Culture Corner

Crisis

If there is one thing analysts agree on, it is that the world is in crisis; on the coronavirus, the economy and the environment. The Chinese word for crisis, Wéijī, comprises two characters, meaning

Marine Day (Japan)

23 July 2020 海の日, Umi no Hi (Marine Day) honours the blessings of the oceans and economic prosperity of maritime Japan and it is normally celebrated on the third Monday in July. The date roughly

Hari Raya Haji

Hari Raya Haji, meaning ‘great day of the haj’ in Malay, is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year and considered the holier of the two. It honors the willingness of Ibr

Full Moon of Waso

Holiday in Myanmar                                                                                           �

Mountain Day – Japan

10 August 2020 Mountain Day (山の日) is the newest of Japan’s public holidays, the first instance being in 2016. The legislation states that Mountain Day is intended is to provide “opportunitie

Awal Muharram (Islamic lunar new year)

20 August 2020 Awal Muharram, the beginning of the new Hijrah year, is a historic occasion for Muslims around the world. While traditions for Awal Muharram will vary from country to country, it is a p

National Heroes Day in the Philippines

31 August 2020 In the Philippines, the National Heroes Committee was established in 1993 under President Fidel Ramos, and the last Monday in August is designated as National Heroes’ Day, a public ho

Galungan Day

Galungan Day in 2020 falls on 16 September and is a Balinese holiday celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma. It marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth and is related to Diwa

Gandhi Jayanti

2 October 2020 Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday in India. Jayanti means jubilee, and this holiday falls on the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday in 1869, to celebrate his contribution to

Hangul Day

Every 9 October is Hangul Day, a national holiday in South Korea to celebrate the invention of Hangul and its adoption as the official alphabet of the Korean language by Korean monarch Sejong the Grea

Chung Yeung

25 October 2020 The festival has many names: Autumn Remembrance, Festival of High Places, and Double-Ninth. Just like the Ching Ming Festival, which happens every spring, it is a special day for famil

Melbourne Cup Day and Culture Day in Japan

If you work in Australia outside the State of Victoria, you are probably taking a ‘sickie’ today. The Melbourne Cup horse race, always held on the first Tuesday of November, is popularly dubbed �