Fasching, Carnival Photos from Germany

Fasching, Karneval, carnival!  I believed you  know what these words mean. Other countries  celebrate the same festival almost the same way. I witnessed some of it in the towns of Bavaria, Germany.  I always love watching this festival and hope next time, I can already witness the big ones like in Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz.

Here are some of the carnival photos I took from last year's carnival parade.

A float during the Faschingszug or carnival parade in Hemau, Germany. © http://gemstarlightexpress.blogspot.com   

The group of the Liberty statue in Hemau's Carnival parade. © http://gemstarlightexpress.blogspot.com   

The vampire group of dracula. Are there really vampires?. © http://gemstarlightexpress.blogspot.com   

Halloween Celebration

Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of All Hallows' Eve) is an annual holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night preceding All Hallows Day. Much like Day of the Dead celebrations, the holiday has ancient origins tied to seasonal change, harvest time, and festivals honoring the dead. Typical Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Halloween images from Franskentein Castle.

the witches in Franskentein Castle...we had an enjoyable Halloween in this castle located in Darmstadt, Germany.

Sinulog Festival in Cebu, Philippines

I was able to witness this festival twice. The second time I was there was last January 2010. Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Philippines. The festival features a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs.

I hope to see this again in my next visit to the Philippines. Here are some snapshots I took last year.

one of the contingents during the Sinulog contest held in Cebu Sports Complex.

the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country.

The festival commemorates the Cebuano people's pagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism.

Sinulog Festival in Cebu

The Sinulog festival in Cebu is a famous celebration in this city. It is an annual festival held every third Sunday of January. It has become a tourists magnet which attracts visitors from all parts of the Philippines and even from the whole world. The festival features a street parade with participants in bright colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs.

Here are some images taken during our visit last January 2010.

The Sinulog contest is always held in Cebu City Sports Complex

SINULOG TODAY:

Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Niño has grown and has taken root in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the Visayas; pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog Mardi Gras and eventually gave incentives to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dávid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums.

The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event from then on.

In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized, involving practically every sector in the Cebuano community. Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has been said, represents the link the country's embrace of Christian faith.

The Sinulog dance steps were believed to originate from Rajah Humabon's adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabon's grief when Baladhay was driven sick. He then ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a chapel where the Santo Niño was enthroned. Moments later, surprisingly, Baldhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with outmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to whether why was he awake and was shouting. Baladhay explained that he found a small child, pointing to the image of the Santo Niño, on top of him and trying to wake him up. He, at great astonishment, scared the child away by shouting but couldn't explain why he was dancing the movements of the river. Up to this day, the two-steps forward, and the one-step backward movement dance is still used by the Santo Niño devotees believing that it was the Santo Niño's choice to have Baladhay dance. more Sinulog infos here

Happy Birthday Mother Mary

Happy Birthday Mother Mary!
Thanks for all the inspirations
you had given into my life
and to all people around the world.

TITLES OF MARY:

The name "Mary" comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic name Maryam. During the Middle Ages Hebrew vowel systems were formed and the Hebrew vowel "a" changed (regularly) to "i" in a closed unaccented syllable, so that by the time the Jews began to use vowel points, they wrote it as Miryam. Mary's most common titles include The Blessed Virgin Mary (also abbreviated to "BVM"), Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa Senhora, Madonna), Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli). See Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei", (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God", so as to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, is in fact God.

The title, Queen Mother, has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to His lineage of King David. The biblical basis for this understanding is found in 1 Kings 2:19–20, where King Solomon made his mother, Bathsheba, his queen mother present in his royal court. This governmental practice is also found throughout 1 and 2 Kings and in Jeremiah 13:18–19. In ancient Middle Eastern cultures, it was common for a king to have more than one wife; however, the king only had one mother and she was an integral part of each royal court.
more about Mary

Fireworks at Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Philippines

The first day of March is almost over now. I hope that you are having a good one. Some might not have a good day, some might have a very inspiring day. The picture you see below was taken during the 2010 Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. I had witnessed this biggest celebration in Cebu twice in my life. I wish to share more pictures of Sinulog next time.
Feel free to visit Ruby Tuesday,Wordless Wednesday and Mellow Yellow Monday to see more photos! Have a great one especially to all participants of these memes! Thanks to respective Authors for hosting these wonderful memes!

Sinulog in Cebu Fireworks

I want to share a picture from Sinulog, the biggest religious festival in Cebu City, Philippines. It was truly amazing as we watch the Sinulog dance competition in Abellana complex last Sunday. Millions of visitors from all over Philippines and around the world had witnessed the said celebration. I just forgot to surf about xenadrine rfa x because the internet connection is very slow. Above is one of the pictures I took during the Sinulog festival. Sorry guys, I am just sad to know that there are a lot of pictures that were corrupted from my camera. I don't know exactly what's wrong. I guess it was attack by some sort of viruses. I wish to share more pictures next time.

Carnaval in Germany

I had a great fun watching the carnival in Velburg here in Germany. Despite of the rainy and snowy weather, the carnival parade still pushed through. Different groups participated in the parade. Some people (with costumes) I asked to have a pose with me are really nice and friendly. Look at this photo here, the lady with the yellow costumes, I guess was presenting as a duck. Different attractive and colorful costumes were seen during the parade. I believed it was a successful one despite the unfriendly weather!! cheers to all!! have a great Monday guys!!

feel free to visit my other sites for more photos!! take care!!

Jura Volksfest Parade in Neumarkt, Bavaria

The festival is still going on until now! The Jura Volksfest is a festival in Neumarkt, a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is held every year in the month of August. I tried to be always present in the festival every year. Last Sunday was the first time we had witnessed the Parade. Finally I just read this morning from our daily newspaper that 103 group of participants took part during the parade. It was a great festival in the Upper Palatinate part of Bavaria. here are some photos from it!

one group that wear the Medieval costumes or dresses. you see what they carry in their hands?


guess what I was saying here?? Schnell!@&%*.. which means faster, click that camera quick!! before it's too late!

WW: Landshut Wedding Festival

It's WW day! I am sharing another entry for wordless Wednesday! I love this meme and I love to share my photos here. This was taken at the Landshuter Hochzeit or Landshut Wedding Festival last month. I'm taking a short break now. Have a great day!

Feel free to visit WW site to join and to see more photos. Happy Wordless Wednesday everyday!