DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    Just lurking in the shadows of the neighbor's twinkling Christmas lawn  lights  is the darker side of the Yule tide. One rarely associates the holiday season with the ghouls and specters that cavort during Halloween, but in many traditions around the world Christmas does have a dark side. Aside from the specters in Dickens's  A Christmas Carol , the threat of a lump of coal from Santa, and Chevy Chase's  Holiday Vacation ; American traditions have been insulated from the horror show of Christmas traditions around the world. Here are just some of stories of Christmas evil that will make you glad that shipping Aunt Tillie's sweater is high on your list of holiday stressors. A Tender Norwegian Christmas     Besides eating lye treated cod during the Holiday season, the Norwegians have a number of frightful Christmas traditions. The foremost of these traditions being Julebukk the Christmas goat.  Traditions centering around Julebukk are thought t

    Krampus is not a muscle contraction that causes unpleasant pain, but Krampus  does  apparently inflict painful experiences or death to children who do not behave. This mythical creature has been a tool people have used to promote scare tactics in children. Krampus is in cahoots with Santa Claus. In some parts of the world, Santa has plural helpers called Krampi.     Krampus is depicted as an evil demon that has a long tail, horns, a long tongue, hooves, and carries a black bag or basket. As a child, I never heard of Krampus. Not until I picked up a random National Geographic magazine at the doctor's office had I ever heard of Krampus. This creature originated in Austria and is still very popular in  Germany.  Krampus is also related to fertility.     The Americanized Santa Claus does not have these helpers. In other parts of the world, Santa's group of Krampi would be considered similar to American Santa's elves, except for the obvious

     Highland games  are events held throughout the year in  Scotland  and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and  Celtic  culture and heritage, especially that of the  Scottish Highlands . Certain aspects of the games are so well known as to have become emblematic of Scotland, such as the  bagpipes , the  kilt , and the heavy events, especially the  caber toss . While centred on competitions in piping and drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics, the games also include entertainment and exhibits related to other aspects of Scottish and  Gaelic  culture.     The  Cowal Highland Gathering , better known as the  cowal Games , held in  Dunoon ,  Scotland  every August, is the largest Highland games in Scotland, attracting around 3,500 competitors and somewhere in the region of 15–20,000 spectators from around the globe. Worldwide, however, it is dwarfed by two gatherings in the United States: the 50,000 that attend  Grandfather Mountain  in  North Caroli

    The  Guelaguetza , or  Los lunes del cerro  (Mondays of the Hill) is an annual cultural celebration in Mexico that takes place in the  city of Oaxaca , capital of the state of  Oaxaca  and nearby villages. The celebration includes parades complete with walking bands and the marketing of food, statewide artisanal production, and souvenirs, but centers on traditional dancing in costume in groups, often groups of only one sex. Each costume and dance usually has a local historical and cultural meaning. Although the celebration is an important tourist attraction, especially in the capital city of Oaxaca, it also retains significant independent cultural importance for the people of the state.    Oaxaca has a large indigenous population, 40 percent, compared to 15 percent for Mexico as a whole. Indigenous culture in the state remains strong in its own right, with over 300,000 people in the state who are monolingual in indigenous languages. Unlike the  Yucatán,  where t

    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 Kumano road to the Hiryu shrine, the

    The Virgin del Carmen Feast is about a feast of marine tradition at Marbella town that ends on July 16th (the Virgin Festival). The Virgen del Carmen, Saint of the Sea and of Fishermen, is one of the sacred headlines, which awakens more devotion among neighbors in the region. The whole town gathers in the streets and beaches every summer to see the processional tour of the virgin by land and sea.     A week before this date and in the Chapel of the Fishing Port; a mass is celebrated where the Sisterhood Chorus participates and the Virgin of the City together with the Marine Virgin are shown and toured every year. The Marine Virgin is taken out from a cave located at 12 meters depth in the proximity of Poste de la Mina (El Cable). At the end of the act, the Golden Anchor is awarded to the eldest retired fisherman.     This same day of July 16th the maritime procession of the virgin is celebrated, she leaves the Fishing Port towards Banus Po