A Father's Day is all about making your dad smile!

Guess I was worrying for nothing when I was bothered with 'what should I do for dad on Father's Day'. He had everything planned already! That man can really surprise us, especially when we least expect it! He had bought tickets to the Thorpe Park and after an amazing day at one of our favourite places around London, we were brought back home to a mouth watering barbecue! It seemed more like children's day to us with dad taking all the efforts to make it special and when I said that out loud, he just laughed and said "It's about making me feel special and happy right? The surprised looks and smiles on your faces make me content and happy; it reminds me that I am special, for I have been blessed with two lovely children!" Well yeah dad can get a bit emotional at times, but that was indeed the loveliest thing I had ever heard!

The day wasn't over yet, my brother grabbed our part of the surprise from the cupboard and rushed down. I blindfolded dad and made him sit on the couch while my brother played the DVD and mum brought the cake that we had baked the previous night. We had created a video documentary for dad, tracing back all the years, ever since he first held me in his arm! The pearls of joy that crept out of his eyes, were the cherries on the cake that completed a wonderful day!

Father's day ideas?

Almost every time there is an occasion, my friends and relatives turn to me for celebration ideas and I also manage to come up with something sweet (Patting the shoulder ;)). But alas! This time around, I am actually clueless as to what could make my dad feel like the best father in the world. While I know he is already aware, I really want to show him how important he is in my life. I want him to know that he is my favourite hero, my first love, my guide in life, my best friend, my worst critic and my biggest fan! 

Phew! There is so much I want to convey, but I don’t know how. It seems like I have actually exhausted almost every little idea in the previous years. I made him breakfast, well with burnt edges, but hey; he loved it! We had a day out together at the golf course, did Scuba Diving, I made him a collage poster of our pictures that still hangs in room, and also went out hiking in Dartmoor!

While I agree that you never need a day to express your love, Father’s day is just an occasion when you get to thank the man whom you owe for all that you are and all that you ever hope to be. I really hope I am able to come up with something special this year which brings about the widest of smiles on my father’s face! Any ideas friends??? Please help!

Rose Festival!

When rose oil is thrice the price of real gold, wouldn’t harvesting of roses call for a celebration? It does in Bulgaria! It is one of the largest producers of rose oil in the world and every year in the first weekend of June before the harvest takes place, they celebrate the Rose Festival! Old rose growers used to organise parades, wherein people dressed in rose flowers would march the streets of the Karlovo town. While that is still practised, today one of the main highlights of the festival is the crowning of the Rose Queen!

Don’t these images enchant you with the splendour of the magical Rose Valley? It is truly a festival of fragrance, music and dance; it is a tribute to beauty!

Royal Oak Apple Day

Yesterday night when I spoke to a friend, I happened to talk about Royal Oak Apple Day. After I told her about it, she said “Wow! In my area, we celebrate Nettle Day tomorrow!” I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as they are both the same with just different names! The Royal Oak Apple Day is known by several names in different areas, like The Nettles Day, The Pinch-bum Day, The Shick Shack Day etc.

On May 29^th, 1660, King Charles II returned to London after a narrow escape from the capture of Cromwell's soldiers by hiding in an oak tree. Ever since, people celebrated the restoration of the monarchy by wearing Oak apples or Oak leaves. You would be surprised to know that until the twentieth century, anyone caught not wearing an oak leaf or oak apple on this day was pinched, kicked, or otherwise abused. Whipping with nettles was also one of the favourite punishments and hence the several names. While most people still wear something oak-ey, I am really glad that the abuse part has been omitted!

Wish you all a very Happy Royal Oak Apple Day!

Ascension Day!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Despite the difference in opinions, something that links all the sects of Christianity is the belief that Jesus sacrificed himself for their sins and later conquered death! The Ascension Day reinforces the belief, as after the 40^th day of Easter, his resurrected body ascended into Heaven in the presence of 11 of his Apostles!

Don’t I just love celebrations? Especially when I get a chance to enjoy twice this week? I’m not just being a food crazy person and appreciating the lovely feast (I'm waiting for *Slurrrppp*), but also the fact that I saw more of my parents this week and most importantly this day simply reinforces our belief in Lord! Hope his second coming isn’t too far away!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Ascension Day!!

International Family Day it is!!

Do you know how it feels to be driven into a beautifully decorated room by the most enticing smell of Chocolate ganache cupcakes with roasted walnuts in the middle of the day and that too without it being anyone's birthday? Ask me! It was International Family Day yesterday, and my parents had really gone a long way to make my brother and I feel special! Apart from leaving their respective workplaces before either of us returned, my parents had actually taken the efforts of cooking some of our favourite dishes and brought us presents! It felt like Christmas had decided to climb up the calendar months and arrived 7 months in advance!

I had happened to mention  it to my mum a few days ago that 15th of May was International Family Day and UN had decided that 'work-family balance' was to be the theme for 2012. I hadn't known then that she, along with dad would take it so seriously and make it one of the most memorable days for all of us!

I love it when small surprises and celebrations like these brighten up our otherwise mundane lives! Thank you UN for coming up with such a lovely day and a fantastic theme! Did you'll celebrate too? Don't forget to let me know how...

Mother's Day

Mother...

She can never be thanked for her unconditional love that erases distances and crosses miles. Even the artificial borders cannot stop her, for her love remains unchanged. She is the one who plants the seeds of love, she is the Mother.

I was reading on Mother’s Day and I observed that my British, Irish and Nigerian friends celebrate Mothering Day on the fourth Sunday in Lent, while my Asian and American friends celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May. My Russian friends and their neighbours celebrate Mother’s Day on March of 8^th.

Different countries, different traditions, different people and different culture, yet Mother’s love remains the same. Do we need different days to celebrate Mother’s Day and if yes then why? Shouldn’t we question ourselves sometime?

What are your thoughts on this…