Year: 2016

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is an annual festival that takes place in the highly populated city of Albuquerque in New Mexico, United States of America.

This is a festival of hot air balloons and takes place at the beginning of the month of October every year. Each year, in the International Balloon Fiesta more than five hundred hot air balloons are seen in the sky of Albuquerque, giving rise to a mesmerizing scenario.

This event goes on for a span of nine days and is the world’s largest festival of hot air balloons.

History-

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was started to highlight the celebration of the 50^th birthday of the 770 KKOB Radio in the year of 1972. The Manager of the Radio Station, Dick McKee, had asked the owner of the Cutter Flying Service who was also the very first person to own a hot air balloon in New Mexico, Sid Cutter, whether he could borrow his hot air balloon to mark the anniversary of the 770 KKOB Radio and use it for the celebrations.

Two of these men started discussing about hosting the event when Dick McKee asked about the largest gather of the hot air balloons. Sid Cutter informed him that it was the nineteen hot air balloons of England and he agreed to try and gather them in Albuquerque on the day of the event on being asked by McKee.

Even though he could get the commitments of twenty one pilots, some of them could not arrive from England on time due to the bad weather before the day of the event. Thirteen hot air balloons could be finally gathered on the day of the event thus marking the very first balloon fiesta which took place on 8^th April, 1972, and was sponsored by the 770 KKOB Radio Station.

The very first event took place at Coronado Centre Shopping Mall’s parking lot and around twenty thousand people came over to witness so many hot air balloons gathered up together at one place for the first time in history. Balloonists from different cities like California, Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, Michigan, Texas and Minnesota took part in this event. The balloon races were originally initiated by the three men, Dick McKee, Sid Cutter and Oscar Kratz.

A balloon race known as the Roadrunner Coyote balloon race was a part of this event. The rule was that the Coyote which would land nearest to the Roadrunner would be the winner of the race. The winner was Don Piccard from the well known aerostation dynasty and he was flying a balloon designed by his own company. His wife had also ranked in that race that year. This race is still incorporated into the event till date as a part of the tradition. In the following year in February, the world’s first hot air balloon Championship was hosted in Albuquerque and it turned into an international festival.

Events-

• Dawn Patrol: This began in the year 1978 at the International Balloon Fiesta when two balloonists from California invented the position lighting system which allowed them to fly the balloons even at night. The pilots of the Dawn Patrol takes off before the sun rises and flies until there is enough light to see the landing sites from above. Their effort is appreciated by the other balloonists as they help them to get an idea about the direction of winds and its speed at various altitudes.

 

• Mass Ascensions: It is one of the biggest events in the Fiesta in which all the balloons participating in the event are launched in two waves making the sky filled up with colorful hot air balloons all at once. The launch directors, who are called zebras due to their striped uniforms, co-ordinates the launch so that all the hot air balloons go up safely. They serve as the traffic cops.

 

• For Artistic Vision: The view of the hundreds of balloons flying across the October sky is simply breathtaking and many artists are influenced by the bewitching beauty of this scenario. Most of these balloons land in the neighborhoods of Albuquerque and the people often spend these days in their backyard watching balloons in the sky.

 

• Special Shape Rodeo: Many exotic, uniquely shaped and non-traditional balloons are launched together at the same time as a part of the event. Commonly the balloon s are shaped like twin bees, milk cow, wagon coach, animals and soda cans. These unique balloons attract the visitors for their various shapes and sizes.

 

• The Glowing Balloons: Another breathtaking part of this event is the balloons which are illuminated by the propane burners at night-time. These balloons are not launched during the event rather they stand static throughout.

 

Dia de los Muertos is Mexican for “Day of the Dead” and is a popular holiday observed all over Mexico especially in the central and southern parts.

It’s also celebrated by people of the Mexican origin living in other parts of the world. This festival is a 3-day event that stresses on family get-togethers and pay homage to deceased friends and family members.

The traditions of this day were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in the year 2008. It is an annual festival starting on the 31^st of October and continuing up to the 2^nd of November which is the dates of Halloween, All Saint’s day and All Soul’s Day respectively.

It’s a public holiday in Mexico and this celebration is similar to other places and culture’s observances of occasions of honoring the dead. There’s a similar tradition in Spain as well which involves parades, family gatherings and cemetery visiting’s on this special day. This is a public holiday in Mexico since the 1960’s when the Mexican government introduced this holiday and made it a national one.

Origin

The origin of this modern Mexican holiday can be traced back to indigenous traditions performed hundreds of years ago. An Aztec festival which used to be celebrated in honor of goddess Mictecacuhuatl is also a deriving source of it and it used to fall in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar involving a whole month of celebrations.

It spread over the world through the years modifying the traditions performed to remember the dead. The pre-Columbian cultures gave way to the contemporary celebrations of the Day of the Dead in Mexico. The tradition of honoring the deceased ancestors has been carried out since as long as 2500 – 3000 years.

This festival grew and gained popularity and by the end of the 20^th century, practices had developed further in most parts of Mexico. The 1^st of November was designated to honor dead children and infants while the next day was devoted to deceased adults. Thus, November 1^st is known as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Día de los Angelitos( Day of the Little Angels) and November 2^nd is called by the names Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos.

Customs And Beliefs

On this day, people visit the cemeteries and construct private altars for the dead known as ‘ofrendas’. These altars are filled with gifts and favorite foods and beverages of the deceased along with photos and memorabilia. The main aim is to please the spirits so that they are encouraged to visit them and listen to the prayers and things they wish to talk about.

