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Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

The holiday season is fast approaching, and in today’s economy this is something that is dreaded when it should be something that is anticipated. But, the holidays don’t have to be hard on you or your wallet. Here are some great tips to help you when you begin to budget and start buying gifts for the holidays.

1.) Consider minimize your gift list. A great way to save money is to exchange gifts with fewer people. Maybe you could just shop for immediate family, and everyone else you normally buy gifts for you can offer to just get together with them and do something more personal with them, like getting together for coffee or going to a movie.

2.) Consider purchasing a gift for someone close to you with someone else. For instance, if your sister and you have decided not to exchange gifts this year, but you still want to buy something for your parents, maybe you and your sister could go in with each other on a bigger gift like a new coffee pot or tickets to a show. This way you can split the cost and save yourself so money.

3.) Create a budget. Write down each person you will be buying gifts for and the amount you are willing to spend on each person. Do not go over budget! While this will take a lot of will power, especially if you are a giving person. But, you are not helping yourself save any money if you keep going over your budget.

4.) Do your best to always pay with cash, especially if you are trying to eliminate credit card debt. The holidays will only drag you deeper into debt if you let it. By paying in cash, you are holding yourself accountable and you will see how much easier it is to stay within your budget when you are paying cash for it.

5.) Consider opening a Christmas savings account. This is a separate savings account you use to set money aside for Christmas gifts. This will make paying in cash a lot easier and accessible.

6.) Get an early start. The official holiday shopping season starts after Thanksgiving, but don’t be afraid to start earlier. This will allow you to get a head start on bargains, and buy your gifts as you see them on sale. Maybe you could commit to purchasing one or two gifts on your list a week, that way it’s not as much of a financial sacrifice to do it all at once.

7.) Consider gift cards. This will allow the people you are purchasing gifts for the opportunity to select something for themselves, and will keep you from spending money on something they might not enjoy.

8.) Be sure to get a gift receipt and know the stores return policy. That way gifts can be easily returned or exchanged if they need to be.

These are great tips for getting a great start on your holiday gift giving. By applying these tips, you will not only save yourself money, but you will allow yourself to once again enjoy the holidays. Remember to put your family first, don’t feel obligated to buy for everyone and their brother if you can’t afford it, but at the same time don’t expect them to buy for you. The holidays are about spending time with your love ones, and it shouldn’t be about who can spend the most money.

There are approximately 3,000 Peru holidays and festivals celebrated each year. Peru celebrates the widely known holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Christmas and New Year, but most of the celebrations are for a particular saint. Most of these saints are a combination of Catholic and Andean religious traditions.

The typical work-week in Peru lasts for six days, which is probably one of the reasons why there are so many holidays. Many Peruvians get the day off on holiday, called feriado, which is usually spent drinking one of Peru’s top beers: cristal, cusqueña or pilsen.

Most Peruvians love to drink. They’ll treat personal celebrations and events with as much fervor as national holidays. Drinks are passed around on birthdays, family and friend gatherings, baptisms, sporting events, weddings, baby showers and even at funerals! It is very common to find fiestas throughout Peru, accompanied by not only drinks, but traditional and modern dances.

When planning a vacation to Peru you may wish to include Peru holidays in your itinerary. There are Peru holidays and festivals throughout the year, with those in June and July in Cuzco being the most popular with tourists.

January

Of course New Year is celebrated in Peru, especially as it is one of the Peru holidays that provides an excellent opportunity to drink. The party starts on December 31st with rounds of beer and lots of food. At the stroke of midnight there is champagne and a toast, accompanied by hugs and goodwill. Twelve grapes are eaten by each person, one for each month of the year, with a secret wish. Then the fireworks start and the beer drinking begins anew for most of January 1st.

February

For eighteen days Puno celebrates the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria. Hundreds of groups of musicians and dancers accompany huge amounts of food and fireworks on February 2nd when a procession carries the virgin image through the city. The dance of the demons has dancers wearing devil masks make offerings to Pachamama, the Earth Goddess. For the farewell the dancers are followed into the cemetery to pay homage to the dead.

Carnival is a National holiday celebrated for the entire month of February. This is when people get wet, really wet. People arm themselves with squirt guns, water balloons and buckets of water with the goal to get as many people wet as possible. In most places it is illegal to celebrate carnival on weekdays as people going to work would complain to the government about getting soaked. Cajamarca is especially enthusiastic about carnival, organizing several activities for Peru holidays during two weeks in February.

Lunahuana hosts the International Festival of Adventure Sports. People from all over the world come to see and participate in kayaking, rock wall climbing, paragliding and other adventure or outdoor sports. The festival’s dates change, but it is always held in February.

March – April

In March or April Peru holidays center around Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which generally begins on the Thursday before Easter Sunday and continues through Easter. Traditionally, drinking is shunned during Semana Santa except for wine, and meat should not be eaten except for fish. Several stores will not sell alcohol on these four days, but many Peruvians still find a way to drink, especially on Saturday and Easter Sunday. There are Holy Week processions in most Peruvian cities starting from the Plaza de Armas or Main Square. Ayacucho hosts the most famous Semana Santa celebrations which start on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In Ayacucho it is traditionally believed that Christ is dead during the week until Easter Sunday, therefore sin does not exist during that time.

Cuzco celebrates the Lord of the Earthquakes on Easter Monday which blends Christian and Andean traditions. The Procession is to pay homage to Taitacha Temblores, as it is believed that an oil painting of Christ stopped an earthquake in the year 1650.

May

On the 1st of May el Dia de los Trabajadores (Labor Day) is celebrated Nationally by taking the day off from work and drinking. From the 2nd to the 4th Puno holds the Alarcitas Handicrafts Fair Dia de Santa Cruz. At this time hundreds of sellers gather together to sell thousands of handmade items like alpaca wool sweaters, jewelry, paintings, tapestries, wood crafts and scores of imaginative items from Peru and Bolivia.

June

This month is when Peru holidays really start to pick up. Corpus Christi is a national holiday which has basically been taken over by Cuzco. Hundreds of people crowd around the Plaza de Armas to see several Processions including the Processions of the Saints and of the Virgins accompanied by dancers in various traditional dress.

Inti Raymi celebrates the Inca Sun God on June 24th. Beginning early in the day at Koricancha (the Temple of the Sun) and the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco city, the celebration then moves to the Incan Sacsayhuaman structure at about noon. Thousands of people gather to see the recreation of an ancient Inca celebration of dances and worship to the Sun God in which two llamas are sacrificed.

July

In the town of Paucartambo, just a few hours from Cuzco, La Virgen del Carmen is celebrated for five days, with it’s main day being July 16th. Traditional dances, costumes and homage to the dead are observed.

July 28th to the 29th marks Peru’s Independence Day which calls for more drinking and fireworks across the country. The large water fountain at the Plaza de Armas in Lima is filled by the Municipality with 2,000 liters of the alcoholic drink Pisco for everyone to enjoy for free.

Cuzco is especially crowded during most of June and July to celebrate. There are several Peru holidays in Cuzco with processions, artisans lay out their handicrafts, street vendors sell a huge assortment of food and bands make live performances. During these times Cuzco gets so crowded that it can be difficult to walk just a couple of blocks.

August

In the seventeenth-century a Lima resident named Isabel Flores de Oliva earned fame for caring for the sick and shunning sin. Those searching for a miracle visit her shrine in downtown Lima. Her festival, El Dia de Santa Rosa de Lima, is celebrated on August 30th throughout the country, especially in Santa Rosa de Quives in the department of Lima.

September

From the 22nd to the 25th Juliaca celebrates Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in honor of the town’s Saint Patroness in which fairs, dances and folk acts are held.

Trujillo organizes the International Spring Festival in the 4th week of September. Once again, there are drinking, folk shows and dancing, but this time there are visits from American and European beauty queens. Bullfighting and the Peruvian Stepping Horses contests are also held.

October

On October 8, 1879 a naval battle was fought between Peru and Chili. This National holiday is remembered as the Combate Naval de Angamos.

From the 18th to the 28th is El Señor de los Milagros (The Lord of Miracles), the most important of all the Peru holidays in October. This is largely a procession in honor of a slave from Angola who drew the image of a black Christ in Pachacamilla near Lima. Although there had been several attempts to erase it, the image stubbornly stayed on the wall. Tens of thousands participate in the procession every year. Believers carry two tons of remains that bore the painting and walk for twenty-four hours starting from the church Las Nazarenas, through downtown Lima, and finally to the church La Marced in Barrios Altos. Bullfighting season also starts in October to commemorate The Lord of Miracles.

La Noche de Las Brujas, or Halloween, is loosely celebrated on October 31st. Some attention is paid to trick-or-treating for the children.

November

All Saints Day is celebrated on the first, with All Souls Day following on t
he second. Peruvians may attend mass and visit cemeteries in memory of the dead, especially loved ones.

Puno, the folkloric center of Peru, has many Peru holidays. It’s founding is celebrated on the 4th and 5th called Puno Days. There are military parades, drinking and dancing. A procession of masked dancers celebrate the Inca legend of when Manco Capac, the first king of Cuzco, and his sister and wife Mama Occlo, rose out of Lake Titicaca.

December

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th is celebrated by two of the things that Peruvians love most – great food and lots of beer. Christmas celebrations begin on the 24th when the drinking starts. At midnight the official party begins, sometimes gifts will be exchanged, but there will always be a round of champagne.

One of the many advantages of a cruise is that everything is organised for the tourist if the person wants it to be so. They can also choose how long they want to be away for, whether it is a mini cruise, a seven day cruise or even longer. Reserve an European cruise in North or South Europe, sail to the famous Mediterranean with yachts, mouth-watering food, mountains, lovely historical buildings, perfect beaches and friendly folk.

The Baltic Sea area

Starting in Northern Europe, do not miss the Medieval Baroque architecture of Norway and Finland and also its dramatic scenery and rich history. Visit St Petersburg, Russia s most beautiful city and a most in any tourists itinerary. Enjoy the wild night life of Hamburg or Copenhagen in Germany and Denmark respectively.  Explore one of the richest areas in the world and take advantage of the cruises’ facilities.

Europe

Departing from Southern England, visit the Atlantic ports of France and Spain –experience the world famous fine cuisine and wine culture!  Cruises sail through the Bay of Biscay and the Straits of Gibraltar, where tourist can also enjoy the most beautiful ports of Portugal and Southern Spain.  Finally some cruises also visit the well renowned Spanish islands including Mayorca and Ibiza.

The Mediterranean

Visit historic places, romantic cities and beautiful islands in the Mediterranean, but also enjoy the top quality resorts and sandy beaches. The Mediterranean has been divided into three main areas, as follows:  Western Mediterranean cruises include the French Riviera, la Costa Brava and volcanic Sicily. Southern Mediterranean sails through Northern Africa, including the most important ports in Egypt and Morocco. Eastern Mediterranean cruises travels along the Aegean Sea covering most of the Greek Islands, Turkey and Italy; expect to find amazing ruins from the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians