Postcards for the weekend 38: Traditional festival

Direct Swap, Sender: Meylinda from Hong Kong
Sent: 19 Sep 2012, Traveled 1,129 km

Although I don't totally agree with seeing these children in what seems to be heavy facial make-up, it appears that it is part of the over-all traditional costume. The back of this card reads:

Cheung Chau Island Bun Festival. The children in the procession are the stars of the Bun Festival. Aged between five and eight, they are supported on frames and carried shoulder-high throughout the whole parade to create an elaborate, often whimsical tableau, often representing characters in history or mythology. 

 This festival is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in Chinese Calendar. It usually coincides with Buddha's birthday (April/May). 

BY-691110, Sent by Marina from Minsk, Belarus
Sent: 1 Dec 2012, Traveled 8,926 km in 61 days

Despite my increasingly overwhelming tasks at work and frequent business trips, one of the reasons why I keep on writing about my postcards collection is the mix of emotions I get whenever I review my postcards album. Just like with this postcard, it's kind of hard to believe that it took 2 months to reach me! Wow! Having moved to Singapore, the postcards I receive normally traveled only for a week or two. I don't understand why most of my received postcards, while I was still in the Philippines, seem like they traveled forever to reach me when my home is less than 30 minutes by car from the post office ... well, okay, fair enough, perhaps the postman is always stuck in heavy traffic!

Moving on, this postcard shows the celebration of the Day of Belarusian Written Language in Kamenets. I didn't have the chance to find out on what year this took place. For this year, this festival will take place in Polotsk. Belarus is celebrating 500th Anniversary of the Belarusian Book Printing this year, 2017. More information on this festival can be found here: http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/culture/den_bel_pism_en

SI-52097, Sender: Emil from eastern Slovenia
Sent: 20 Jan 2012, Traveled 9,938 km in 14 days

I'm quite pleased with the assortment of postcards I found for the theme this weekend: featuring children, to grown-ups, to animated creatures. This third and last postcard shows the Ptuj carnival called Kurentovanje. This carnival is celebrated to preserve the tradition for the ancient rite of spring. It usually lasts for a period of eleven days and consists of music and dancing, with the Kurent groups in masks with feathers and horns. I found this excellent page about the carnival, containing a detailed explanation about the masks and the costumes: http://www.slovenia.si/culture/tradition/kurents/

This theme educated me about traditional festivals that I'm sure I wouldn't have known at all if not for these postcards. Have a nice weekend everyone although it's a nay for me as I'm working both on Saturday & Sunday.

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 36: Traditional craft work

BY-1050236, sent from Belarus
Sent 11 Oct 2013, Traveled 9,224 km in 25 days

I had to do a research to learn more about this postcard. It's awesome to find information on another blog about postcards: Remembering Letters and Postcards -- spinning flax on a drop spindle. I would love to see this way of doing textile done in person! 

Postcard from my Malta holiday

It has been a habit for me to take back souvenir(s) for my parents whenever I travel. I was literally smitten with a handmade tablecloth with lace and embroidery. Oh man! It was heavy. We bought it earlier during the day and we had to take it with us for the rest of our sightseeing. No regrets though as I'm sure my parents will be pleased when they see it with the matching napkins.

I'm so excited to see the other postcards that feature traditional craft work this weekend. Enjoy visiting each and everyone in the linky party!

Happy weekend,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 11: Coffee/tea/pastries

Wow!  We're on our 11th linky party, since we started on 3 September. Thank you so much to all of you who's been participating, making visits, and most of all -- showing your appreciation to each participant by leaving your comments on the postcards shared. I hope we're all having fun with our postcards for the weekend.

Pardon me, for my round of visits will be delayed for this weekend and the next as I'm traveling. Nonetheless, I'm making sure that the linky is here even though I'm away.

DE-5534053, Sender: ha45K
Sent from Germany, Traveled 10,352 km in 16 days

For this weekend, I'm a non-kitchen-genius so my idea of a theme with coffee/tea and everything usually served with either for a snack (ie, cake, cookie, biscuits) has been reduced to "pastry". I'm posting these cards ahead of time to hopefully, try to provide reference as for the inclusion of the theme. For the first card above, how I wish I have at least one of these cupcakes to enjoy with my cup of mixed lemongrass, ginger, and citrus tea at the moment.

