![Languagemom [home]](/users/languagemom/site_logo_228.jpg "Languagemom"){kind=logo}
Easter is celebrated around the world in a variety of ways.
In Germany and Austria, a popular Easter game starts with two people each holding a painted hard-boiled egg. They tap the tips of their eggs against each other until one egg cracks. The winner is the one with the uncracked egg. (I'll definitely be introducing this game to my 3 and 5 year old boys!)
Check out some more Easter traditions and games here.
Happy "Year of the Dragon"! January 23, 2012 marked the beginning of what is commonly known as the "Chinese New Year" holiday, which lasts 15 days. In many countries in Asia, like China, Singapore and Thailand, this is an important holiday when families get together and welcome in the New Lunar Year.
The kite festival of Uttarayan takes place on January 14 when the skies of Gujarati, an area of India, fill with kites from before dawn until late at night. This festival marks the day that winter starts turning into summer in the Hindu calendar. This day is known as Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan.
Kites of all shapes and sizes are flown, and participants try to battle nearby kite-flyers to cut their strings and bring down their kites.
Did you know that it's summer in Australia when it's winter in the U.S.? Australia has lots of cool animals including kangaroos and koalas. Check out some more here:
Iceland has many volcanoes and geysers. A geyser is a hot spring that occasionally erupts, throwing water into the air Check out one of the most famous geysers in Iceland, called “Strokkur”.
In Japan, many people wear a traditional outfit called a kimono on special occasions, such as a wedding. The word “kimono” literally means “something one wears” in Japanese. A kimono is wrapped around your body and secured with a sash. Kimonos are often very intricate and beautiful.
Riding your bike is very popular in the Netherlands. In fact, there are more bicycles in the Netherlands than people! They have built special biking lanes so that people can easily and safely get around the country on their bikes.
The leaning Tower of Pisa is famous because it leans. Although it was designed to be perfectly vertical, it started to lean during construction. However, even without this famous characteristic, this building would still be one of the most remarkable architectural structures from medieval Europe.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 days during summer.
