BULGARIA. Baba Marta (Grandmother March). Peasant women
embark on spring cleaning and give friends martenitsa, red-and-white
wool threads with tassels that they wear until they see the first migrating
stork—or the first budding bush (in which case, they hang the
martenitsa on its branches).
CHINA. Noroz (Nero) Festival. On horseback, Kazak girls chase boys who
ride away as fast as they can. If a girl catches a boy, she can whips
him (he is not allowed to fight back) but if she loves him, she will
only wave her whip in the air. (Xinjiang)
INDIA. Chithirai Festival. Ten day celebration. About 100,000 people
attend the re-enactment of Goddess
Meenakshi’s wedding to Sundereswara (incarnation of Shiva). Meenakshi,
a King’s daughter, was born
with three breasts, one of which was promised to disappear when she
met the right man to marry.
(Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu)
INDIA. Gangaur. Festival dedicated to Goddess Gauri (Parvati) begins
during the Holi Festival. Young
girls pray for men to marry; married women pray for their husband’s
long lives. Women gather flowers,
then carry them on their heads in brass water pitchers while chanting
hymns to the Goddess. The 18 days
culminate in the arrival of Lord Shiva to escort his bride home; there
are grand processions with elephants,
camels, horses, dancers, and drummers. (Mandawa Temple, Jhunjhunu District,
Rajasthan; also
Bikaner; Jodhpur; Nathdwara; Jaipur; Jaisalmer.)
INDIA. Holi. The villainess is the evil sister. Long ago, a child was
sent by the Gods to deliver the
land from its demonic king. The king’s sister (who claimed to
be immune to fire) offered to hold the boy in
her lap and sit in a bonfire that would kill him but not her. But the
sister was torched and the child, who
was devoted to God Vishnu, survived. Bonfires and offerings are a big
part of this seven-day festival.
Colored powders are thrown on friends, relatives and strangers. Color
is mixed with water and dumped
from balconies. Parades, feasts, dancing and fireworks. At the Lathmar
Holi in Barsana (near Mathura,
home of Radha, Krishna’s consort), women dare the men of Nandgaon
(home of Krishna) to douse them
with color.
INDIA. Karaga Festival. A clay pot is balanced on a devotee’s
head; it embodies Shakti, the mother goddess, and must not be dropped
during the 12-mile procession; if it falls, colleagues are sworn to
stab the carrier to death. This festival also features stacking many
clay pots on heads and limbs of devotees to test strength of character.
(Sampangi Reservoir, Bangalore)
INDIA. Mewar Festival. To honor Parvati and welcome spring, a procession
of women carry images of the Goddess by boat from the Lake Palace hotel
to the Ganguar Ghat on Lake Pichola. There are songs, dancing, devotional
music and fireworks. (Udaipur, Rajasthan)
JAPAN.Girls Festival/Hina Matsuri. Little girls wear kimonos and eat
rice cakes at parties, surrounded by their families’ festival
doll collections that are displayed for the occasion to bring health
to their daughters. (Kyoto; Okinawa)
SPAIN. Las Fallas. A procession of 150,000 women wearing baroque costumes
and bringing flowers to a
statue of the Virgin punctuates this week-long festival, which ends
with the burning of over 350 multi-
colored structures, some 75 feet tall, that combine surrealism, political
satire and Disney. (Valencia)
SRI LANKA. Sri Pada Vandana (Pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak). A woman
who successfully maneuvers to
the top of Adam’s Peak is said to be born a man in her next life.
For 1,000 years devotees have bravely
climbed the mountain at night guided by the moon and lanterns. At the
top one is supposed to see a
footprint of Adam or Buddha or Lord Shiva (Dalhousie)
SWEDEN. Easter Eve. Little girls dress up as Easter hags, wearing their
mother’s aprons, kerchiefs and hand-drawn freckles. They visit
neighbors and ask for candy. This practice springs from people’s
ancient belief that on Maundy Thursday, witches flew on broomsticks
to meet with Satan and returned on the night before Easter.
*THAILAND. Thao Suranari Festival. The City of Brave Women was saved
by its women in 1826, when it was attacked by Laotian invaders. Leader
Ya Mo is celebrated with ten days of competitions: contests give prizes
for beauty, muscles, shooting, fruit and vegetables, healthy babies.
There are fireworks, dance performances, Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies.
(Nakhon Ratchasima)
VIETNAM. Binh Da Festival. Au Co is said to have miraculously given
birth to 100 sons after a gestation period of 3 years and ten days,
providing the original population of the Ha Son Binh region. This fifteenth-century
temple-festival pays homage to Au Co, her husband, and Buddha. Teenaged
girls carry platters of fruit and flowers through the narrow streets.
Traditional music. (Au Co Mother Saint Temple, Hien Luon village, Thao
River District, Phu Tho province, Huong Tich mountain range)
VIETNAM. Moc Duc. Trieu Thi Trinh was 19 when she declared, “I
want to ride over strong wind, sail over strong waves, hunt fierce fish
off the East Sea coast, chase the Ngo invaders out of the country, regain
independence, shatter slavery, but will never give in to becoming a
concubine.” In 248 AD, she led an uprising against the Ngo and
killed the Chinese governor. The temple festival that commemorates this
heroine includes a procession, battle re-enactment, luncheon of cold
dishes in remembrance of the rations her solders ate, and a (hot) victory
dinner. (Ba Trieu Temple, Quan Yen district, Cuu Tran prefecture)
WORLDWIDE. International Women’s Day. March 8, a date designated
by the United Nations, whose charter was the first international agreement
to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right. The day is
rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society
on an equal footing with men. The first international Women’s
Day took place in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland,
but today it is celebrated all over the world.
YEMEN. Purim. This holiday celebrates the biblical story of Esther,
who was taken into the court of a Persian king and found herself in
a position to save her people. Jews paint eggs, send them to friends,
and consume them at the Purim meal.