BY-1171367, Sender: Anna
Sent from Minks, Belarus, Traveled 8,926 km in 33 days

Here's a cup of tea (perhaps coffee) with matching biscuits. I love the appearance of tiny white bunnies on this postcard. It's a work of Alyona Baranova, a Dusseldorf-based illustrator from Ukraine.

It's getting cooler and cooler here in Singapore. I'd say despite the daily downpour, I love this time of the year when I have my time out from extremely warm days! As some of you may know, our weather here in the tropics usually can only be warm, warmer, and warmest. We don't have four seasons with more significant temperature changes. This weekend until the next, I will be in a country where I can enjoy autumn colors. I'm not exactly sure though if I will very enjoy the temperature, forecasted to be at 15 degrees Celsius drop from my usual 27 - 33 here in Singapore.

Happy weekend everyone!

~maria

Birds on stamps

The theme for this week for Sunday Stamps is birds.

It was tough deciding which birds to post. So I think to make this easier, I created two posts. One was dedicated for birds from the desserts that I got from my boss last month. There were 6 of them so I thought they deserve an entry of their own.

Twenty days ago, I posted Oriental Birds. This time, I'm featuring stamps with birds that are not from my part of the globe.

This is from the series Birds of the Garden from Belarus, released 16 June 2006. The bird is called hawfinch. It's from the same genus Fringilla as the chaffinch from my Friday post. I'm happy to have two finches perched on my blog this week.

From Switzerland, issued on 6 September 2007, Domestic Birds series. This bird with open wings is Tichodroma muraria or wallcreeper. I just love its crimson wings.

These two birds from Belgium were issued 21 January 2008 and 11 November 2011, respectively. The one on the left is the Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).  I must say I have a strong liking with the one on the right, the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), its erect ear-tufts make it interesting. If I'm a witch, like in Harry Potter, I'll pick this for my owl.

RU-717104, Sender: Olga
Sent: 28 Dec 2011 from Moscow, Russia
Received: 24 Jan 2012, Traveled 8,260 km in 27 days

Technically, this is a postcard but I am happy to share it for the theme, obviously for the reason that it's a collage of birds on stamps -- and really lovely ones! I really find it nice that for most stamps on the foreground, the birds are featured perched on a fruit-bearing plant or on a flower. On a closer look, these stamps are from 20 August 1981. The birds starting from 1 o'clock:

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) - chat with black plumage and dark-orange breast

Rufous-backed Bunting (Emberiza jankovskii) - very rare "Little Brown Job" bird

Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) - passerine bird with elongated tail feathers

Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana) - 

Siberian tit (Poecile cinctus) - also called grey-headed chickadee, another passerine bird 

I really had a great time researching about all these birds. I have a penchant for the freedom of flying but afraid of heights myself. At least I get to appreciate this freedom with these birds on stamps.

~maria

Colors and Patterns

I'm under the lazy bed weather mood right now. It's been raining since yesterday evening and the whistling strong winds kept me up for most of the night. I woke up an hour ago (it's noon now), with a heavy head. I feel like doing nothing other than enjoy the warmth of bed. But of course, it's Sunday...and I've been excited to share the stamp I scanned last weekend for the theme: ethnic or national costumes.

I am interpreting this widely and including folk and traditional costumes.

To cap off the feature on Dutch costumes on my blog this week, here's a stamp from the Grenzeloos Nederland series 2010. Grenzeloos means 'boundless' and the series' theme is beyond borders - ancient ties of the Netherlands. For the August 2010 issue, the series featured the Netherlands influence on its former colony, Suriname.

This second stamp from the 2010 issue shows parallels between the Afro-Surinamese kotomisse and the Dutch women's costume. Uncle Wiki said that the koto was a functional dress. It's purpose was to protect the slave woman against their master's sexual interest. The stamp designer Ariënne Boelens said that the dress made the Creole women unattractive, similar to the Dutch women's style that is pious and veiled.

With my Friday post including a postcard of Finnish traditional costume along with the Dutch, I'm adding more colors and patterns on this feature. We're moving east from the Netherlands, to Belarus and Ukraine.

Issued on 18 August 2005, this stamp shows the Belarusian national costume for the Lepel region. The designer was Vladimir Savich. Characteristic of this costume is the white and red embroidery.

