Alasitas fair

The largest Alasitas fair (or Alacita, Alacitas, Alasita; Spanish: Feria de las Alasitas) is an annual month-long cultural event starting on January 24th in La Paz, Bolivia. 

It honours Ekeko, the Aymara god of abundance, and is noted for the giving of miniature items. Other fiestas and ferias throughout Bolivia and southern Peru incorporate alasitas into religious observances: The Fiesta of the Virgin of Copacabana (Bolivia) and the Fiesta of the Virgin of Urkupiña, for example.

Modern Celebration

The Alasitas festival is held annually for the Ekeko. It sprawls along many streets and parks in central La Paz and smaller events are held in many neighborhoods around the city. People attend the event from all over the city and even travel from other cities inside Bolivia to buy miniature versions of goods they would like to give to somebody else. These goods can be blessed by any one of the men and (less frequently) women acting as shaman. It is believed that if somebody gives a miniature version, the recipient will get the real object in the course of the following year. Examples of goods that can be bought are household items, food, computers, construction materials, cell phones, houses, cars, university diplomas and even figures of domestic workers (whom the recipient might hope to employ).

At midday on January 24th, the Catholic Church joins in the celebration by blessing the gifts at the main cathedral in La Paz.

This spring festival also celebrates the "'abundance'" or fecundity of humanity.

In 2009 Bolivia asked the United Nations to recognize the Bolivian cultural roots of the Alasitas festival, celebrating the figure of the Ekeko, something Peru also claims. However, the Bolivian ambassador in Peru, Franz Solano, acknowledged that the doll was present in both countries.

In March 2011 Elizabeth Salguero, Minister of Cultures, nominated Alasitas along with two other Bolivian festivals to UNESCO for World Heritage recognition as part of the cultural and intangible heritage of humanity.

Origins

The indigenous Aymara people observed an event called Chhalasita in the pre-Columbian era, when people prayed for good crops and exchanged basic goods. Over time, it evolved to accommodate elements of Catholicism and Western acquisitiveness. Its name is the Aymara word for "buy me".

 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Beer Can Appreciation Day and Hoppy Place

Beer Can Appreciation Day celebrates that great day in 1935 when Beer was first sold in cans.

Celebrated Every January 24th in the United States!

Photo: Hoppy Place

• buy Hoppy Place beer from Amazon

You Have Found Your Hoppy Place!
Well what can I say about this. lol! Personally I don't drink beer myself but I thought I would search the Internet to find something beer related and something I've never seen before to blog about in honor of Beer Can Appreciation Day. In my search I found Hoppy Place Beer. 

Nope, never heard of it before but The product information says.... "light malt sweetness gives way to juicy citrus and pine notes." At the end of the product description say.... "you have found your Hoppy Place." lol - okie dokie then.....

Ok for those of you who are beer lovers.... here's my beer links from Amazon.

• Shop Beer Brewing
• All kind of Beer Fun

.......................................................................................................................................

In Closing:

Do you drink beer? I have to ask the question..... do you drink beer out of a can or out of a bottle?

Visit our website:

• Beer Can Appreciation Day
• Weird January Holidays

National Pie Day is on it's Way!

Heads Up Everyone! National Pie Day is on it's way. I wanted to let you know a few days ahead so you would have enough time to go shopping for all your pie ingredients that you need.

This holiday is celebrated on y January 23 in the US.


Now Let's Learn a little bit about this holiday!

National Pie Day, is an annual celebration of pies started in the mid-1970s by Boulder, Colorado nuclear engineer, brewer and teacher Charlie Papazian after he declared his own birthday, January 23, to be National Pie Day. Since 1986, National Pie Day is sponsored by the American Pie Council.

2014 National Pie Day/Labor Daytie-in poster

In 2014, the American Pie Council partnered with Paramount Pictures in promoting the romantic thriller film Labor Day in conjunction with National Pie Day. (A pie-making scene features prominently in the film, and the film's general release was within a few days of National Pie Day.)

• gone-ta-pott.com/national_pie_day

....................................................................

