La Fête du Muguet

Muguet, or lily of the valley, is traditionally given in France to wish people good luck and happiness with the arrival of spring.

May Day has been known as La Fête du Muguet since the 16th century when King Charles IX of France declared that anyone could sell flowers - for that day only - without a licence.

That said, the card was sent to me from Finland and on the back are the names of the plant in various other languages:

Convallaria majalis (Latin)
Kielo (Finnish)
Liljekonvalje (Swedish)
Maiglöckchen (German)

This is for Beth, who hosts Postcard Friendship Friday at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Z is for Zulu

The Kingdom of Zulu lay in what is now known as KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.  It grew from a small area around what is now Bulawayo to occupy much of the south eastern coastline of the present day South Africa.

The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group in South Africa and the Zulu language is an official South African language and the most widely spoken.

And so ends the A to Z challenge for 2015.  In the end, it wasn't as hectic as I had anticipated, although having had to be away from home for 10 days recently hasn't helped.  I will be spending much of tomorrow trying to catch up on visits.

Thank you to everyone who has paid a visit to me and to everyone who left a comment.  All very much appreciated.

T is for Tango

This card is probably self-explanatory to some extent. It's one of very few I've received t=from Argentina but it's quite special because the tango, the dance, has been declared by UNESCO to be "a living treasure" and it was added to the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

S is for Swiss tradition and for Silvesterkläuse

and possibly also for Strange...

... but they are, at least, unique.  You can find these creatures in a small area in the north east of Switzerland, Apenzell, and only on the dates of 31 December and 13 Janyary.  Rare indeed.

People, men usually because the costumes are heavy, dress up and wander from house to house, wishing people a happy new year.  There are three different types of costume: "Schöne" (meaning beautiful), "Schö-Wüeschte" (meaning pretty ugly) and the "Wüeschte" (meaning ugly).

The Schöne wear costumes similar to traditional Swiss costumes while the Wüeschte two varieties use natural material - twigs, leaves and moss.  All have bells front and back, and they all wear masks. The beautiful have pretty masks, the fairly ugly have masks of natural materials and the ugly have scary masks.  It's hard to say which variety of ugly they are in the picture.

Malaysia

Songket is a brocade-like fabric woven in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  It is traditionally woven on a part-time basis by girls and older women.  In Malaysia the main production is on the east coast, not far from from the traditional village shown on the postcard.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Maiko

A maiko girl, literally "dance child" is a geisha-in-training in Japan.  In Kyoto they can start this training at the age of 15 but they must be 18 in Tokyo.  They have the white make-up generally associated with geishas but in fact geishas normally wear lighter make up, apart from theatrical performances.

The maikos in the picture above are taking part in a traditional tea ceremony..

Milking

Traditional style milking in the Alps of France. Traditional milk will no doubt be used to produce traditional local cheeses - Reblochon, Emmental and Beaufort perhaps.

Carpet weaving in Moldova

Carpet weaving is an important tradition in Moldovan folk culture.  As you can see from this postcard they are often used to decorate walls and seating as well as placed on the floor.  The patterns used are similar to those used in embroidery, pottery and wood carvings.

Algeria

Two beautiful cards came unexpectedly from Algeria this week.  The first shows dancers in traditional costume.  Women often wear this traditional dress, the karakou, at weddings.

The second shows El Kantara, a strategic point for the Romans at the entrance to the Sahara.  There is an old Roman bridge over the river.  It is one of the best known sites in Algeria.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Brittany costumes and customs

The people of Brittany in France have a distinctive culture all of their own.  This includes first and foremost the language, but also music, often played on an instrument not unlike Scottish bagpipes, and dancing.  Possibly the most visually distinctive feature of their culture is the Breton headdress or lace cap.

There are said to be over 60 variations of this lace cap, some for ceremonials, some for work, some for mourning.  Each part of Brittany has its own style and the influence of the church on the region of Brittany and hence the style of the cap can often be seen,.  Where the church had greatest hold, the caps were more subdued in style.

There are hats in the photo prompt this week in Sepia Saturday and it's a very short step from a hat to a lacy cap, in my eyes.

A post for Sepia Saturday.  A click on the button will take you to the Sepia Saturday blog where you can find links to all the other people taking part.

Chinese opera performer

There are many different forms of Chinese opera, the most famous being the Beijing opera.  As this card was bought in Hong Kong although sent from Shanghai in China, I assume that it shows Cantonese opera.  It shows one of the most common style, the white and red face.

The foundation is white and the red colour from around the eyes fades down the cheeks towards the chin.  The make-up can denote certain characteristics.  The headdress too, has significance because it can denote status and age, while the hairstyle can show the character's emotions.

I'd be delighted to be able to see a Chinese opera for the make-up and costumes alone.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.  Just click on the button to visit and join in.

On this first day of the Month of Letters, my first envelope is on its way to the Netherlands, containing a handmade postcard.  There won't be too many handmade cards going out - it takes me forever!

Ladies from the Ukraine

The little pottery figures shown on the postcard are, according to the back of the card, Barynyas.  Barynya is Russian for landlady but is also a traditional folk dance.  Maybe these figures are landladies dancing, who knows?  It was sent from Ukraine, from a folk pottery museum.

The stamp shows a traditional Ukrainian headdress, a Namitka.  It's a long piece of fine fabric that is wrapped around the head and tied behind.  It was originally for both men and women and once was used to cover the face.  It was also worn during a traditional Ukrainian wedding.

Today is la Fête des Mères, Mothers' Day, in France so I thought these two would be at least partly appropriate.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Hubble-bubble

When I was last in Turkey, I saw groups of men smoking hookahs like this, but that was a few years ago now.  According to the sender, it's one of those scenes that's easier to find in pictures than in real life in Israel, where a hectic Western way of life has largely been adopted, involving eating pizza and watching movies.

As you might guess, when you realise the card is from Israel, the stamp doesn't show Easter, but it does show a bible story.

It's an extremely large stamp, covering half the short side of the card which is itself larger than normal. It illustrates the story of Samson and the lion, the one that gave rise to the riddle: "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet".

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"