may have gained its prominence through the phrase 'the wearing of the green' which means to wear a shamrock on your clothing. it is said that st. patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity to the pre-christian irish, referencing its 3 leaves. wearing a shamrock on your clothing has long been viewed as a symbol of proud irish nationalism. americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched.


do you celebrate st. patrick's day? how do you mark this festive occasion?

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