DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

The 15th day of the first lunar month each year, known as " Yuan Xiao",  it is one of the three major traditional festivals in Taiwan. It is also the first festival celebration after the start of the Lunar New Year. Special events include the  Taiwan Lantern Festival, Pingxi Heavenly Lanterns, Taitung Bombing of the god Handan, the Beehive Rockets of   Yanshui, the Taipei Lantern Festival , and traditional celebratory temple rituals. Since 1990, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau has organized the Taiwan Lantern Festival, and this year, the the festival enters its 24th year. Year of the Horse for 2014     The centerpiece of the event is a giant themed lantern modeled on the Chinese zodiacal animal of the year, accompanied by subsidiary lanterns and special lantern areas such as the Hope & Wishes lantern section, the Fun Filled lantern section and many others, all of which successfully display the art of lantern making. During the officia...

This diy comes from  www.mykitchenaddiction.com  .  If you're a baker, you will probably use alot of  royal icing to decorate your cookies, cupcakes and misc. other sweet treats.  Nothing is worse than not having the right consistency of your icing while in the middle of decorating a couple dozen cookies (let alone ruin a tasty cookie with a subpar icing).  Good luck! Stress Free Royal Icing Last week, as I was decorating cookies for Halloween, I was reminded of the fact that I’ve been meaning to share my tips for making royal icing with no stress. After all, everyone wants to decorate beautiful cookies during the holiday season, but no one wants to fight with the royal icing. Between shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and lots of friends and family dropping in, there’s enough stress already! This is one of those blog posts that has been writing itself in the back of my mind for quite a while. Almost every time I post about cook...

    Many people are familiar with Mardi Gras celebrations on the day before Lent. But in Liberal Kansas, the day before Lent means just one thing....it's  Pancake Day! The friendly little competition between Liberal Kansas and Olney England, with women running down the streets of each town flipping pancakes, has been going on for more that 60 years. It is still the only race of its kind in the world.     On Shrove Tuesday, at 11:55 p.m. the race begins, with the overall score standing at 33 wins for Liberal and 25 for Olney. In 1980 the score didn't count because a media truck blocked the finish line in Olney.    It all started in 1950 from a magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church. Liberal Jaycee President R.J. Leete contacted the Reverand Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal     In Olney, the ...

   This recipe comes from  www.kevinandamanda.com  .  If you make these, make sure you wear some rubber gloves and a bib.  Things could get a little messy! Cookies ‘N Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies Hellooooo, good  lookin’!  What a way to start the week! :) Last weekend as we were  exploring Blue Ridge, GA , we stopped by this charming little bakery. They had all kinds of delicious looking homemade brownies. Oreo brownies, peanut butter brownies, raspberry cream cheese brownies… * groans * Kevin totally had his eye on the Oreo brownies. We didn’t get any there (we were too busy sampling the fried Oreos) so I promised to make them as soon as we got home. I used this recipe from Picky Palate for  Ice Cream Sundae Brownies . I knew I had some Cookies and Cream ice cream and  totally  had to use it in these brownies!! :) Cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate chips, and hot fudge… It all gets ad...

   The  Patras Carnival ,  Patrino karnavali  is the largest event of its kind in Greece and one of the biggest in Europe. It has more than 160 years of history. The events begin on 17th of January and last up to Clean Monday. The carnival of Patras is not a single event but a variety of events that includes balls, parades, hunting of hidden treasure, kids’ carnival etc. Its apogee is in the last weekend of Carnival with the Saturday evening parade of carnival groups, the extravagant Sunday parade of floats and groups, and finally the ritual burning of king carnival at the St. Nikolaos Street wharf in the harbour of Patras. Its characteristics are spontaneity, improvisation, inspiration and volunteerism. History    Most people agree that starting event of the Patras Carnival was a ball given in the residence of the merchant Moretis in 1829. However the carnival, as most carnival events in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, is connecte...

 You wouldn't wear the same food costume every Halloween — so why trick-or-treat with the same candy? This year, try something new. If you're already well-versed in the categories of movie treats and nostalgic candies, then consider serving various candies from around the world. Need a bit of an education in global candy culture? Then test your knowledge of the world's candies and check out some of our favorites here. Bounty, United Kingdom    Mounds lovers will appreciate Bounty, a coconut-filled bar enrobed with milk chocolate. Botan Rice Candy, Japan    Even if you've never been to Japan, you may have come across Botan Rice Candy in Asian supermarkets. Botan, which means "peony," is a prominent brand in Japan and makes a sticky rice candy with a slightly citrusy flavor. ToffeeCrisp, United Kingdom    Nestlé makes a number of chocolate bars in Europe that aren't readi...

    The annual  Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival  has been held since 1963. It had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution, until it was resumed in 1985.     Harbin, the capital of Heilonjiang province of China, it is one of the main sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in the winter. It can be as cold as -38.1 degrees Celsius in the winter. Niagra falls sculpture     The festival lasts the whole month. However the exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting. Ice sculpture decoration technology ranges from the modern (using lasers) to traditional (with ice lanterns). There are ice lantern park touring activities held in many parks thr...