Peru Holidays - When, Where and What They Are

There are approximately 3,000 Peru holidays and festivals celebrated each year. Peru celebrates the widely known holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas and New Year, but most of the celebrations are for a particular saint. Most of these saints are a combination of Catholic and Andean religious traditions.

The typical work-week in Peru lasts for six days, which is probably one of the reasons why there are so many holidays. Many Peruvians get the day off on holiday, called feriado, which is usually spent drinking one of Peru's top beers: cristal, cusqueña or pilsen.

Most Peruvians love to drink. They'll treat personal celebrations and events with as much fervor as national holidays. Drinks are passed around on birthdays, family and friend gatherings, baptisms, sporting events, weddings, baby showers and even at funerals! It is very common to find fiestas throughout Peru, accompanied by not only drinks, but traditional and modern dances.

When planning a vacation to Peru you may wish to include Peru holidays in your itinerary. There are Peru holidays and festivals throughout the year, with those in June and July in Cuzco being the most popular with tourists.

January

Of course New Year is celebrated in Peru, especially as it is one of the Peru holidays that provides an excellent opportunity to drink. The party starts on December 31st with rounds of beer and lots of food. At the stroke of midnight there is champagne and a toast, accompanied by hugs and goodwill. Twelve grapes are eaten by each person, one for each month of the year, with a secret wish. Then the fireworks start and the beer drinking begins anew for most of January 1st.

February

For eighteen days Puno celebrates the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria. Hundreds of groups of musicians and dancers accompany huge amounts of food and fireworks on February 2nd when a procession carries the virgin image through the city. The dance of the demons has dancers wearing devil masks make offerings to Pachamama, the Earth Goddess. For the farewell the dancers are followed into the cemetery to pay homage to the dead.

Carnival is a National holiday celebrated for the entire month of February. This is when people get wet, really wet. People arm themselves with squirt guns, water balloons and buckets of water with the goal to get as many people wet as possible. In most places it is illegal to celebrate carnival on weekdays as people going to work would complain to the government about getting soaked. Cajamarca is especially enthusiastic about carnival, organizing several activities for Peru holidays during two weeks in February.

Lunahuana hosts the International Festival of Adventure Sports. People from all over the world come to see and participate in kayaking, rock wall climbing, paragliding and other adventure or outdoor sports. The festival's dates change, but it is always held in February.

March - April

In March or April Peru holidays center around Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which generally begins on the Thursday before Easter Sunday and continues through Easter. Traditionally, drinking is shunned during Semana Santa except for wine, and meat should not be eaten except for fish. Several stores will not sell alcohol on these four days, but many Peruvians still find a way to drink, especially on Saturday and Easter Sunday. There are Holy Week processions in most Peruvian cities starting from the Plaza de Armas or Main Square. Ayacucho hosts the most famous Semana Santa celebrations which start on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In Ayacucho it is traditionally believed that Christ is dead during the week until Easter Sunday, therefore sin does not exist during that time.

Cuzco celebrates the Lord of the Earthquakes on Easter Monday which blends Christian and Andean traditions. The Procession is to pay homage to Taitacha Temblores, as it is believed that an oil painting of Christ stopped an earthquake in the year 1650.

May

On the 1st of May el Dia de los Trabajadores (Labor Day) is celebrated Nationally by taking the day off from work and drinking. From the 2nd to the 4th Puno holds the Alarcitas Handicrafts Fair Dia de Santa Cruz. At this time hundreds of sellers gather together to sell thousands of handmade items like alpaca wool sweaters, jewelry, paintings, tapestries, wood crafts and scores of imaginative items from Peru and Bolivia.

June

This month is when Peru holidays really start to pick up. Corpus Christi is a national holiday which has basically been taken over by Cuzco. Hundreds of people crowd around the Plaza de Armas to see several Processions including the Processions of the Saints and of the Virgins accompanied by dancers in various traditional dress.

Inti Raymi celebrates the Inca Sun God on June 24th. Beginning early in the day at Koricancha (the Temple of the Sun) and the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco city, the celebration then moves to the Incan Sacsayhuaman structure at about noon. Thousands of people gather to see the recreation of an ancient Inca celebration of dances and worship to the Sun God in which two llamas are sacrificed.

July

In the town of Paucartambo, just a few hours from Cuzco, La Virgen del Carmen is celebrated for five days, with it's main day being July 16th. Traditional dances, costumes and homage to the dead are observed.

July 28th to the 29th marks Peru's Independence Day which calls for more drinking and fireworks across the country. The large water fountain at the Plaza de Armas in Lima is filled by the Municipality with 2,000 liters of the alcoholic drink Pisco for everyone to enjoy for free.

