Category: Holidays and Commemorative Days

Feeling Festive in Amboise, France: Celebrating Noël in the Loire Valley

A rare, late-November snowfall unofficially ushered in the holiday season in Amboise, France this year. This delicate dusting of snow added flair to the town’s slate rooftops and cobblestone lanes for several brief, beautiful moments, and then it swiftly melted. Days later, Amboise hosted its annual winter parade—an imaginative affair with animated performers on stilts,…
Seeing Red: Capturing Malta in Cardinal & Crimson

When we moved to the Mediterranean island of Malta last autumn, we imagined that our leisure time would be devoted to exploring the country’s heritage sites, soaking up the sunshine, and strolling by the inviting blue water that encircles the tiny nation. Back then, we couldn’t imagine all the red tape that we’d have to ‘cut through’ in…
Feeling Festive in Malta: Celebrating a Festa in the City of Bormla

When I first visited Malta, my new Maltese friends told me about the islands’ beloved festas — days on which church parishes honor a patron saint in the most celebratory of fashions. These feast days are replete with fireworks, food, parades, and elaborate decorations. Most festas are crammed into the summer months, and my maiden Maltese visit in November…
A Valley Ablaze: The King Ludwig Bonfire in Oberammergau, Germany

Paying homage to Bavaria’s beloved King Ludwig II with bonfires, processions, and revelry.
Slap Happy: Dancing the Schuhplattler in Bavaria

One of the joys of exploring Germany’s Bavaria region is seeing the people’s penchant for preserving tradition. In the village of Oberammergau, where we’ve spent much time visiting my parents, it’s not uncommon to spot an older gentleman wearing a loden green, woolen hat, with feather, during a grocery-shopping trip. On holidays, ladies often don vibrant Dirndls (dresses with…
A Bavarian Horse-Blessing Ceremony in Unterammergau, Germany

As we walked from the town of Oberammergau to the neighboring village of Unterammergau, Germany, numerous horses trotted past us. The animals’ beautifully decorated manes and tails blew in the late autumn breeze. Not to be outdone by the horses’ distinguished appearances, the owners also sported fine Bavarian attire. Men wore grey woolen jackets finished…