What are the festivals and customs of Afghanistan?
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The religious holidays in Afghanistan are celebrated according to the lunar calendar, and other holidays such as Independence day, and New Year's day are celebrated based on the solar calendar. During many holidays, Afghans usually visit friends and families, prepare lavish meals, and attend special prayers.\n\nEID AL-FITR\n\nDay: After a month of Fasting (Ramadan).\nMany start out the day by wearing new clothes, and going to prayer. Afterwards, people visit or entertain their friends and families. Children usually receive gifts or money called "Eidi".\n\nEID AL-ADHA\n\nDay: Tenth day of the twelfth month of the Islamic (Hijra) calendar.\nThe day commemorates the Prophet Abraham's devotion to God. He was willing to slay his son Ismael as a sacrifice. Ismael was never killed, instead, Allah provided a lamb for the sacrifice. Muslims performing the Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) sacrifice a lamb, and the meat is given out to the poor. This holiday is celebrated in the same fashion as Eid al-Fitr, people visit friends and families, gifts are exchanged, etc.\n\nASHURA\n\nDay: Tenth day of the month Muharram in the Islamic calendar.\nThis is a day of mourning. It commemorates the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussain and his followers at the battle of Kerbala.\n\nMAWLEED AL-NABI\n\nDay: The 12th day of the month Rabi al-Awal in the Islamic calendar.\nOn this day, people celebrate Prophet Muhammad's birthday. They attend prayers, remember Muhammad, and entertain/visit friends and familiy.\n\nNOWROZE\n\nDay: March 21\nThis is the first day of spring (New Year's Day for the solar calendar).\n\nJESHEN\n\nDay: August 19\nAugust 19 marks Afghan independence day. Even though, Afghanistan was never a British colony, the British did have control of its foreign policy due to an agreement signed by a former Afghan King. The Third Anglo-Afghan War ended this agreement.\n\nOther holidays:\n\nLabor Day\nRemembrance Day for Maryrs and Disabled (May 4).
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We have two Eids, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ud-Duha. Fitr means giving charity to the poor after eid prayer The 1st one is celebrated after fasting for a whole month in Ramadan. We prepare a special sweet dish made from semolina, milk and dry fruits which is served to everyone who comes. \n  The 2nd which is Eid-ud-Duha,  follows in about a month in which we sacrifice a goat. We keep 1/3rd and give away 2/3rds of the meat in charity again.  Both are mainly  family affairs and close friends. Well yes, we have lunches and dinners also for all those who come. No special invitees as such, anyone is welcome.
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I do not know which specific celebration you are talking about but my guess for all of them would be that..\na) home= it sets a mood for good will and happiness which is then reflected outside the home.\nb)Individual= gives feeling of happiness and oneness with that which is being celebrated. \nc)religion= unites people of the same faith to share in the happiness and reverence of that which is being celebrated.\nd)family= it gives feeling of happiness and pride to share traditions and pulls the unit closer together as they re evaluate that which is important to them.\n\nnotice this could be any celebration....Christmas, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.
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A Hindu festival. Actually it would be called that in any language :)
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There are many good web sites that describe the traditions for Jewish holidays.  One of them is listed below.
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culturally there are many different origins of th new years holiday, check out this website for the most popular two.\nWestern and rashhashanah \nhttp://www.womencentral.net/new-years-origin.htmld rashhashanah
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there's a whole lot and it will depend on which part of the country you're interested in. mostly, these are festivities of a town, city or province that coincide with the birth/death/any special event of that place's patron saint.\n\nbut for those observed nation-wide, there are only three major celebrations:\n\nreligious events in the philippines are particularly noteworthy. the whole lenten season is observed and the holy week can either be spent piously or by going on out-of-town holidays and vacations.\n\nthe first and second of november is observed solemnly and is dedicated to deceased relatives and friends.\n\nand then there's christmas season. the time frame for this season starts at 1 dec until the feast of the three kings (around the first week of january). unofficially, christmas season starts around 3 nov (see above). decorations are set up, parties left and right, gift-buying craze hits everyone. and it doesn't on the 25th of december either. there's another big celebration in each house come 31 dec, for the new year's eve.\n\nother holidays (usually with historical backgrounds) like independence day, labor day, etc. are just taken in as a welcome break from the work/school week. nothing really special for individuals.\n\ncheck out the link below for the specific dates of festivities in specific areas.\n\nhope this helps =)
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1Celtic new year\n2time of the Thin Veil, when the worlds of the dead and living are less seperated.\n3the second largest retail holiday in America (Christmas is the largest)\n4villages used to have big bonfires to celebrate and boys, dressed as girls called 'Biddy's boys' would go house to house to beg for firewood and treats for the pary. \n5Ghosts and pirates are the most popular costume ideas.
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http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/personalrelig.html\n\nhttp://www.fjkluth.com/festival.html\n\nhttp://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm
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National Events\n\nJanuary \n\nOn January 15, the day of the Black Christ is celebrated in Esquipulas.\n\nFebruary or March\n\nLent processions begin throughout Guatemala.\n\nMarch or April\n\nLent and Easter week processions throughout Guatemala. The largest processions occur in Antigua Guatemala on Good Friday.\nMay\n\nOn May 2 and 3, the Day of the Cross is celebrated with colorful traditions al Lake Amatitlan near Guatemala City.\n\nOn May 9, Jueves de Ascencion is celebrated with traditional music, flowers and prayers at Lake Chicabal. Please be very respectful of this tradition and do not take photographs.\n\nJuly\n\nJuly 25 is the town fair in Antigua Guatemala, with parades, music and other festivities.\n\nOn July 27, the annual Rabin Ajau beauty pageant is held in Coban, with traditional dances and ancestral music.\n\nAugust\n\nOn August 15, Guatemala City celebrates the day of our Lady of the Asuncion; also several other towns, like Solola, where you can see the brotherhood of the Lady of Asuncion passing through the streets of the town with their icon on their way to the church. \n\nSeptember\n\nSeptember 15 is the national holiday to commemorate Guatemala's Independence from Spain in 1821; the largest holiday fair is in Quetzaltenago.\n\nOctober\n\nOn October 20, Guatemala celebrates the overthrow of Dictator Jorge Ubico in 1944 and the beginning of 10 years of revolution government known as the "10 years of Spring".\n\nNovember\n\nAll Saints Day, celebrated on November 1, is celebrated with unique traditions throughout Guatemala; giant kites are flown in the cemeteries of Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango near Antigua Guatemala. Many Guatemalans feast on a traditional food known as fiambre. An unusual horse race is held in Todos Santos Cuchumatan.\n\nDecember\n\nThe town fair in Chichicastenango culminates on December 21 with traditional dances and music. \n\nNativity scenes, hand-made Christmas ornaments and small procession known as ''posadas'' create a joyful atmosphere during December.
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Horse Riding, Hunting, Racing, Wrestling, Archery, Swordfighting, and stuff.\n\nAbout swimming, learning to swim is a good thing, but I cant think of any place in Makkah where they could have.
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See this site you will find the history\n\n\n\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
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Diwali\nApple\nIt was an accident
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Check out the following link. It has all kinds of info about Macedonian culture, including their folklore.
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Dancing is generally an expression of celebration obviously,but then it was also done for;\n\n-asking for rain,guidance...or anything from the ancestors\n-thanking them for providing\n-some funeral rituals\nyou know that kind of thing. The belief was that the ancestors would talk to God on behalf of the people...
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
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All major holidays, like today.  \n\nPresidents Day\nMemorial Day\n4th of July\nVeterans Day\nThanksgiving\nChristmas