On these stamps, issued on 10 December 2004, we have Ukranian folk costumes. On the left is from a wedding in The Land of Ivano-Frankivsk, on the right is the exaltation of the cross from the Land of Lviv. 

For more stamps with traditional/folk/ethnic costumes, check out Viridian's blog roll at Sunday Stamps.

~maria

June, the month of roses.

Whence comes this mist of sweet perfume of fragrant blooming roses

That fills the air at early dawn and after daylight closes,

When through the day the song bird sings and in the night reposes?

Tis June, the fairest month of all, bright June, the month of roses.

- Elva May Root

It's a new month, not just a new day. 

If that does not make sense, kindly refer to my previous post. May I warn you though that it is a melancholic post, so read with caution...

I am very grateful to the comments I received on that post. The comments gave me hope and inspiration. Like the roses with their pretty red blooms in June, as mentioned in the verses, I feel like the fire in me is starting to have a warmer and bigger glow. And I write this post with a smile.

I am sharing this rose with Viridian's Sunday Stamps and I'm happy that the theme today is anything you wish. It's perfect timing, I can post anything I want -- which is this rose for the start of June, the month of roses.

And since she's asking for suggestions for future themes, I would like to suggest Disney characters, UNESCO WHS, universities, and musical instruments. Pardon me though Viridian, if one or more of these themes I cam up with has/have been rolled out before.

~maria

Seasonal Greetings!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Valeria Novik
Sent from Minsk, Belarus, Sent on 04 December 2012
Received on 20 December 2012, Traveled 8,968 km in 16 days

Here's a surprise card I got yesterday. :D

Valeria wrote at the back of the card:

Thank you for our swap this year. I would love to wish many exciting cards and letters, love, harmony, joy, and happiness. How have you been? How do you plan to spend your holidays? Best regards, Valeria.

Thank you so much Valeria for this beautiful red seasons greeting cards. Thank you also for the well wishes. I also wish the same for you and your family!

Let's hop into Beth's Postcard Friendship Friday page to check out more Christmas postcards ;-) 

Flowers of the earth

We're having an odd summer here in the Philippines. It has been raining at days when the sun is supposed to be showcasing its boldest grandeur...and ok, I stumbled upon this English proverb:

April showers bring forth May flowers. ^____^

Aha! That doesn't make me so grumpy about the rain and the floods anymore. Yep, May will be here soon. The young children will need an abundance of blooms to offer to the Virgin Mary every evening. Flores de Maria had always been something for me to look forward into for summer breaks from school.

My grandparents from both sides of the family grew flowers and vegetable garden. I remember both the impatience and amazement in watching the buds becoming more beautiful each day. I also remember the disappointment when the flowers are starting to wilt. How I wished the flowers would stay vibrant forever...held by sturdy stems. But they didn't and they won't. I guess that's life. But with every dying flower is a promise of another beauty waiting to be discovered somewhere in the garden :)

So much for my recollection and back to the topic: SUNDAY STAMPS :D I was unable to post stamps for quite a while now. I'm making up for that today. Since it's flowers/spring theme in Viridian's this week, here are the rest of the flower stamps from my collection:

My favorite! Red tulips are associated with eternal true love.

A 2007 flower stamp from Czechoslovakia. 

Cylamen is both a scientific and common name.

It is also called sowbread, persian violet, or primrose.

Issued in 18 March '09 under the Holy Days & Celebrations.

I wish someone can tell me what flower is this exactly...please.

I am taking a wild guess that it belongs to the genus Tagetes.

I need help on these stamps, too. I don't know how to read Japanese characters :(

My grandma's favorite!

 The flower that knows its chemistry --

The petals would be pink, purple, or blue depending on the soil's pH.

I was searching for info about this stamp, and here's what I found:

The deep blue color of the iris is associated with nobility --

its three petals symbolizes valor, wisdom and faith.

In mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow.

In historical context, it's the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy.

The greater pasque flower is listed under 'Jewels of Nature' 

in the official travel guide website of Slovenia.

And here's a flower art in stamp from Croatia. The design was made by

Orsat Frankovic and Ivana Vucic. This was a part of the 

Croatian Ethnographic Heritage - Posavina series.

I hope you enjoyed these flower stamps. Happy Sunday everyone and have a great week ahead!

~maria

p.s. If you want to see some flower stamps from my country, find them here.