Before I write about today's festivities, I would like to apologise for the brevity of yesterday's. I had a minor contact lens incident and so didn't do as much as I usually would. I will be watching the rest of the full procession later in the week. And will write more about it at the weekend. Fête du Vodoun is celebrated n Benin on 10th January. It is a national holiday that celebrates the country's Vodoun (voodoo) history. I have found a couple of videos from previous years showing different elements of the festival. It takes place all over the country, but especially in Ouidah, a coastal city. It's a relatively new festival, becoming a national holiday in 1996, but some of the traditions are ancient. The evening before the festival starts, the Zangbeto dances. Men ... read more

Babinden - Day of the Baba/Midwife, is a traditional Bulgarian festival celebrated on the 8th January which honours the village's midwives. The holiday has pagan origins. There are many traditions that surround the event and I managed to find a Bulgarian culture video that follows the women who take part in the festivities. It is in Bulgarian (I think) but can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8eQ_vuVOXQ The women are the mothers of children that have been born in the previous couple of years. They collect water and go to the midwife's home bringing small gifts. Outside, under a fruit tree, they take turns to ritually wash her hands. In the video the gifts include things like aprons and towels. But the woman doesn't wipe her hands on the new towels, instead she wiipes her hands on ... read more

Today was my first observance rather than outright celebration. Pathet Lao Day is celebrated/remembered in Laos on the 6th January. I was determined to find out what Pathet Lao is, why it's remembered and why it's celebrated/remembered today - as well as having a little more information about a country that I honestly know nothing about. There aren't any particular ways of commemorating the day. So I have taken this opportunity to read a bit about it. There's not much reading and documentary watching that can be done in a day, but it's a start. My friend Laura, who I am visiting, knew two things about Laos (two more than me :) one: it's capital city is Vientiane, and two there was once a Laotian family in King of the Hill. Beyond that she knew as ... read more

Today is the first celebratory mash up of the year. World Braille Day commemorates and promotes the tactile reading and writing system. My challenge today was to begin my learning of Braille. My mum has kindly lent me a small card she has with the basics of Braille on it. I ran my finger over the bumps just to get used to the feeling of it and have taken a sudden and irrational dislike to the letter 'W'. It feels horrible. Maybe the bumps are a little rougher or higher and so dig into the finger a little more. 'Y' also disturbs me. I hope to be able to read bits of Braille by the end of the month... wish me luck! Today is also Trivia Day. I love Trivia. Just little snippets of knowledge and ... read more

Kakizome (today spelt correctly!) is a Japanese tradition practised on the 2ndJanuary. Kakizome is writing an auspicious word or phrase in chinese script which used to be performed using ink rubbed with the first water drawn from the well on New Year's Day. These poems are then burnt on the 14th January in the Sagicho festival. It is said (on wikipedia, at least) that the person will be able to 'write with a more fair hand'. My handwriting in Latin and Cyrillic is as bad as my characters, so neater would be nicer. In these modern days people often write out auspicious Kanji, rather than poems, schools set pupils Kakizome over the winter holidays, and on 5th January thousands of calligraphers gather at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku to participate in a Kakizome event which ... read more