Around the World…
Here’s just a sampling of some noteworthy – and sometimes offbeat – happenings across the globe over the next couple of months.
EUROPE The Munich Spring Festival, lovingly called “Octoberfest’s little sister,” is leading off the funfairs in Munich April 16 – May 2, 2010. The enjoyment for the whole family runs 17 days and will fill Munich’s Theresienwiese with fairground rides, beer tents and live music. The festival kicks off with a big parade and Boellerschuetzen, where aging artillery enthusiasts shoot with mini hand-cannons into the air. It’s a tradition that the Honorary Patron Helmut Schmid (City councilman for the Octoberfest) is leading the opening ceremony. He will tap the first keg of beer in the beer tent Hippodrom. The Hippodrom is a smaller version of the famous Hippodrom beer tent at the Octoberfest. The hosts are pleased to welcome you with Spatenbräu beer. There will also be a Magic Mouse with spinning cars and Europe’s largest high striker and strength tester for adults and kids.
EUROPE This May, and every year, barefoot villagers of Ayia Eleni near Serres, and of Langada near Thessaloniki, get themselves worked up into a trance before walking over hot coals. It’s all in honour of Saints Helen and Constantine, although the tradition of Anastenaria dates back to pagan times. Those celebrating the Anastenaria are descendants of refugees from Eastern Thrace who arrived in Greece in the 1920s. Each village community of Anastenarides is headed by a “group of twelve” (largely women) who gather in the konaki, which houses the special icons of Saints Constantine and Helen. These are draped with large red kerchiefs (simadia), which are believed to possess the power of the icons. On the eve of the feast of Saints Constantine and Helen the Anastenarides gather in the konaki, and work themselves into a trance-like state through hours of devotional dancing. They believe that during the dance they are “seized” by the saints. The next day, a ritualistic sacrifice of animals takes place. After lunch the Anastenarides gather again and resume their dancing. A candle is lit from one of the oil lamps in front of the icons, and is used to light a bonfire. When the wood burns, coal is spread down. Initially the Anastenarides dance barefoot around the hot ashes, but when the saints move them, individuals run across the burning coals. Sometimes devotees kneel down beside the fire and pound the ashes with the palms of their hands. This continues until the ashes are cool. During the next two days, the Anastenarides process around the village visiting each house in a counter-clockwise direction. On May 23 they conclude with a second dance over the fire, although this one is in private and not for tourists to view.
NORTH AMERICA Imagine a parade where the theme is no theme, with no judges, no motorized vehicles and absolutely no commercials. Pasadena, California, offers just that at the bizarre Doo Dah Parade held May 1 inthe city’s Old Town. The event first took place in 1976 as a spoof of a big Pasadena tradition, the Tournament of Roses Parade, held on New Year’s Day to celebrate the “superbowl” of College Football, the Rose Bowl. In response to restrictive new rules and regulations brought in for the event, the Doo Dah Parade decided to celebrate the opposite: no rules and regulations. The parade kicks off in the Old Town at the cross-section of Raymond Avenue and Holly Street and ends on Colorado Boulevard. The Grand Marshall leads around 1,500 acts and around 40,000 spectators. Anyone can enter, but it’s a good idea to be up to par – past attractions include the Synchronized Precision Briefcase Marching Drill Team.
www.pasadenadoodahparade.info
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