Cuzco is especially crowded during most of June and July to celebrate. There are several Peru holidays in Cuzco with processions, artisans lay out their handicrafts, street vendors sell a huge assortment of food and bands make live performances. During these times Cuzco gets so crowded that it can be difficult to walk just a couple of blocks.

August

In the seventeenth-century a Lima resident named Isabel Flores de Oliva earned fame for caring for the sick and shunning sin. Those searching for a miracle visit her shrine in downtown Lima. Her festival, El Dia de Santa Rosa de Lima, is celebrated on August 30th throughout the country, especially in Santa Rosa de Quives in the department of Lima.

September

From the 22nd to the 25th Juliaca celebrates Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in honor of the town's Saint Patroness in which fairs, dances and folk acts are held.

Trujillo organizes the International Spring Festival in the 4th week of September. Once again, there are drinking, folk shows and dancing, but this time there are visits from American and European beauty queens. Bullfighting and the Peruvian Stepping Horses contests are also held.

October
On October 8, 1879 a naval battle was fought between Peru and Chili. This National holiday is remembered as the Combate Naval de Angamos.

From the 18th to the 28th is El Señor de los Milagros (The Lord of Miracles), the most important of all the Peru holidays in October. This is largely a procession in honor of a slave from Angola who drew the image of a black Christ in Pachacamilla near Lima. Although there had been several attempts to erase it, the image stubbornly stayed on the wall. Tens of thousands participate in the procession every year. Believers carry two tons of remains that bore the painting and walk for twenty-four hours starting from the church Las Nazarenas, through downtown Lima, and finally to the church La Marced in Barrios Altos. Bullfighting season also starts in October to commemorate The Lord of Miracles.

La Noche de Las Brujas, or Halloween, is loosely celebrated on October 31st. Some attention is paid to trick-or-treating for the children.

November

All Saints Day is celebrated on the first, with All Souls Day following on the second. Peruvians may attend mass and visit cemeteries in memory of the dead, especially loved ones.

Puno, the folkloric center of Peru, has many Peru holidays. It's founding is celebrated on the 4th and 5th called Puno Days. There are military parades, drinking and dancing. A procession of masked dancers celebrate the Inca legend of when Manco Capac, the first king of Cuzco, and his sister and wife Mama Occlo, rose out of Lake Titicaca.

December

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th is celebrated by two of the things that Peruvians love most - great food and lots of beer. Christmas celebrations begin on the 24th when the drinking starts. At midnight the official party begins, sometimes gifts will be exchanged, but there will always be a round of champagne.

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Paper Plate Animal Crafts

Paper plate animals make the perfect kids craft idea. Most are very easy and inexpensive and kids can pick their favorite animal. You can make masks, wall hangings, animal mobiles and standing animal crafts.

The great thing about making animals from a simple paper plate is you can make anything - from aardvarks to zebras and everything in between. Here are just a couple ideas for your animal crafts your kids can make.

3-D Paper Plate Elephant

Using sturdy paper plates, you can give your animal a fun 3-D look. The supplies and instructions below are for making an elephant.

Supplies

8 Sturdy Dinner Size Plates 2 Flexible Dinner Sized Plates 4 Toilet Paper Cardboard Rolls Black and White Construction Paper Paint Black Marker Pipe Cleaner Scissors Glue

Directions

1. Paint the sturdy plates the color of your choice for the elephant's body. Let these dry completely.


2. Glue 2 plates together at the rim (front to front) to form one section of the body. Repeat this with the other plates until you have 4 body sections.


3. Glue each of these sections together, back to back, to form the elephant's body.


4. Using white paper cut out two large circles for the eyes. Cut out two smaller circles with the black paper for the pupils. Glue these to the front plate. Cut out some small strips with the black paper for eye lashes and glue these above the eyes.


5. With the flexible paper plates, paint these the same color as the body and let dry. Cut a large arc on one side of the plates to create the ears. Glue these to the side of the front plate (in between the first and second section of the body).


6. Use one of the cut out arcs for the elephant's trunk. Glue this under the eyes. Cut out a mouth using black paper and glue under the nose. You can give your elephant a fun look by cutting out a cute bow tie (for a boy elephant) or hair ribbons (for a girl elephant) and glue these one.


7. Next, paint or cover your cardboard rolls with paper to match the color scheme of you elephant. Glue these on at the bottom of the elephant's body in the front and back, placing them in between two of the sections. With the black marker, give his feet some toe nails.


