World Holidays - Lithuania Celebrates Independence Day

On February 16, Lithuania celebrates Independence Day. She has the Baltic Sea on her West Coast with a land mass of 65,200 sq. km. and a population of a little over 3.2 million. Her people are mostly of Lithuanian, Poles and Russian origins with about 79% are Roman Catholics.

Baltic tribes that were made up of a distinct Indo-European ethnic group, established themselves on what is now known as

World Holidays - Republic of Serbia Celebrates National Day

The Republic of Serbia, or simply known as Serbia; celebrates her National Day on 15 February 2012. Serbia is surrounded by Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; and Kosovo and Macedonia to the south. She has no sea front with a land mass of 77,474 km sq and population of a little over 7.3 millions people of Serbian, Hungarian, Bosniak and Romany origins.

Serbia becomes a Republic through an October 28-29 2006 referendum but 15

World Holidays - Thaipusam, Hindu Festival celebrated by Tamils Worldwide at Batu Caves

Thaipusam commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a spear to vanquish the evil demon Soorapadam. This festival is celebrated on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai and this year it falls on the 7 February 2012.

Kavadi Attam is the dance performed by devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Hindu God of War and in Malaysia, Batu Caves is the venue where more than a million visitors from all over the world will begin gathering as early as 4:30am.

At 100m above ground, Batu Caves consist of three main caves and the biggest one, the Temple Cave has a 100m high ceiling that features ornate Hindu shrines. Hindu

World Holidays - Grenada Celebrates Independence Day

Grenada gained independence from British rule on 7^th February 1974 under the leadership of Sir Eric Matthew Gairy who served as the first Prime Minister. Grenada is part of the Commonwealth Realm and has Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. Grenada, also known as the Island of Spice, is one of the world’s largest exporters of nutmeg and mace crops with a population of about 110,000.

On October 25 1983, President Ronald

World Holidays - Waitangi Day Celebrated in New Zealand, Niue & Tokelau

On 6^th February 1840, The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in James Busby’s house at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands making New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Maori people rights to their land and also the rights of British subjects.

Prior to 1934, celebration of New Zealand’s founding as a colony was on January 29, the date on which William Hobson arrived in the Bay of Islands. The New Zealand Day Act

Spring Festival - Day Fifteenth of Chinese New Year "Valentine Day For Chinese"

Greetings Card  for You All

In Malaysia and Singapore, this day 6 February 2012 -  is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, which is a similar version to the more popular and commercialized Valentine's Day celebration, Normally, single women will write their contact details on mandarin oranges and throw them into a river or a lake, and single men will collect as many oranges and eat them. The taste

World Holidays - Sri Lanka’s Independence Day

Today, 4th February, 2012, Sri Lanka is 64 years old as an independent nation. She gained independence from British Rule on 4th February 1948 and was known as Ceylon until 1972. Officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka since 1972, Sri Lanka is a country located off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia.
The Singhalese community forms the majority of the

Spring Festival - Receiving Cai Shen, The Chinese God of Prosperity this Water Dragon Year

The Auspicious time to receive Cai Shen, The Chinese God of Prosperity this Water Dragon Year is between 3am to 7am on 23^rd January 2012. Pray facing the Southerly direction to receive Cai Shen or just click LIKE HERE at  Facebook and Cai Shen will come to you. More Environmental this way :) 


Gong Xi Fa Cai from www.kuantan4u.com

Spring Festival - Kuantan4u.com wish EVERYONE Happy Chinese New Year

The Team at kuantan4u.com and ic2kuantan had been working round the clock these past few weeks and would like to thank our followers and supporters who have visited and commented on our work. The Water Dragon is said to bring calmness to The Dragon through Innovative & Creative Concepts in the way we work, play and share.
We would like to wish those of you that celebrate The Lunar New Year “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, “Kong Hee Fatt Choy”, Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year and “Selamat Tahun Baru Cina”; and for those of you who are not Chinese, we welcome you to celebrate together with us and get to know and understand thousands of years of Chinese Culture, Tradition and Civilization.
Once again we want to say a BIG THANK YOU for all your support and encouragement.
GONG XI FA CAI KUANTAN, PAHANG, MALAYSIA and The Whole Wide World where the SUN Shines,

Spring Festival - Typical Chinese New Year Traditions & Celebrations in Kuantan

Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is celebrated by Chinese the world all over and it is also celebrated in Kuantan. This year of the Water Dragon will hopefully wash away all the threat of any radioactive and bring on abundance of wealth and prosperity to the people of Kuantan.

