Children's Day (Singapore) 2017

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Magda Szabó's 100th Birthday

Symbolically, a door can be interpreted in countless ways. It can represent anything from the extraordinary to the mundane: the promise of a new opportunity, a mysterious gateway to the unknown, or just the point of entry to the next room.

Today [ 05.10.2017 ], we celebrate Magda Szabó, the Hungarian author whose most internationally recognized book takes its title from this symbol. Her ability to craft an evocative narrative within an everyday setting is a part of what’s made her the most translated author in Hungary, with publications reaching 42 countries and translated into over 30 languages.

Though she is recognized today [ 05.10.2017 ] as one of the most influential figures of contemporary Hungarian literature, Szabó was actually forced into literary exile during the early 1950’s by the Communist Party. Before being censured, she began her career as a poet, winning several awards for her art. After being brought back into favor by the very same group that had enforced her silence, she explored the implications of this in what became her most well known novel “The Door”. She also went on to publish well-known children’s books, collections of plays, and works of fiction and drama.

One hundred years may have passed since the day she was born, but Szabó’s works live on, thanks in large part to the timelessness of her characters, her settings, and her stories.

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Teachers' Day (Estonia + Lithuania + France + Canada) 2017

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Teachers' Day
(Estonia + Lithuania + France + Canada)
2017
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Violeta Parra’s 100th Birthday

Today [ 04.10.2017 ] we celebrate the 100th birthday of Violeta Parra, the Chilean composer, folk singer, social activist, author, and artist.

Born in the small, southern Chilean town of San Fabián de Alico, Parra picked up the guitar at an early age and began writing songs with her siblings. She started her career performing in small venues, later traveling across Chile to record a large breadth of traditional Chilean folk music. Her increasing popularity eventually earned her her own radio show and an invitation to perform at a youth festival in Poland. While in Europe, she also explored the visual arts, creating oil paintings, wire sculptures, ceramics, and burlap tapestries called arpilleras which were exhibited in the Louvre Palace in Paris in 1964.

She is perhaps best remembered as the “Mother of Latin American folk,” pioneering the Nueva canción chilena, a renewal of Chilean folk traditions that blossomed into a movement which celebrated the fight for social justice throughout Latin America. Upon her return to Chile in 1965, she established Centro Cultural La Carpa de La Reina, a community center for the arts and political activism.

Violeta’s artistic legacy shines through in this selection from “Gracias a la vida”:

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two stars, which when I open them,
Perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the tall sky its starry backdrop,
And within the multitudes the one that I love.

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Mid-Autumn Festival (Vietnam) 2017

Star lanterns, street dances, and mooncakes: these whimsical elements comprise a few core traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tết Trung Thu, in Vietnam. On the day [ 04.10.2017 ] when the moon is brightest during the year, many households set up an altar on which they display offerings to honor the full moon. Included in the offerings are fruits as well as rich round or square cakes filled with lotus seeds, ground beans, and an egg yolk, known as mooncakes.

On this [ 04.10.2017 ] night, many children also look out for a certain shape in the moon-- the image of chị Hằng, a character from Vietnamese folklore, believed to reside on the moon and beloved by many. She is honored today [ 04.10.2017 ] with her favorite fruits and cakes.

Out in the streets, children of all ages create a commotion with drums and dances. Shops sell a variety of lanterns to be carried at night, including the star lantern, one of the most popular lantern designs.

Whether you plan to celebrate by biting into a traditional mooncake or by basking in the moonlight, have a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

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Mid-Autumn Festival 2017

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Traditionally, this is the time for Chinese people worldwide to give thanks to the harvest and hope for community as well as prosperity. Under the bright moon, friends and family feast upon traditional round mooncakes and symbolically arranged nine-jointed lotus roots and watermelon, chatting away and lighting lanterns. 

Stretching back thousands of years, this tradition is rooted in the folklore of Hou Yi and Chang’e. Many, many ages ago, people everywhere were suffering from the heat of 10 suns. Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and was rewarded with an elixir of immortality from the Jade Emperor. When a friend tried to take the elixir, Hou Yi’s wife, Chang’e, tried to prevent this and ended up drinking the elixir herself. She then floated up to the moon. When Chang’e coughed up the elixir, it turned into a rabbit. 

Legend says the loving couple are reunited once a month on the 15th when the moon burns brightly enough for them to spot each other. Venture outside to celebrate “the fifteenth of the eighth (lunar) month” and try to trace the shadow of Chang’e and her rabbit!

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Mid-Autumn Festival (Japan) 2017

For over a thousand years, the autumnal festival of Tsukimi or Otsukimi (moon viewing) has marked the fall harvest in Japan. On this [ 04.10.2017 ] day, people offer prayers of gratitude to the chuushuu no meigetsu (picturesque mid-autumn moon), glowing at its brightest. Families offer the moon a traditional feast of foods like sake (rice wine), dango (rice dumplings), and kabocha (pumpkin).

Today’s [ 04.10.2017 ] Doodle depicts the legend of ‘Tsuki no Usagi’, the rabbit who lives on the moon. Japanese folklore tells the story of the Old Man of the Moon, who wants to know the kindest animal. He disguises himself as a beggar and asks for food. The monkey brings him fruit. The fox brings a fish. But the rabbit, unable to find anything but grass, offers to jump into the fire to feed himself to the Old Man. Thus the rabbit proves himself to be the kindest and is taken to the moon, where he now lives. If you look hard enough, you may be able to spot his long ears as he bends over his pestle, grinding mochi (rice cakes).

Tsukimi is a time for peace, thanksgiving, and appreciation for all nature has bestowed upon the world. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

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