In Closing: If your making a pie in honor of National Pie Day let us know. I myself will be baking a cherry pie. It's been really cold and icy this week so I would like to have a warm pie to eat. And..... if anyone has entered a pie baking contest please share your information about that too. And by all means... if you have a pie recipe you'd like to share then feel free to leave your link in your message.  Have a great day! Pam

January 29, 2012

I love the quiet time of the morning. All is still. The only sound I hear is chimes lightly blowing on the patio and the flames of the fire. 

I'm enjoying my first cup of coconut coffee with whipped cream on top. I made a cherry-coconut cake yesterday so I'm having a small slice of that too. I've posted a picture here on the left. As you can see, it's a sheet cake. I usually like to drizzle a bit of chocolate on top but I didn't have any this go-round so I had to settle for only cherries-and-coconut. It's the first cake I've made since we moved and it felt good to bake again.  - - - With laptop in hand I can't think of a better morning before sunlight. Now here's the holidays & Events for the day.

Holidays & Observances

• The most notable reason for celebration on this day belongs to the Sherlock fandom. The 29th of January marks the day on which Sherlock Holmes and John Watson were introduced through Mike Stamford.

• National Corn Chip Day - "Corn chips are most often eaten alone or with a chip dip." "They are a common ingredient in homemade and commercial party mix." "In the Southwestern US, a popular dish is made by adding chili to a bag of corn chips and eating the mixture from the bag."

• National Carnation Day - is celebrated each and every year in America on January 29th. Many are not aware that the carnation is the "Birth Flower" for those born in the month of January.

• World Leprosy Day - observed internationally on January 30 or its nearest Sunday to increase the public awareness of the Leprosy or Hansen's Disease. This day was chosen in commemoration of the death of Gandhi, the leader of India who understood the importance of leprosy. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world. It is an infectious chronic disease that targets the nervous system, especially the nerves in the cooler parts of the body - the hands, feet, and face.

• Curmudgeons Day
• Freethinker’s Day
• Puzzle Day

Events

• Catholic Schools Week begins (Jan 29-Feb 5). See www.ncea.org
• Meat Week begins (Jan 29-Feb 5). See www.meatweekisreal.com
• 2012 Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI. See www.nfl.com
• CHA Winter Convention and Trade Show, Los Angeles, CA (Jan 29-Feb 1). See www.craftandhobby.org

Sneak Peak for February (our website)

February Holidays & Observances

Flower Basket Day: January 4

Heads Up! January 4th is Flower Basket Day so those of you who have'nt shopped for your baskets yet; this is your reminder to get started now.  Once you get your basket you need to decide what type of flower your going to put in it. Then you decide who your giving it to.

Now let's talk about this holiday:
The way I understand it, the idea is to build a basket with a flower inside which is made from the heart. Sometimes other things are placed in the basket as well but the focus is on the flower and the basket itself.

When I placed a questionare about this holiday, my readers who celebrate it said they like to place other things inside the basket that related to the flower. For instance: If it's an african violet you could place a small tub of african violet food with it. If it's a houseplant you could place a hand shovel with it.

I read on the Internet that some people take a different approach and send a basket of flower shaped cookies. You could even add a flower shaped cookie cutter to the basket. Come to think of it... what a great housewarming gift this would make for those moving in a new home.

Personally.... I always gave my Mother a Christmas Cactus the first week of Christmas because they bloom in December and frankly she collected them. LOL! The house was always full of blooming cactus when I was growing up. Anyway, a Christmas cactus would be a fine basket gift too. There always an easy plant to take care of.

Now I'm not sure about the origin of this holiday at all. There's very little information to find at all. At first glance I figured a garden center or a flower shop must of started it to boost sales but I just couldn't find any background on the subject. I think what may of been a sales promotion could of turned out to be a homemade gift instead. My readers tell me this is when they like to divide their houseplants and basket up the babies to share. :)

One of my favorite ideas is to share herb plants. It seems to be popular to give a mixed basket of herbs. Now I think this is a fantastic idea. Especially since it's so hard to get nice herbs in the winter and a basket of herb plants may be all someone needs to have their own window seal herb garden. One can never have enough fresh herbs if you ask me.

Start a new December Tradition:
I think traditions are wonderful and giving a flower basket is a good way to gift a friend and put some Christmas cheer in someones home. I think the kids would have fun fixing baskets too. Have fun with this one ya'll. If you have any neat ideas please do share with our readers.

There's even Flower Basket Day Greeting you can send on January 4th too.