8. Lastly, take the pipe cleaner and shape into a tail. Poke a small hole in the last plate (in the back) and stick the pipe cleaner in the slot. You may need a little bit of glue to help hold this in place.

This cute paper plate animal will stand on its own and will look great on any table. You can even make more zoo animals and dedicate a whole table for creating your zoo.

Paper Plate Rocking Horse

Every one of all ages love rocking horses. These were classic toys for many of us. So get some of this nostalgia back by making this cute animal craft.

Supplies

Two Flexible Dinner Sized Paper Plates Brown, Black and Tan Paint 2 Wiggle Eyes Yarn Scissors Glue Ruler

Directions

1. Paint the bottom of the paper plate with brown, black and tan spots. Leave some of the white show as well to create white spots for this horse. Let the plate dry.


2. Turn the plate over to the unpainted side and mark the center of the plate. Using the ruler, measure 1 1/2" to 2" from the center on either side. Draw 2 straight lines (one on each side of the middle). Fold the plate along these lines to create the "rocker".


3. Take the second paper plate and paint it for the horses head. We used the tan color but you can use any of the colors to match the body.


4. Once this plate is dry, cut out a horses head and neck from the center of the plate. Make the neck about 1 ½ to 2" wide.


5. Glue on wiggle eyes or use paper to create the eyes. Using a marker, draw in the details of the horses face (i.e. nose, mouth, ears).


6. Cut a 1 ½ to 2" wide slit in the rocking paper plate (horse's body). Make this slit the same size as the neck. Slip the neck into this slit and fold over to hold in place. You may need to add a bit of glue to help hold it in place.


7. Lastly, using the yarn, cut several strips and glue on the back end of the horse for the tail. Repeat this with smaller strips and glue to the horses head to create the mane.

If your paper plate horse is too heavy on one end of the other, causing it not to rock properly, just tape a paper clip on the inside to the side that is too light. This will help balance out the rocker.

The ideas are endless when it comes to fun and easy paper plate animal crafts. So get out the paper plates, craft supplies and your imagination and have fun.

Check out these other fun paper plate animal crafts.

Julie is the author and creator of Cool Kids Craft Ideas

The Mark of Cain - What Was It?

Cursed is the Ground for Your Sake, Cain

Man came from the ground, and from the ground would come the food that he would eat. It was the ground that Cain was so taken with and so proud of. He was insistent upon being recognized for his husbandry. The ground was already cursed for Adam's sake and because of Adam's sin. Now, because of Cain's sin against the human race, against God, and against the ground, the ground would no longer yield to him. He lost his beloved vocation and was cursed to become a wanderer. It was a situation where the race had not had time to harden and where there was no peer group for Cain to run to and find consolation. One might have thought that Cain would have come clean, but he did not. Cain was not repentant. He complained to God: "This is too much--I don't deserve this. It is unreasonable!" That is what Cain was saying. It was no humble admission that this judgment was indeed heavy but he had deserved it. Cain was being defiant. "This is greater than I can bear. I cannot stand this. What are you trying to do to me? First you reject me and now you are disowning me and taking away my means of a living." The truth is that God was very gracious here. He could have slain Cain, even as He did the sons of Judah, Achan, Agag, and others. Cain had killed his brother for no reason. Abel was one of God's dearest servants in the history of the world. Yet God did not require Cain's life on the spot. He drove him out and Cain complained. "I am a fugitive and a vagabond. Anyone who finds me will kill me."

God's judgment was very generous. He could have reacted: "So what if the people that find you kill you? What do you think you deserve?" But God deals in mercy and grace, even with men like Cain. He extended his life, gave him the opportunity to think it over, and to repent. There is no indication that Cain ever did that but one thing is certain--he could have. Solomon said that a live dog is better off than a dead lion because as long as a man is alive, there is hope.

Everyone, Finding Me, Will Kill Me

Cain was worried, now that he was a murderer and an alien from his family and from God, that he would be a marked and a hunted man. Who was Cain worried about? Well, remember that there were a whole lot of people in the world before Adam died at the age of 930 years and they were all closely related to Abel. They would despise Cain for what He did to Abel. Cain did well to be worried about being chased down and killed.

God again was gracious and put a mark on Cain. What was that mark? There is an old view that He turned him black. Is that right? No, of course it is not true! That is as ridiculous a claim as has ever come from those who call themselves Christians. What is supposed to have happened to Cain's black race when Noah, who was a descendent of Seth, was the only one that was left on the ark?

So, What Was It?

What was the mark? I do not know what it was and I aspire to say that no one knows. The Bible does not say and it does not give any hint. Preoccupation with the question is diversionary from the reason for the information about the mark. The point is that the mercy of God is protecting Cain against being the object of every vengeful brother and nephew who would come along in the next eight hundred years of the life of Adam and Eve, hear this infuriating story, and go looking for Cain to avenge Abel. Cain could be found in the land of Nod because he was found by the sister who would become his wife. It would certainly not be hard for God to devise a sign or an appearance that would keep away those who would kill him. It might have been nearly anything from cherubim with a flaming sword, to a fierce appearance, to a loathsome disease. But it would be impossible for me to guess, and so I leave it there.

©Daniel Earl Cripe, December 26, 2008

I have 29 books on most of the New Testament and all of Genesis published on amazon.com Kindle page. This text can be read on Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, blackberry, all Kindle devices, and a few others. Covers, Titles, and a short piece about the book can be viewed prior to purchase. All information and needed software is available at the amazon site. To access, go to amazon.com, pull down "Kindle page" with the drop down arrow in the left hand text box and put my name, Earl Cripe, in the right hand text box.

Earl Cripe, Ph.D
http://www.godspointofview.com

Sweet 16th Birthday Party Ideas

Is there any party more delightful than sweet 16? If you're stuck for 16th birthday party ideas, then you need to sit back and start counting! It's easy enough if you remember that a sweet 16 party is all about that magic number. How many sweet sixteen balloons do you buy? Sixteen, of course!

Turning 16 can be the perfect time for an all-girls party or for a co-ed gathering. No matter what you choose to do, talk with your sweet 16 birthday girl first for her ideas. She might be hoping for a good old fashioned slumber party or something a bit more elegant that announces she is approaching adulthood.

Sweet Party Ideas

Ideas for an informal 16th party can take advantage of the classic teen foods like pizza, ice cream sundaes, sub sandwiches, nachos, and lots of soda. When thinking about a more "sweet" party, consider sixteen delicate and tiny birthday cakes surrounding one floral arrangement. Another idea is to keep the guest list to sixteen friends.

Need more ideas?

How about a party where the guest of honor opens sixteen mystery boxes to find one final gift tucked inside? Or a cluster of small items like sixteen favorite candy bars, sixteen colors of nail polish, sixteen gift certificates to favorite fast food restaurants or sixteen movie tickets?

What about invitations for your sweet 16 party?

Invitations to your party could be presented on candy bar wrappers for the chocolate fiend. For mystery, you could send out a small key enclosed in each of the sixteen invitations. Once your guests arrive, let them try their luck at opening a small chest which contains sixteen special prizes. Keep in mind that often the most creative and appreciated items are the least expensive!

John Lenaghan writes about party planning and other tips for the Party Ideas 4u website, where he provides valuable tips and advice about Halloween party ideas, birthday party ideas and other party planning topics.

How To Make Paper Mache Bowls

I love to make decorative paper mache bowls from newspaper and use tissue paper as the top layers. I know that a lot of people turn this paper mache process into a big and involved project by making paper mache pulp in their blenders. My motto is keep it simple and my results have been very satisfying.

First, I choose a bowl with the form I love. I have a big pottery salad bowl that I'm especially fond of. O.K., the bowl is picked for the form.

Turn it upside down and 'grease' it with petroleum jelly or anything (even Crisco) to keep the paper from sticking to the bowl. It's a good idea to place it on a board or tray to catch drips and also to make it portable as the paper mache bowl needs to dry thoroughly. Tear newspaper into small pieces. You are going to need lots of paper pieces to complete this paper mache bowl. I have used wallpaper paste to adhere the paper to the form. The dry wallpaper paste is easy and cheap because a tablespoon of paste makes alot of glue after it is mixed with water.

ModgePodge thinned out with water works very well I have also used Elmers glue thinned with water. All we are doing here is bonding the wet paper together and smoothing it with the paint brush. Cover the greased form with the newspaper bits one at a time adhering them with the 'glue'. Use a small paint brush to apply the glue or paste.

After the first layer is complete, go on to the second layer and then the third, etc. After a few layers, let the paper mache bowl dry before adding more layers of paper to the paper mache bowl. The more layers you add, the more substantial the bowl will be. Let the bowl dry completely. I let it dry for several days. Take it off the form.

When the paper mache bowl is completed, you have a couple of options:

Paint it inside and out, to complement your decor or add a few layers of tissue paper. Acrylic paint is available in small bottles and works very well on paper. Let your imagination guide you to a masterpiece! I like to use three colors and white tissue, also torn into small pieces, and layered until the newspaper does not show through. The different colors randomly layered, form new colors and shades. Pay attention to the rim of the bowl so it is neat...fold the pieces of tissue over the rim to make a smooth edge.

