Encyclopedia of Holidays And Celebrations

Encyclopedia of
HOLIDAYS AND
CELEBRATIONS
j A Country-by-Country Guide j
Matthew Dennis, Ph.D., Editor
University of Oregon
Eugene, OregonEncyclopedia of Holidays And Celebrations: A Country-by-Country Guide
Copyright © 2006 Infobase Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the
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Facts On File, Inc.
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132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataEncyclopedia of Holidays And Celebrations : a country-by-country guide /
general editor, Matthew Dennis. p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8160-6235-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-43812-921-1 (e-book)
1. Holidays. 2. Festivals. I. Dennis, Matthew, 1955–
GT3930.E53 2006
394.26—dc22
2005027700
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities
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Cover design by Sal Luongo
Maps by Dale Williams © Infobase Publishing
Printed in the United States of America
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Volume I ᪐
How to Use This Encyclopedia vii
List of Images and Maps ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction by Matthew Dennis xv
Country Entries A to K
Afghanistan 3
Albania 11
Algeria 16
Andorra 23
Angola 30
Antigua and Barbuda 37
Argentina 43
Armenia 49
Aruba 57
Australia 63
Austria 73
Azerbaijan 81
Bahamas, The 88
Bahrain 95
Bangladesh 100
Barbados 108
Belarus 114
Belgium 120
Belize 126
Benin 132
Bermuda 139
Bhutan 144
Bolivia 151
Bosnia and Herzegovina 156
Botswana 163
Brazil 168
Brunei 176
Bulgaria 182
Burkina Faso 193
Burundi 199
Cambodia 205
Cameroon 213
Canada 220
Cape Verde 229
Cayman Islands 234
Central African Republic 239
Chad 244
Chile 252
China 259
Colombia 268
Comoros 275
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 282
Congo, Republic of the 288
Costa Rica 295
Côte d’Ivoire 302
Croatia 311
Cuba 317
Cyprus 322
Czech Republic 330
Denmark 339
Djibouti 347
Dominica 351
Dominican Republic 357
East Timor 364
Ecuador 370
Egypt 376
El Salvador 382
j Contents j
Equatorial Guinea 388
Eritrea 394
Estonia 401
Ethiopia 409
Fiji 415
Finland 422
France 428
French Guiana 436
Gabon 443
Gambia, The 449
Georgia 456
Germany 463
Ghana 474
Greece 482
Greenland 490
Grenada 495
Guadeloupe 501
Guatemala 507
Guinea 513
Guinea-Bissau 520
Guyana 524
Haiti 531
Honduras 541
Hong Kong 547
Hungary 554
Iceland 561
India 569
Indonesia 580
Iran 588
Iraq 597
Ireland 604
Israel 614
Italy 626
Jamaica 634
Japan 640
Jordan 648
Kazakhstan 654
Kenya 662
Kiribati 668
Korea, North 673
Korea, South 681
Kuwait 688
Kyrgyzstan 693
Volume II ᪐
Country Entries L to Z
Laos 703
Latvia 710
Lebanon 717
Lesotho 726
Liberia 731
Libya 739
Liechtenstein 743
Lithuania 748
Luxembourg 756
Macau 762
Macedonia 770
Madagascar 777
Malawi 785
Malaysia 790
Maldives 797
Mali 804
Malta 811
Marshall Islands 818
Martinique 825
Mauritania 829
Mauritius 835
Mexico 842
Micronesia, Federated States of 852
Moldova 861
Monaco 868
Mongolia 875
Morocco 883
Mozambique 889
Myanmar 896
Namibia 905
Nauru 912
Nepal 916
Netherlands, The 929
Netherlands Antilles 933
New Zealand 939
Nicaragua 946
Niger 952
Nigeria 958
Norway 967
Oman 973
Pakistan 979
Palau 987
Panama 993
Papua New Guinea 1001
Paraguay 1007
Peru 1015
Philippines 1023
Poland 1030
Portugal 1039
Qatar 1046
Réunion 1052
Romania 1058
Russia 1067
Rwanda 1078
Samoa 1084
San Marino 1092
São Tomé and Príncipe 1099
Saudi Arabia 1104
Senegal 1110
Serbia and Montenegro 1117
Seychelles 1124
Sierra Leone 1129
Singapore 1136
Slovakia 1142
Slovenia 1149
Solomon Islands 1156
Somalia 1162
South Africa 1169
Spain 1176
Sri Lanka 1185
St. Kitts and Nevis 1194
St. Lucia 1199
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1205
Sudan 1211
Suriname 1217
Swaziland 1225
Sweden 1233
Switzerland 1243
Syria 1250
Taiwan 1257
Tajikistan 1267
Tanzania 1273
Thailand 1283
Togo 1291
Tonga 1298
Trinidad and Tobago 1303
Tunisia 1310
Turkey 1316
Turkmenistan 1326
Tuvalu 1333
Uganda 1340
Ukraine 1347
United Arab Emirates 1356
United Kingdom 1362
United States 1374
Uruguay 1389
Uzbekistan 1397
Vanuatu 1404
Vatican City 1410
Venezuela 1417
Vietnam 1425
Yemen 1432
Zambia 1437
Zimbabwe 1443
Volume III
Overview Entries A to Z
All Saints’ Day 1451
All Souls’ Day 1454
Amish 1457
Ascension, The 1461
Ashura 1463
Assumption 1465
Bahai Faith 1468
Bastille Day 1471
Boxing Day 1474
Buddhism 1477
Carnival 1481
Chinese New Year 1484
Christianity 1488
Christmas 1493
Confucianism 1498
Corpus Christi 1502
Declaration of the Bab 1505
Diwali 1507
Duss...