Uniting Cultures: The joy of spring festivals

Seasons play a pivotal role in our lives. Many of our (religious) festivals are influenced by a change in the season and coincide with the solstices and equinoxes or with specific orbits of other celestial objects like our moon.

In Northern Europe the spring sun warms our soul and brightens our mood. In the Netherlands many people suffer from (minor) depressions in the gloomy winter months and are less prone to interact and connect with others. Celebrating together brings joy. Festivals play an important role in this.

I’ve always wanted to celebrate Holi in the Netherlands, as it is my all time favourite. In the Netherlands however it is often too cold in March to play with water outdoors, and somehow I never got down to actually preparing for it. I have also always wanted to celebrate the equinoxes. I love equinoxes as they are celebrated/happen all around the world at the very same time, and have no religious connotations attached. They are our common denominator, and lie at the origins of many festivals we celebrate today.

Unfortunately often during the spring equinox we aren’t home or somehow I’ve forgotten and we didn’t really celebrate this occasion; at least not with others. Then in 2024 I figured out (in time) that the festival of Holi was around the same time as Easter, Ramadan, Navroz, and that it coincided with the spring equinox. I decided, finally that year I would celebrate , and what better way to celebrate Holi by celebrating equinox and Easter too. Combining the best of all worlds. A truly cross-cultural kid approach, I suppose.

Having made up my mind I invited some of my son’s friends, and added in some colour. We were going to experience the joy of the festival of spring, and combining it three other festivals. A new tradition was born ❤️

During equinox, all around the world, we experience exactly 12 hours of daylight. Our 24 hour day is split equally in two halves. Therefore, during our celebration we symbolically divided our Easterly painted eggs into two and shared one half with another person. This was our celebration of humanity, colours, joy and the art of sharing and caring for others.

Subsequently we went outdoors and shouted out ‘Happy Holi’ and tossed rang (coloured poweder) on each other. The children (and I) had loads of fun. I am sure they’ll be waiting for next year’s invite.

Combining different festivities, finding the common denominator, celebrating equality and unity across the world, bringing people together. That, I realised, is what I want to celebrate and share with my son and others. We were celebrating humanity, and I hope to continue this concept even when the different festivals don’t fall on the same day. I will continue to celebrate the equinox by dividing food and sharing with others.

What experiences, traditions, festivals from your living abroad period, or from your cross-cultural childhood, do you cherish and would you like to pass on to your children 🥰? Which ones have you already passed on? I would love to hear