Traditionally, households will start to clean and paint their homes right after celebrating the Winter Solstice Festival on 22^nd December 2011. Gates and walls are given a new coat, lighting and fixture are cleaned thoroughly and repair works done where they are required.

After Spring Cleaning, the homes are decorated with Chinese Calligraphy on red background depicting Chinese Characters that symbolize wealth, health and prosperity. Bright and red Chinese lanterns or Tanglung will be hanging on the car porch and kept lighted all night long.

Mothers and daughters will be busy making cakes and cookies but in these modern times, most are bought from the

Spring Festival - Reunion Dinner, a Very Important Chinese New Year Tradition

Reunion Dinner

Reunion Dinner is held on the eve of Chinese New Year where everyone in the family will be present. The Family unit is very important in Chinese culture and tradition that goes back thousands of years. The number of generations present signifies the greatness of The Family and some family’s Reunion Dinner is so grand with more than a hundred of family members attending.

Typical Reunion Dinner dishes include Chicken, Pork, Prawn, Fish and a type of Black Hair-like Algae or Fatt Choy. Eating plenty of prawns will bring plenty of laughter as “Har”, which is prawn in Catonese; is the sound of

Spring Festival - Typical Chinese New Year Traditions in Kuantan_

Typical Chinese New Year Traditions in Kuantan GONG XI FA CAI

Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is celebrated by Chinese the world all over and it is also celebrated in Kuantan. This year of the Water Dragon will hopefully wash away all the threat of any radioactive and bring on abundance of wealth and prosperity to the people of Kuantan.

Traditionally, households will start to clean and paint their homes right after celebrating the Winter Solstice Festival on 22^nd December 2011. Gates and walls are given a new coat, lighting and fixture are cleaned thoroughly and repair works done where they are required.

After Spring Cleaning, the homes are decorated with Chinese Calligraphy on red background depicting Chinese Characters that symbolize wealth, health and prosperity. Bright and red Chinese lanterns or Tanglung will be hanging on the car porch and kept lighted all night long.

Spring Festival - The Use of Firecrackers During this Water Dragon Chinese New Year in Kuantan

The use of firecrackers is banned under the Malaysian Law due to incidents like body injuries and fire but some level of tolerance are practiced during Chinese New Year celebrations. The use of firecrackers is one of the traditions of Chinese New Year. It is believe that the loud noise of the firecrackers will awaken The Dragon and bring abundance of rainfall for crops. It is also believe that the loud noise will scare off evil spirits and bad omen, therefore bringing good luck and good fortune for the year.

Even though firecrackers are banned they still find their way on to the market and for those of you that insist on using firecrackers, please put SAFETY FIRST before anything else. Please be responsible and considerate to your neighbours and surrounding areas. Please make

Spring Festival - Cai Shen and the BEST TIME to Receive the Chinese God of Prosperity this Water Dragon Year

Cai Shen (Rich God) in Traditional Chinese, is the Chinese God of Prosperity and Chinese households the world over will received him into their homes to bring wealth and prosperity for the coming New Year. According to Chinese myth, Cai Shen has magical powers over wind, thunder and rain. He is also the general for millions of ghosts and is often depicted with a black face and riding a black tiger while carrying a golden rod.
Every year just before Chinese New Year, Chinese will find out the auspicious time to pray and welcome the God of Prosperity or God of Wealth to usher in the New Lunar Year. Watch this space for Tips and the Auspicious Time to receive The God of Prosperity this Water Dragon Year.

Niángāo, Year cake or Chinese New Year's cake – Why is it a MUST for Chinese New Year?

Niángāo is made from glutinous rice and is very popular during Chinese New Year even though it is available all year round. Chinese eat Niángāo during this time because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word  (nián粘), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to Nian (年), meaning "year", and the word  (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to (Gao 高), meaning "high". Therefore, the eating of Niángāo symbolizes the raising of oneself in each coming year (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng).

Niángāo is also offered to the Kitchen God so that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake so that he cannot badmouth the family to the God of all Gods (Yu Huang Da Di). So, eat plenty of Niángāo this Water Dragon Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai