Our next stop in Explorica’s three-part winter festival series is for Three Kings Day, which is also known as Epiphany. Three Kings Day is a Christian festival that is celebrated twelve days after the birth of Jesus when the three kings are said to have first set eyes on the newborn baby. But if you Read More …
Brrr… Winter can get mighty cold in some places. And if that makes you think about hunkering down, historically, it’s been the perfect time for a party! As early as 9000 B.C. people have celebrated the year’s harvest with fingers (tightly) crossed that it’d be enough to keep the community fed through barren January to Read More …
Scots take great pride in their New Year’s celebration, so much so that they have their own name for it, Hogmanay. (Say that ten times fast!) While the origin of the word is somewhat obscure, it can be traced back to either a French, Norse or Gaelic roots. How’s that for a toss up? What Read More …
The land down under does it up for the New Year. From small town celebrations to worldwide fanfare, let’s take a peak at how Australia rings it in. First, there are some simple things. Where a Waterford Crystal ball sliding down a pole is part of a North American countdown, the Aussie’s count up—making noise Read More …
THREE…TWO…ONE! Happy New Year! Felice Anno Nuovo! Bliadhna mhath ur! While New Year celebrations in many parts of the world consist of fireworks, ball dropping and bar hopping, some countries ring in the New Year with pretty interesting traditions that date back hundreds, even thousands of years. This week, Explorica takes a look at some Read More …
As 2011 comes to an end, we are counting down some of our ‘most populars’ of the year. This past year, our most popular tour by far was Costa Rica. Teachers and students just can’t seem to get enough of this tropical country—maybe because it provides an excellent combination of forest ecology, ocean and beach Read More …
Explorica Traveler Rachael says: It’s a tradition for our Modern Novel class (our class that goes to Italy) to attempt to make a pyramid in front of The Colosseum. Good thing we all have a sense of humor, as we struggled to stay in place!
This Explorica traveler had a chance to dance with a Peruvian local while on tour. How cool is that?
There are two ways to get up the stairs of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Patmos, Greece: on two feet or on four hooves!
It’s a tradition that goes back some 200 years. But the actual history of sending season’s greetings began in ancient Chinese and Egyptian societies who wished to exchange good will in the New Year. At different times throughout history, these greetings were written on papyrus and even woodcuts. Cards did not become popular until the Read More …
