July 1, 2020: CANADA Day

            Happy Canada Day, dear fellow Canadians!
This year (on July 1st, 2020), we all celebrate Canada’s 153rd birthday, but unlike the years before, since we all continue to navigate through the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe that more than ever, this is an important time to bring communities together to virtually share the very special bond of living in one of the greatest countries in the world, and to celebrate our freedom, our values, our diversity, and everything else that makes our nation such a special place we all call ‘home’. 

National Anthem: ‘O Canada’ – audio       

A brief historical background
On July 1, 1867, the nation was officially born when the “Constitution Act” joined three provinces into one country: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canada province, which then split into Ontario and Quebec. However, Canada was not completely independent of England until 1982. The holiday called “Dominion Day” was officially established in 1879, but it wasn't observed by many Canadians, who considered themselves to be British citizens. “Dominion Day” started to catch on when the 50^th anniversary of the confederation rolled around, in 1917. In 1946, a bill was put forth to rename “Dominion Day”, but arguments in the House of Commons over what to call the holiday stalled the bill.

The 100^th anniversary of the nation's official creation in 1967 saw the growth of the spirit of Canadian patriotism, & “Dominion Day” celebrations began to take off. Although many Canadians already called the holiday “Canada Day” (“Fête du Canada”), the new name wasn't formally adopted until October 1982.

● A previous post on the same theme: CANADA Day – 2019

June 24, 2020: Universal Day of the ROMANIAN BLOUSE

The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse (Rom: "Ziua iei"), each year on June 24^th, has become a global event celebrated on six continents, 55 countries, 130 cities, with lots of gatherings. This movement has contributed decisively to the rebirth and a renewed interest in traditional Romanian culture. The blouses are special as venerable anthropological artifacts, communicating through hand-embroidered symbols the identity of their wearer.

The Romanian blouse, "ie" by its original Romanian name, is not a simple traditional peasant blouse, but it became a symbol of Romania, with its legends, stories and deep significance. The "ie" (pronounced "ee-eh") is a blouse, commonly worn by Romanian girls and women, and it has overcome its historic peasant confines, as it became an important source of inspiration for the fashion designers in Romania and abroad (high-ranking names, such as Tom Ford based his 2012 collection on the Romanian traditional motifs). The "ie" is entirely hand-made from a special fabric (called approx. in English "sheer lawn"), with exquisite embroideries on the chest, back and sleeves, with designs preserved for centuries. The signs and symbols embroidered on the Romanian blouse aren’t just random decorations, but each has its own significance, depending on the region, the seamstress, and the person who wore it. 
Every "ie", along with the other items of the traditional folk costume, has its own story. Among the symbols embroidered on the blouse there is the tree or a tree-like design, which is the symbol of life, wisdom and rebirth. The fir tree is particularly drawn on the Romanian blouse, especially in the mountain rural areas, and symbolizes the immortality, a motif seldom found in Romanian mythology.

The circle or a sunflower represent the sun, day or Divinity; in Romanian tradition, the sun was at the core of life and often associated with abundance.

Other motifs related to daily activities can be found ranging from one region to another: water (either as a river or as sea waves) and fish in the fishing villages along the rivers and sea coast, wheat or corn stems in agricultural villages, wheels or coin in crafting traders’ villages, and so on.

At the same time, the colors on the blouse also vary according to the geographic region; green and gold symbolize the plains, gray, red and brown for the mountains and blue for the rivers. For instance, in the past, young girls from the countryside, who were not married used to wear merry colors on their blouses, combinations of red, yellow, pink & light colors, while the dark ones (brown, black, dark green) & gold were usually worn by older women, married & having a certain social statute.

June 21, 2020: Happy FATHER’s Day!

Today, each of us is glad to honor the father of the family and the important role he plays.
Also, this is the perfect occasion to acknowledge all the fathers and father figures across the world, expressing gratitude for their contribution in raising children.

Men grow into fathers and fathering is an important stage of life.

● A previous post on the same theme: FATHER's Day – 2019