Holidays Category

The Autumn Equinox – 22nd September 2012

SeasonsThe Autumn Equinox is also known as: Alban Elfed, Fall Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Cornucopia, Feast of Avilon, Festival of Dionysus, Harvest Home, Harvest Tide, Mabon, Night of the Hunter Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Witch’s Thanksgiving, and the first day of autumn.

The word “equinox” was derived from Latin term “æquinoctium” which, in turn, came from “æquus” (equal), and “nox” (night). In Old English, the language spoken circa 450 to 1100 CE, called it efnniht. Alban Elued means in Gaelic, light on the Water and the sun is moving away over the water to shine on the Isles of the Blest, the Celtic Otherworld leaving the world with encroaching darkness. (more…)

Diamond Jubilee – Let The Celebrations Commence

Diamond Jubilee2012 is a pretty busy year in the UK. There’s some sporting event happening during the summer, plus the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee! Personally, I have the memory of dressing up as a Royal Mail Pillar Box in 1977 while enjoying the celebrations of a street party for the Silver Jubilee. The Golden Jubilee did seem to pass us all by in flash, but this is not the case with the Diamond Jubilee. What better way to attract the public attention than having an extra day off. Before you all panic…Yes Psychic Sight will be open as normal!

Queen Elizabeth II is currently the second longest reigning British Monarch, with around 3 ½ years to go after the Diamond Jubilee to take first place over Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years and 216 days.

We all refer to the Queen as, ‘the Queen’, which is just as well that we are residents of the UK as she does in fact have 17 different official titles. So, when Americans’ refer to her as the ‘Queen of England’, they should be saying “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”.  The ‘Queen’ it is then!

The central weekend to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee takes place from Saturday 2 June to Tuesday 5 June 2012, with celebratory activities throughout the UK and across the Commonwealth. The Jubilee Weekend features an extra Bank Holiday for the Diamond Jubilee, with the late May Bank Holiday moved one week later, thereby making a 4-day long weekend. The main programme of events are as follows:

Saturday 2 June, 2012

The Queen will attend the Epsom Derby.

Sunday 3 June, 2012

The Big Jubilee Lunch:  Building on the already popular Big Lunch initiative, people will be encouraged to share lunch with neighbours and friends as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. This may take the form of a traditional street party or a picnic lunch in small or larger groups. This event is being organised by the Big Lunch.

The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant: This event will take place on the Thames and consist of up to 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will travel in the Royal Barge which will form the centrepiece of the flotilla.

Monday 4 June, 2012

BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace: There will be a televised Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. Staged in the stunning surroundings of the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, the BBC and Gary Barlow have brought together leading talent from the world of music. The concert will include classic hits and one-off collaborations from artists including Shirley Bassey, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Elton John, Tom Jones, Lang Lang, Annie Lennox, Madness, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and Ed Sheeran, to name most be not all.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons: A network of 2,012 Beacons will be lit by communities and individuals throughout the United Kingdom, as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Commonwealth. As in 2002, The Queen will light the National Beacon.

Tuesday 5 June, 2012

The Diamond Jubilee weekend will culminate with a day of celebrations in central London, including:

Service of Thanksgiving: The Queen and other members of the Royal Family will attend a national Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday 5 June. A Prayer, written at The Queen’s direction by the Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral in honour of the Diamond Jubilee, will be used in the service. Churches around the country and Commonwealth are also welcome to use the prayer.

Diamond Choir: Children from across the UK will also have the chance to sing at the Service of Thanksgiving as part of the Diamond Choir. All boys and girls aged 10-13 who sing regularly in a church, school or other choir will be eligible to take part in auditions, with 40 selected to perform a song specially composed for the occasion.

Carriage Procession: Following the Service of Thanksgiving, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a short reception at Mansion House and other Members of the Royal Family will attend a reception at Guildhall.  The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other Members of the Royal Family will then attend a lunch at Westminster Hall and after lunch travel to Buckingham Palace along a processional route by Carriage. Shortly after their arrival, the Royal Family will appear on the Balcony and a RAF Flypast will take place.

