Earth Day weekend follows Polynesian culture celebration
In Hawaii, Earth Day is every day! This year is an amazing one with Easter, Earth Day, the Merry Monarch Festival and the Hawaii Chocolate Festival all happening at this time. What they have in common is that they all relate to the rebirth, renaissance and the evolution of life and culture. Our Hawaiian gardens also represent the continuing influence of many diverse cultures creating a new experience. The earliest gardens were composed of plants Polynesians brought with them from Asia, the vast Pacific and even South America. It is theorized that the first people may have come from Africa to Taiwan and between, thousands of years ago. This mix of ethnicities is extremely complicated and continues to this day as we share our islands.
Buy local for Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is Tuesday. Luckily we have the weekend to prepare if you haven’t done shopping for your loved ones. You might consider jewelry or a fancy dinner at a local restaurant, but with today’s economy it might be better to be a bit conservative. Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate our love for spouses, friends and family, but most folks don’t know about the dark origins of this holiday. The history is shrouded in mystery. It appears to have started with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia . Of course, they borrowed it from even earlier pagans. At any rate, before it became a Christian holiday, men sacrificed goats or dogs and then whipped the women with the hides of slain animals. This was supposed to enhance fertility! According to some historians, there was lots of drinking and nakedness. A lottery was often included where men would pull a woman’s name from a jar for a temporary match. Some matches lasted and some were one night stands. The result was almost certain fertility!
