Madagascar Edition
Ano Nuevo leads today's complete edition for Madagascar.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
The calendar flips and every Argentine household is eating vitel tone, the cold sliced beef with tuna sauce that somehow became the definitive New Year dish. Toasts happen with cider, not champagne, and the pan dulce from the panaderia sits half-eaten on the counter until someone finishes it off at merienda the next day.
The whole country moves slow after last night's festivities. Sydney Harbour fireworks are still playing on every TV, and someone's dad is already firing up the barbie for a leftovers lunch. Recovery happens poolside or beachside, thongs on, cold tinny in hand.
National holiday. The dzezva comes out before noon because Bosnians do not nurse hangovers with water. By afternoon someone has already proposed kafa at a kafana and you will not see your couch again until evening. Every New Year starts the same way: with good intentions about being productive and a coffee that turns into four hours.
Jordan observes the Gregorian new year, and Amman celebrates with fireworks over the Citadel and family gatherings. The new year is a secular holiday in a country that observes both Islamic and Christian calendars, and the celebration is inclusive: Muslims, Christians, and Druze all celebrate, and the only thing that is not inclusive is the traffic.
The first day of the year is for visiting family, and the tradition is to visit the eldest relative first, then work down the family tree. The visits include the sharing of food, the exchange of news, and the giving of gifts. The Malagasy family is extended, and the visits can take days. The tradition of visiting the elders first is a sign of respect, and the elders are the guardians of the family history and the cultural memory. The Malagasy word for elder is ray aman-dreny, which means "father and mother," and the elders are treated with the deference due to living ancestors.
The Malagasy new year begins with family gatherings, church services, and the traditional meal of vary amin'anana (rice with greens). Rice is the foundation of every Malagasy meal, and the new year is no exception. The table is set with vary (rice), a side dish (laoka), and ranon'apango (burnt rice water, the national drink). The Malagasy eat rice three times a day, and a meal without rice is not a meal. The new year is also a time for fady (taboos) to be observed strictly, because what you do on the first day sets the tone for the entire year.
You see the Cypriot mouflon sheep on the Troodos mountains, the endemic Cyprus mouse and various Mediterranean reptiles like the Cypriot grass snake. You notice that Cypriot families predominantly keep dogs, cats, and rabbits as household companions. ACADA celebrates the world's pets, and helps assure better care.