During this three-day affair, people keep the graves clean and decorated and possessions of the departed are often left there. Treats like Calaveras are kept for the dead which are essentially edible sugar coated representation of human skulls. Mexican Marigolds are offered to the deceased on their graves. They are also called ‘Flor de Muerto’ (Flower of Dead) and are believed to attract the spirits.

For the spirits of dead children, toys and chocolates are brought while tequila, jars of atole are offered to the adult. After the festivities are over, the people eat the food that was offered to the spirits in the ofrendas. Also, pillows and blankets are laid out for the spirits signifying resting facilities for the spirits after their long journey. In places like Mixquic, Janitzio and Patzcuaro in Mexico, relatives actually stay all night beside the graves. Celebrants wear clothing with shells attached onto them in the belief that on dancing wearing such clothes, the shells will create some noise that will wake up the spirits.

The most prevalent symbol of this festival is the ‘skull’ that can be found on everything including masks, decorative items, models as well as food items. People also believe that keeping Day of the Dead souvenirs brings good luck and hence they indulge in buying dolls or sculptures of skeletons and making tattoos. Food items that are particularly consumed on this day are Pan de Muerto which is a sort of sweet roll shaped like a bun and sometimes decorated with skulls and bone like icings, Calaveras and Champurrado served with churros or tamales.

The traditional drink of this festival is the Atole but other beverages like Jamaica iced tea made from Jamaican hibiscus flowers and leaves are also popular. Another dish is the traditional Guatemalan salad called Fiambre that’s made up of more than 50 ingredients. The traditions and the celebrations of Dia de los Muertos  is not the same everywhere and varies from town to town.

Also known as Guy Fawkes Night, this is an annual celebration observed on the 5^th of November majorly in Great Britain.

This night known as the Bonfire or Firework Night commemorates the prevention of the act of blowing up the Houses of Parliament back in the year 1605. It’s the anniversary of the foiling of a plot that was conspired by a group of English Catholic protesters to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.

Many people celebrate this day by lighting fireworks and bonfires and thus the names. Even though it has a political and patriotic significance, this day is not a public holiday and business organizations, schools are open and functioning as usual.

Public transportations work according to their general routines and time tables. In the upcoming year, it’s going to be observed on the 5^th of November, 2019 and it falls on a Tuesday.

Origin And History

This day has its origins that can be traced back to as early as the year 1605 when the Gunpowder Plot took place. This was a failed attempt by a group of English Catholic conspirators that wanted to murder Protestant King James the first of England and assign a Catholic head of the state in his place.

This plot was headed by Guy Fawkes who was arrested on the night of 5^th November while he was guarding a cache of explosives placed under the House of Lords. Guy Fawkes also had the name Guido Fawkes that he had adopted when he was fighting for the Spanish. They had planned to blow up the Parliament along with King James and other parliament members inside.

The conspirators were then arrested, tortured and eventually executed. Just a few days prior to their execution in January, an act known as the “Thanksgiving Act” was passed by the Parliament after being proposed by the Parliament member Edward Montagu. He proposed that the divine intervention that saved their king must be thanked for and made church attendance compulsory on the 5^th of November i.e. on the Thanksgiving Day henceforth.

The earliest celebrations started with music and artillery salutes and the celebrations of 1607 involved more than 106 pounds of gunpowder and 14 pounds of matchsticks. In later years, sermons were read, church bells were rung and bonfires and fireworks were lit. The essence of Guy Fawkes Day were carried onto the overseas colonies by immigrates. One such example is that of the Guy Fawkes Day that was carried to North America where it began to be celebrated as Pope Day.

Celebrations

A majorly common activity of this day is the lighting of bonfires and fireworks. There are extravagant firework displays all over Great Britain on the 5^th of November every year. Also, as it takes place during the end of autumn season, people take it as an opportunity to burn up all of their garden rubbish.

Some of the people indulge in lighting of their own small bonfires in their gardens while others take part in the large ones in the communal spaces. In some of the towns and cities, this festival holds so much importance that the government engages in hosting of large and grand firework displays and bonfires for all the people residing.

Due to its close observance date to another popular festival “Halloween”, sometimes a combined celebration for Guy Fawkes Night and Halloween take place. These parties include customs of both the festivals like both bonfires are lit and people dress up in scary costumes. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic and hence on this day, many Catholics abstain from such celebrations and enjoyment. Popular foods for this day include bonfire toffee, roasted marshmallows, toffee apples, sticky date pudding and potatoes and other food baked in the ashes of the fire. The fireworks being the star of this festival also have certain drawbacks.

These include many injuries and sometimes can lead to even deaths if the fireworks used are used incorrectly or are of faulty manufacturing. So now, it’s become an essential task to employ safe patrollers and campaigners to keep a lookout on the efficient and restricted sale of fireworks to the common public. Another popular act of this day is burning of effigies of Fawkes. They are burnt on the bonfires and it’s accompanied with the popular rhythm ‘Remember Remember the Fifth of November’ being sung. People also host a bonfire party, invite friends and family, and make all sorts of camping tidbits and barbeques. Non-alcoholic beverages like coffee, hot chocolate, warm fruit drinks and punches are also welcome. Make sure to keep the contact numbers of the local police station, hospitals and fire station handy on this night.