HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, and has been added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2024.

Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also the Seasons meme.

YULE

Yule or Yuletide ("Yule time" or "Yule season") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. It later underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide. Holly and mistletoe are symbols of Yule.

Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites, but also for the holidays of this season. Today Yule is also used to a lesser extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas. Present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule. Today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism.

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and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

FESTIVE DECEMBER

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #92 - SIMPSON'S DONKEY

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

John (Jack) Simpson Kirkpatrick (6 July 1892 – 19 May 1915), who served under the name John Simpson, was a stretcher bearer with the 1st Australian Division during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. After landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, Simpson began to use donkeys to provide first aid and carry wounded soldiers to the beach, for evacuation. Simpson and the donkeys continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove. "Simpson and his Donkey" are a part of the "Anzac legend". 

Peter Corlett's sculpture 'Simpson and his donkey, 1915' is a bronze statue at the National War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, made in 1987-8.

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #88 - LIGHTS IN SOUTHBANK

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

Melbourne has a large Chinese population so during Chinese festivals, the Southbank precinct really lights up. The Chinese lanterns are always a very festive sight!

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

BIRTHDAY ROSES

They are from the North, but roses they are nevertheless, offered in Winter, and their message is clear: Red for love, pink for joy and white for secrecy...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FESTIVE MAY

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

FESTIVE APRIL

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
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FESTIVE

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #46 - MERRY CHRISTMAS

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

FESTIVE

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #80

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.

ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

This post is also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

Please add your contribution below, using the Linky tool. As this is a small but select meme, please visit other contributors and add a comment - they like comments about their work as much as you do!

BEST WISHES FOR A NEW YEAR FULL OF HEALTH, PEACE & PROSPERITY!

SINGAPORE DIWALI MARKET

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

PARASOLS FOR SALE

In the recent Chinese New Year celebrations, there was plenty of opportunity to try out the colour range reproduction of one's camera. Here si a stall selling parasols at the Southbank Crown Chinese New Year Festival, Hawkers' Bazaar.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Pink Saturday meme.

BUDDHIST FESTIVAL, BANGKOK

Thailand is one of the countries where a number of Buddhist festivals are celebrated with great fervour and universal participation. If one is visiting Thailand during the time of one of these festival, it is a pity not to join and ensure that one enjoys them to the maximum extent. We have visited Thailand often, but in 1999 we chanced upon one fo these Buddhist festivals (excuse the poor quality of these photos, but I was using a rather primitive digital camera at the time!).

This is the Asalaha Bucha - Wan Khao Pansa Festival, which is celebrated in the eighth lunar month (July). The Festival marks the beginning of the Buddhist "rain retreat" and the Buddhist Lent, or "Phansa". It is the time when the Buddhist monks retreat to their temples and concentrate on their studies and meditation. The Buddhist lent continues for a period of three months and is also considered a great time for ordination of monks. The common people too participate in this festival with enthusiasm and offer food, clothes and other items of daily use to temples and monasteries. Items that are used in providing light, like lanterns, lamps or lamp oil are especially important. These signify the illumination of spirit as well as that of body.

The traditional Thai music and dancing is amazing!

This post is part of the Mellow Yellow Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.