“A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home.”
- Christian D. Larson, American author, teacher, 1874-1954
There are two new year celebrations this September. First, in Ethiopia, Ethiopians follow a 13-month solar calendar with 12 months of 30 days and another 5 or 6 days for the 13th month. This year, the Ethiopian New Year celebration (Enkutatash meaning the ‘gift of jewels’) shall take place on Sept 11th. The festival traces its root to the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Soloman over 3,000 years ago. The second is the Jewish New Year; our Jewish friends will celebrate Rosh Hashana, on the 26th and the 27th. You can wish them ‘Shana Toval’ and maybe join them to have some apple slices dipped in honey for a sweet new year.
As for national day celebrations, Slovakia will celebrate its Constitution Day on the 1st, followed by Vietnam (2nd), Brazil (7th), Mexico (16th), Chile (18th), Malta (23rd) and a few others too.
And when you look up at the night sky on the 10th, you are likely to marvel at the beauty of the full moon, for it is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Traditional Chinese families worldwide still celebrate the Mid-Autumn (also known as Moon or Mooncake) festival. Similar celebrations take place in Japan (Tsukiumi), Korea (Chuseok) and Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu.)
Mother Teresa once said: Peace begins with a smile. The United Nations has declared the 21st as the International Day of Peace. Here is an extract of a poem by Spike Milligan, a well-loved British comedian (1918-2002) for the month:
Smile
Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin. When he smiled, I realized I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth. A single smile, just like mine, could travel round the earth…
A smile is a priceless gift one can give at no cost but will have great benefits to all!
A Journey A Month…
Your Story. Our Story. The Human Story.
Several of you wrote to let me know that you enjoyed the Country fun facts Q&A last month. Michelangelo, the famous painter of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, once said when he was 87 years old: “I am still learning.” Why not? Let’s continue our fun-facts hunt with the questions for the month:
Well, we hope you have enjoyed the questions. If you wish for more, you can click the Youtube links below (Youtube clips credit: Office holidays).
1st Sept: Slovakia Constitution Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
7th Sept: Brazil Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
16th Sept: Mexico Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
18th Sept: Chile Independence Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
With this new set of fun facts, perhaps you can put some smiles on the faces around you. Remember to stick to your good intention of having fun, friendly, light-hearted conversations, and not debate as an expert. Enjoy!
“Wishing you a blissful September filled with miles of smiles!”
The world is fascinating simply because differences exist!
Join us to spread the words, share the vision, and do our parts.
At TransCultural Group (TCG), we are determined to play our part in making the world a better place. We have launched an e-book for Youth. We have also uploaded the complete series of “Food around the World” on our YouTube channel.
Please share it If you love our effort, and please give us a “like” and subscribe to our “YouTube” channel (it is free!) Come support us!
Crossing Cultures – Beyond Boundaries
Keng Keng Tan
Founder & CEO
TransCultural Group
kengkeng@transculturalgroup.com
www.transculturalgroup.com
