DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

     Cambodian New Year (Khmer) or Chaul Chnam Thmey , in the Khmer language, literally "Enter Year New", is the name of the Cambodian holiday that celebrated the New Year.  The holiday lasts for three days beginning on New Year's day, which usually falls on April 13th or 14th, which is the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labor before the rainy season begins.  Khmer's living abroad may choose to celebrate during a weekend rather than just specifically April 13th through the 15th.  The Khmer New Year coincides with the traditional solar new year in several parts of India, Myanmar and Thailand.    Cambodians also use Buddhist Era to count the year based on the Buddhist calendar.  For 2011, it is 2555 BE (Buddhist Era). The Three Day of The New Year Maha Songkran    Maha Songkran , derived from Sanskrit Maha Sankranti , is the name of the first day of the new year celebration.  It is the ending of the year and the beginni

   Children look forward to Spring and the arrival of the Easter bunny.  Easter signifies the warm weather is coming, is the first big holiday since Christmas and who doesn't like jelly beans and chocolate bunnies?  There are sever theories and legends around where the tradition of the Easter bunny began and how colored eggs became a part of it.    Once theory, according to Wikipedia, is that the Easter bunny  or " Osterhause " as it is called in German, first originated in Western German cultures where it had traveled from the Upper Rhineland during the Holy Roman Empire.  German children would leave their caps and bonnets out where the rabbit could find them and make a nest to leave brightly colored eggs.  This tradition crossed the seas to the American colonies, where all children picked up the custom and started to observe it.  The bright colored  " Easter grass " we see in baskets today is a throw back to this custom.    Since birds lay eggs in the