National Festivals

The setting is glorious for this, the 30th annual International Dragon Boat Racing Tournament, in Penang, Malaysia. Surrounded on three sides by bluey-green jungle covered mountains - the fourth side a breathtaking view down to the local resort - the reservoir is as still as anyone could hope for for a rowing competition

The setting is the Independence Day Celebration at Old Sturbridge Village, the granddaddy of New England's living history museums, located in the real-life town of Sturbridge, Massachusetts

For centuries the Scottish border towns of Hawick, Jedburgh, Lauder and Selkirk have been keeping a watchful eye on their southern neighbours, the ever-so-meddlesome English. In years past these Common Ridings of the Scottish border were horseback patrols to ensure those southerners knew where their boundary ended and the Scottish frontier began.

Finland's Carnival-style celebration of Vappu is one of Europe's best kept party secrets as hundreds of thousands take to the streets of Helsinki to usher in Spring

Only in Australia would they celebrate their national holiday by racing cockroaches. Yes, that's right I'm talking about those pooey brown, hairy legged, skin crawling, under the fridge indulgers and lights out kitchen partiers that infest much of the land Down Under.

Canadians seldom get vocal about much. There are loads of us in London but we never make ourselves known like our fellow Aussie and Kiwi working holidaymakers. A big reason for that could be that we don't have many events in London to support, but when July 1st rolls around, Canadians flock to the Maple Leaf pub in Covent Garden to show their patriotism.

It's September 15, but it looks more like Christmas on the Paseo de Reforma, all decked out in red, green and white banners and flags as Mexico City readies itself for Fiestas Patrias, Independence Day, the biggest fiesta of the year.

Every year, in the end of October, Luang Prabang is a town of celebration. They have a boat races on the river followed by a big party and dance. The day after that, the townspeople have a ceremonial feeding of the monks with offerings of food. Then, the following night, culminating and coinciding with the full moon, there's a lantern festival.

Hardly a fortnight goes by in Thailand without some kind of celebration, traditional or otherwise. This is not an exaggeration. The Thais celebrate their royal family, flowers, departed kings, their constitution, Buddhism, children, teachers, fruit, and elephants. They celebrate three new years. And, during their most unabashedly gleeful holiday, Song Kran, they even celebrate being soaking wet.

It's a well-known fact that Australians will bet on anything. Two flies climbing a wall will attract a bet on which one will reach a particular position first. There's also a well-known Australian pastime of dividing a sports-field into a number of squares and letting a cow loose after priming it with large amounts of food. Punters then select a square and place their bets.

Music, parades, dressing up, beauty contests, dancing in the streets, drinking, feasting, bull fighting, cock fighting, firecrackers - the Ecuadorians love a good party and there's nothing like a fiesta to generate the right mood.

Located 185 km southwest of Mexico City, in the northern Guerrero State, the streets of Taxco (Tahs-co) are lined with silver--silver jewelry, that is. In 1953 to honor the silver artisans, Mexico's President declared the last Saturday in November through the first Sunday in December National Silver Day.

One paragraph described the digger's leap from the landing boat and dash across the beach and up the hills to meet up with his unit. In his own words he described the landing as 'glorious fun'.