Each year, a significant population of Australia celebrates the Lunar New Year. Often referred to as Chinese New Year, it is a time of festivity marked by lion dances, delicious food, and welcoming in a new year of good fortunes. In many East Asian countries, Lunar New Year receives its own public holiday, allowing people to travel back to their homes for big family reunions. Whilst Australia may not have this same perk, Chinese New Year festivities and traditions still remain to be a major part of the lives of Chinese people residing in Australia. ‘To be Chinese is to celebrate Chinese New Year’, says a young Hong Kong migrant in Sydney.
Billions of households across the world are abuzz with activity and excitement. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is just around the corner. And so are the elaborate preparations: shopping for new clothes, preparing sweets and savouries for family and friends, spring cleaning the house, and planning for all the fun and frolic this festival entails. But how can we celebrate more sustainably? Read on to find out.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year starts on September 9 and is to be celebrated until sundown on September 11, this year. An opportunity for good food and fun with family and friends, this festival also is a time for looking inwards -- to reflect upon your actions over the past year and seek tshuva (repentance) and forgiveness for any wrongdoings. Let the noise of the shofar be loud enough to wake you up to a more conscientious and sustainable way of life with our suggestions below.
Let us all bring out our gardening tools and plant a sapling this National Tree Day on 29th July, 2018. Celebrated on the last Sunday of July, the day was started in Australia by the non-profit Planet Ark, in 1996. It has become the largest nature care and tree-planting event in Australia since then with over 3.8 million people having planted 24 million trees in the last 22 years.
NAIDOC Week 2018 will be held under the theme – Because of Her – We can! and will take place nationally from Sunday July 8 through to Sunday 15 July. NAIDOC week is held each year in Australia to celebrate the history, achievements and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC week is now widely celebrated by both indigenous and non-indigenous local communities nationally.
Buddha Day is a very special day in the year of Buddhists and certain Hindus too because the two religions agree on karma (the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences) and dharma (cosmic law and order). Buddha Day celebrations are also known as Vesak/Wesak, Buddha Purnima or Buddha’s Birthday
Ramadan 2018 begins today, Tuesday the 15th of May and ends on the evening of Thursday the 14th of June. Ramadan is regarded as the holiest season of the Islamic calendar and one of the five pillars of Islam. It takes place in the 9th month as determined by the lunar Islamic calendar and as such falls on a different date each year. Ramadan is a month of fasting that commemorates the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad, according to Islamic belief.
Each Anzac Day in Australia, these humble biscuits are a sweet diversion on an otherwise sombre occasion. But have you ever found yourself wondering about the history of the Anzac biscuit? Well they’re widely believed to have originated around the time of World War I in 1915. Anzac biscuits were sent by wives and women’s groups to soldiers abroad because they travelled well and didn’t go mouldy like bread did. However, the biscuits that were sent to soldiers back then were a fry cry from the commercial sweet variety that is popular today.
By now you may have realised that people of Christian Orthodox faith celebrate Easter on a different day to the official Easter holiday in Australia. Orthodox Easter Sunday, also called Pascha, will fall on April the 8th 2018. You might be wondering why this is so; well up until the year 1582, early Christians (both Catholic and Orthodox) used the Julian calendar to calculate Easter Sunday.
It’s a busy time for Jews. The eight-day festival of Passover starts on March 30 and most
Jewish households are already on an intensive search-and- destroy mission for any hidden
bread crumbs in every nook and cranny of their house.
Easter is just round the corner, it’s a long-weekend, and you are happy as a bunny already.
So, why not make Mother Earth happy too? If you are not sure how, just follow our tips
below to enjoy this festive season in a way that’s good for us and good for the environment.
Each year Hindus around the globe celebrate their Holi Mahostav festival. Also known as ‘The Festival of Colours’ or ‘The Festival of Love’, this ancient Hindu festival dates back to the 7th century. Hindus in Australia will mark the Holi festival by visiting friends and family, and attending large scale community events taking place during March and April.
Although the calendar changes on January 31st for many Australians, plenty of Asian cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year around February each year. More commonly known in Australia as Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year is on February 16th, 2018 beginning the year of the dog. The dog is the eleventh animal of the Chinese Zodiac and is a symbol of loyalty and honesty.
All over Australia, but particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, there are a wide range of events and activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The team at FoodFaith have scoured what’s on offer and found a few that we think are worth checking out.
Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims and falls in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Ridvan is a 12-day festival in the Baha’i faith remembering when the founder of Baha'i, Baha-u-llah declared his mission.
What is Easter all about? Why is it celebrated on a different day every year? Why do people dye Easter eggs? What is an Easter bilby? Learn about the festival of Easter and some of the traditions that surround it.
Horseradish is a key food herb of the Seder plate, a focus of the Jewish festival of Pesach or Passover.
Another wonderful celebration in Chinese New Year, on January 28th, 2017. Also known as the Spring Festival, it is based on the lunisolar calendar and the phase of the moon.
The Jewish festival of Chanukah starts on Dec 24 and finishes on Jan 1st. The eight-day “festival of lights” is celebrated with nightly menorah lighting, and special prayers and foods...
Some inspiration from FoodFaith for the 12 days of Christmas… In the spirit of goodwill and sustainability, in all its many positive meanings...