Hint: save all that tissue paper you receive in gift bags. Use tissue scraps to cover boxes or anything else that catches your fancy.

As a final step, spray the paper mache bowl with a sealer. There are many spray sealers available in craft stores and even Walm art. Making paper mache bowls is a great way to recycle some of the some of the paper that accumulates in our homes. You can use paper mache bowls as the basket for a gift basket, a fruit bowl or to hold potpourri....

I found this gallery of paper mache projects you might enjoy..

http://pitterpaint.blogspot.com/

Body Painting Art - Nude Female and Male Body Painting

In fact we are fond of painting our bodies since prehistoric times. In past we were used to paint our bodies with materials like natural dyes, paints and pigments. In some cases we used ash, and clay, too.

The markings that the people make on their bodies are thought to have magical powers with which one could ward off evil spirits or the tribal enemies. Such was the thinking in past. The painting of bodies was also coined with celebrating of auspicious occasions like New Year or a dance party. Same practice can still observed in the indigenous populations of the countries like New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and certain parts of Africa.

In India the women and men are fond of using Henna. It is a colour extracted from a plant of Henna; it is also known as Mehandi.  This type of body painting with Henna has been a fashion in India and the Middle East since many years. People paint their hands and legs and other parts of body with Henna during auspicious ceremonies like weddings. The use of henna or Mehandi has become popular in the Western countries, too, since last two decades.

The art of body painting is not a new phenomenon in the countries of South America, too. People here have been using indigenous materials to paint their body and body parts. They use wet charcoal and other materials available in the local surrounding. In some parts of America, a material known as Huito is used to paint the bodies and faces. Huito is a black dye, and it takes weeks to fade away.

For reading similar articles and seeing the images of the paintings of nude females, you can visit the following links.

FEMALE BATHERS

MODERN FEMALE PAINTINGS

The article sent is original one, and I am not connected with any person or company attached with publishing business. I write the articles using what I have read in various newspapers and websites freely available to the public. Apart from doing literary writing - I am a writer, a novelist - I try to see how a particular event would and could affect people living in its immediate surround.

Truth About Texas Chainsaw Massacre - What Really Happened

It is bizarre but many people from all over the world truly believe that the Texas chainsaw Massacre happened in real life. In actuality it is an urban legend. The truth about Texas Chainsaw Massacre is that is was inspired by not based on the real life story.

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is an independent low-budget horror movie which was filmed in 1974. Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel wrote, directed, and produced the film which starred Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Teri McMinn, William Vail, Edwin Neal, and Paul A. Partain. The plot is very simple. A group of friends go on a back roads road trip in Texas and become detoured and become tragic victims to a family of sadistic cannibals which includes the infamous chainsaw-wielding maniac "Leatherface."

Tobe used the story of real-life murderer Ed Gein to create the "Leatherface" character. Ed Gein also inspired many other fictional stories and movies including Halloween, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs and the movie Ed Gein.

Ed Gein was from Wisconsin and is suspected of several murders which took place between 1954 and 1957. He never used a chainsaw in the killing of his victims. He murdered two women by shooting them. He later beheaded his victims and gutted them like a hunter would gut a deer and used some of their body parts as clothing and for furniture and created masks from the skin of his victims.

The truth about Texas chainsaw Massacre is that one of the similarities to the movie and the real Ed Gein is the house. As in real life the house in the film contained similar horrific content to that found in Ed Gein's home such as body parts, skulls, bodies hanging from a meat hook and a vest made from human skin. The police even found a human heart cooking on the stove in Gein's house which suggests he engaged in cannibalism much like the characters in the movie.

Like the character "Leatherface" Gein was suspected in many murders. Gein was only convicted of two murders despite a mountain of evidence gathered from his house. Eventually Ed Gein put in a mental institution where he died of heart failure in 1984. It was later discovered that Gein was severely damaged by a very strict and religious upbringing by his extremely domineering and controlling mother.

The truth about Texas Chain Saw Massacre can be found online at various websites, from DVD's, in books and from some of the actors in the movie and from writer/director Tobe Hopper himself who continues to tell people that his movie came from his imagination and is a work of fiction. Still there continues to be doubters who swear the movie is based on a true story.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is often said to be one of the greatest horror films of all time and has been the influence for many horror films and it appears its truth and fiction will continue to be disputed by people from all over the world.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about truth about texas chainsaw massacre [http://chainsawsandsafety.info/truth-about-texas-chainsaw-massacre-what-really-happened], please visit Chainsaws and Safety [http://chainsawsandsafety.info] for current articles and discussions.