DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   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. ...

   Easter Seals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for nearly 90 years.  From child development centers to physical rehabilitation and job training for people with disabilities.  Easter Seals offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life's challenges and achieve person goals. Tragedy Leads to Inspiration    In 1907, Ohio businessman Edgar Allen lost his son in a streetcar accident.  The lack of adequate medical service available to save his son prompted Allen to sell his business and begin a fund raising campaign to build a hospital in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio.  Through this new hospital, Allen was surprised to learn that children with disabilities were often hidden from public view.  Inspired by this discovery, in 1919, Allen founded what became known as the National Society for Crippled Children , the first organization of its...

  The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese fest on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar.  Astronomically, it is also a solar term.  The Qingming festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qingming.  Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (Taqing, "treading on the greenery") and tend to the graves of departed loved ones.    Qingming has been regularly observed as a statutory public holiday in Taiwan and in the Chinese jurisdictions of Hong Kong and Macau.  Its observance was reinstated as a public holiday in mainland China in 2008, after having been previous suppressed by the ruling Communist Party in 1949.    The holiday is known by a number of names in the English language: All Souls Day (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic holiday, All Souls, ...

   For Christians across the world Easter is a sacred day that marks Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead.  But alongside celebratory church services and religious festivities, for Christians and non-Christians alike, Easter has also become a day to enjoy Easter chocolate and candy, family fun and of course an Easter egg hunt.  From coast to coast,  families across America enjoy the thrill of hiding and then hunting for Easter gifts tucked away in the house or somewhere in the yard.   But where did the tradition start??   And why is it that Easter is celebrated with an egg hunt?  To understand why the Easter egg hunt became such an important part of the Easter tradition, we have to begin by considering why eggs became associated with the holiday in the first place.  And surprisingly enough it's our pre-Christian past that holds the key.    Long before Christianity, as long as three thousand years ago, the a...

   Children's Day Festival (English: International April 23rd, Children's Day Festival; Turkish" Uluslarasi 23 Nisan Cocuk Senligi ) is a festival which is celebrated on April 23rd each year in Turkey.  This festival is gathering the children from a ll over the world under the motto of "Love, Friendship and Peace".   The festival is organized by Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. History    The April 23rd Children's Festival , a children's festival which was gifted to Turkish children by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , founder of the Republic of Turkey, to mark the opening of the Assembly.  The festival has been celebrated internationally since 1979.  The Children's Festival was first celebrated in Turkey on April 23rd, 1920, when the Turkish Grand National Assembly was opened.  The festival intend to contribute creation of a world where children can live peacefully by developing sentiments of fraternity, love and friend...

   Easter is a special event celebrated by Christians.  It is the celebration of the resurrection of  Christ.  Easter is celebrated in many countries all over the world, however not all traditions are the same. America and Canada    In America and Canada, Easter is pretty much celebrated the same.  Decorated eggs are hunted for or exchanged as well as other gifts they may include money and chocolates.  Easter baskets and bonnets are made and decorated, then entered into contests.    The Easter bunny is very popular in both countries.  Stores line their shelves with stuffed bunnies to give as gifts as well as chocolate, decorations and gifts for the Easter holiday. Germany    In Germany, Eater is called Ostern .  Besides Christmas, Easter is the most important holiday in Germany.  Spring cleaning is done in the household, decorations are brought in and hung up.  Small Easter trees ...

Oxford and Cambridge Crews    The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club , rowed between competing eights each spring on the Thames in London.  It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April.  The formal title of the event is the Xchanging Boat Race , and it is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.    In 2010 an estimated quarter of a million people watched the race live from the banks of the river and millions on television.    Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a " Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue .  The race was in 1829 and it has been held annually since 1856, with the exception of the two world wars.  The most recent race was on Saturday, March 26th 2011, with Oxf...