Whatever your plans are for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, we hope you enjoy them.

Easter Trivia

  • Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.Exploding Easter Egg
  • Easter eggs are used in the celebration because they are a symbol of rebirth.
  • The first Easter baskets were made to look like birds nests.
  • Chocolate eggs were first produced in Europe.
  • Each year, 90 million chocolate rabbits are produced and sold.
  • Easter egg painting has a term associated with it. It is officially called pysanka.
  • Painted eggs were originally left in fields as an offering to bring about fertility.
  • 78% of people prefer to eat the ears off of their chocolate rabbit first.
  • In medieval times an Easter egg throwing festival was celebrated by priests and choir boys. Whoever held the egg at the strike of 12 won the festival.
  • The most famous created Faberge eggs were commissioned by CsarAlexander III of Russia as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna.
  • The most expensive Easter egg costs £50,000 and is a Stella egg encrusted with more than 100 0.5 carat diamonds.
  • The world’s largest Easter egg is located is in Vegreville, Canada and is 31.6 feet tall and took 12,000 man hours to build. (more…)

Leap Year

So 2012 is a Leap Year – but what does that mean and why do we have them? Well the ancient Egyptians realised that the solar year and the calendarLeap Year year do not match up. This is because it actually takes the earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to travel round the sun. So over the centuries an extra day was added to the calendar to keep us on track; it was the Romans who first designated February 29th as the leap day, but it was the Gregorian calendar that fine-tuned the practise – so now a leap year only occurs in a year when it is divisible by 4, for example 2012, 2016, 2020…To make things more complicated it was decided that a leap year would not occur if it was devisable by 100 except if it was devisable by 400 – so 1900 was a leap year and 2000 was not.

Leap year babies only get to celebrate their birthday in a leap year on the proper day – 29th February, the other years they either choose to celebrate on 28th Feb or the 1st March. Astrologers deem those Pisces born on the 29th February as having unusual talents and personalities that reflect their special status.

But leap years are known more widely for a tradition that says a woman may propose marriage to her man on the 29th February. It is thought this custom derived from Ireland in the 5th century; when St Bridget complained to St Patrick about having to wait for the man to propose. St Patrick apparently relented and set aside this one day allowing the tables to be turned.

Christmas Gift Guide

Cookie Cutter Decoration Set Cookie Cutter Decoration Set

www.lakeland.co.uk

In cute Christmas shapes, these cutters can be hung from the boughs of a tree by their golden ribbons, and when they’re not festooning the fir, they can be put to use in the kitchen to shape a batch of yummy cookies.

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Personalised Date Stone Personalised Data Stone
£14

www.notonthehighstreet.com

Perfect presents to commemorate a birthday, wedding anniversary or christening – your chosen Date or Name engraved into a natural stone pebble.

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Days and Nights of the Dead

Halloween

As the clocks go back and the nights draw in; remembrance of the dead feature in many celebrations across the world. From Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night in North America and England, to Dias de Los Muertos in Mexico and Cheung Yeung in China.

The idea of honouring the dead has ancient roots, the Celts believed that Samhain – which is a fire festival marking the end of the harvest, was when the boundaries between the worlds are at their weakest and the dead spirits could return to earth.

Christians celebrate All Hallow’s day sometimes known as All Saints Day or All Soul’s Day where every soul that has not achieved sainthood is prayed for and remembered.  (more…)

Year of the Rabbit – Chinese New Year

Rabbit2011 is the year of the rabbit, which occupies the 4th position in the Chinese zodiac. These are the rabbit years to date: 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011. Those born in rabbit years are most compatible with those born in pig, dog or sheep years and are likely to be incompatible with those born in the year of the rooster or rat.

Rabbits have long been beloved creatures within Chinese culture. People born under the year of the Rabbit tend to be fortunately blessed, strong willed, hate disagreements, careful, unobtrusive, systematic and confident. The Rabbit is one of the most fortunate of all the Chinese star signs.

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