DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   The night of trick or treating, costumes, candy, and all things spooky.In celebration,   Here is  a list of the 10 songs that absolutely must featured at your halloween party – or, failing that, songs you must load onto your iPod to help you get in the mood. I have tried very hard to provide you with the most diverse and interesting set of songs possible – so while you may not see all of your favorites, you should see at least one or two new ones to add to your collection.   15.  Bark at the Moon/Ozzy Osbourne    A list like this would not be complete without the awesomeness which is Ozzy Osbourne! This track is from the Bark at the Moon Album recorded in 1983. Ozzy is, of course, most famous for being the lead singer of Black Sabbath and it would be seriously wrong not to include him on this list. 14.  Devil Went Down To Georgia/Charlie Daniels Band    We have two firsts on this list – things I ne...

   The Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme , also known as the festival of near death experiences, is a slightly odd festival to say the least. Held in a small Spanish village, that borders Portugal – Las Nieves, Pontevedra, in Galicia and taking place on the 29 th of July.    The Festival of near death experiences, as its name suggests, is a celebration for those people who have had a near death experience and lived to tell the tale. Saint Marta de Ribarteme is the patron Saint of resurrection. The lucky ‘survivors’ attend the festival in a coffin. It is a good place to go if you want to catch up on tales of different near death experiences.     Even though centered around a fairly morbid theme, the festival itself is a celebration with firework displays and the usually partying that carries on well into the following day.    Thousands of people line the streets of this tiny village. At 10am, the relatives of the people wh...

   Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore. Many legendary creatures have this ability, which is represented in a full body transformation. It enables the creature to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Throughout history many murder sprees have been attributed to the presence of these beings. As Halloween is just around the corner, this list might help to give you all some ideas for a costume if you are going to a party. 10.  Leshy    The Leshy is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology believed to protect wild animals and the forests. They usually appear as tall men, but have the ability to change size and shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. Leshies have beards made of living grass and vines, and are often depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. The Leshy has pale white skin and dark green eyes. They are the lords of the forest and hold close bonds with gray wolves, bears, and all animal life. When a leshy is in ...

   On the first Thursday of July and the previous Tuesday every summer, the Ommegang lights up the magnificent of Brussels. History    The secular setting stages the glorious and majestic procession in Brussels of Emperor Charles V Guests of honour sit at the delicately worked windows of the Town Hall to watch the reconstitution of this historical meeting from the beautifully decorated balconies. The Prince of Orange, who would become William the Silent, many ladies in waiting, city councillors, the emperor's bulldog and other hounds, his fal conry train with ladies carrying skittish birds perched proudly on their hands--all accompany the Emperor. Accompanied by his son Philip, Crown Prince of Spain and Duke of Brabant, and his sisters Eleanor, Queen of France and Mary of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Regent of the Netherlands. This majestic pageant strides along the proud façades that once housed the guilds and the elegant architecture of the Tow...

   Russia has a vibrant culture that is expressed with a variety of celebrations. Russians get to enjoy the holidays of Christmas and New Year twice, thanks to the Julian and Gregorian calendar dates, and they also celebrate many other special occasions not commonly shared by the United States. Name days are one example of celebratons that are observed by many European and Latin American countries, and still highly regarded today by many Russians.    Name day celebrations began back in the 1600's with the creation of calendars honoring the many saints of the Orthodox church. The day that a particular saint died came to be known as their feast day. Since many people of that time were named after saints, they would celebrate each other in addition to honoring the saints. With the help of the churches, saints' feasts days became more popular than birthdays and were soon referred to as name days, or angel days.     Name day celebrations can ...

      The Nachi Fire Festival is one of Japan's cultural gems. Listed as an intangible cultural asset the festival has a history of more than 1500 years and is one of the most spectacular festivals of the summer. Held on July 14th each year, the Nachi no Hi Matsuri or Nachi Ogi Matsuri (Fan Festival) is a traditional fire festival involving ritual offerings, music and dance. The festival is held in a remote area of the Yoshino-Kumano National Park on the Kii Peninsula. The shrines where the Nachi Fire Festival takes place are part of the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine and the Hiryu shrine, which is located at the base of the massive Nachi waterfall, which with a 133 meter (about 436 feet) drop is the highest waterfall in Japan.    The festival involves 12 (portable) mikoshi shrines, each decorated with mirrors and gold, and 12 massive ceremonial torches. Carried from Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine down the old Ku...

    In recent years, modern witches have become more and more accepted. Some of them play on many of the old concepts of a traditional 'witch', but by and large the stereotypical image of a broom riding crone with a point hat does not match at all with the reality. So where is it that this image came from? Many of the common 'wicked witch' images are derived from periods of time when a witch was considered to be a catch-all term for a person who had a pact with demons or the devil himself. These are just a few of the origins for the iconic 'witch'.    Conical Hats - Medieval woodcuttings showed any number of variations on what witches wore, so where did the conical black hat with the wide rim originate? The witches hat became known as it is now somewhere between Victorian times and the turn of the century. They became common in the illustration of evil witches in children's stories. Why did it become thus? That is less clear. There are a number ...

  The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition, which is run as a publicity gathering event by Shea Communications. It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation 's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island , a neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York . In 2011 over 40,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.949 million viewers watched it live on ESPN television.    The contest has gained public attention in recent years due to the sudden stardom of Takeru Kobayashi , his subsequent rivalry with American Joey Chestnut , and the current controversy over Kabayashi's contractual dispute and absence. In the ninety-sixth annual contest, held on July 4, 2011, four-time-defending champion Chestnut won his fifth title by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in ten minutes. Recently he was beaten by Kim B with 65 hot dogs in 10 minutes The contest was telev...