The celebration of Pongal in South India, especially Tamil Nadu, is the most significant festival for the Tamils and is also called Tamizhar Tirunal (Festival of Tamils)—second in importance only to Diwali, the festival of lights.

Pongal is celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month Thai (January 14th or 15th) and signifies the end of the harvest season. Its history dates back to the Sangam age, from 200 B.C. to 300 A.D.

Kolam designs, intricate geometric patterns of dots and lines, are made with rice flour or limestone powder outside Tamilian homes and are said to usher in the Goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi. Pongal is celebrated over four days.

On the first day, Bhogi, houses are cleaned and all unwanted things are burnt in bonfires that burn through the night. This symbolizes the destruction of evil and ushering in of the good. In recent years, however, the State Government has banned the burning of certain material during Bhogi, especially rubber, because of the toxic gas and pollution produced!

On the second day, Pongal, people wear new clothes and offer thanks to the Sun God. Huge stalks of sugarcane decorate the courtyards in rural areas. These are held over the pot in which sweet pongal, a dish of boiled rice and pulses mixed with jaggery and fresh milk, is prepared. The milk is allowed to boil over as a reflection of plenty, meaning that the harvest has been good.

The third day, Mattu Pongal, is dedicated to the cattle that have helped to reap the harvest with their labour. The cattle are bathed, their horns brightly painted, turmeric and vermilion are applied to their foreheads and they are garlanded. Indeed, it is a very special day for the cattle as they are not only given pongal, sugarcane and other choice food to eat, but they are ritually worshipped. Bull fights and bullock-cart races are held in several villages in the south of Madurai, in Tamil Nadu.

Kaanum Pongal (seeing Pongal) marks the fourth and last day of the Pongal festivities. Dressed gaily, families picnic, visit relatives, and make a tour of the city. It is a day for the outdoors and most city dwellers throng the long stretch of the Marina Beach in the evening, making for a sea of humanity.

In northern India, Makara Sankranti and Lohri are celebrated to coincide with Uttarayana—the movement of the sun in the northerly direction in January. Sugarcane juice, jaggery and sesame sweets are distributed. Huge bonfires are lit and sweets and rice are offered to the fire.

BONUS:  To learn more about this important festival and holiday, see www.123pongal.com.  In fact, have fun sending someone you know from this culture a “Happy Pongal” card, as shown on this site and many other Internet sites.

Question:  What other items do you have to add to this list?  Do let us hear from you by locating this article at www.AdvancedEtiquette.com/blog.  You may also reach us at www.AdvancedEtiquette.com.  If you enjoyed this article and want more, subscribe to our “Etiquette Tip of the Month” newsletter—at no charge—filled with great monthly tips on all sorts of topics from international business and social etiquette and protocol to everyday life subjects.  It will be great to have you as a member of our happy family of subscribers at www.AdvancedEtiquette.com/subscribe

Each year the Chinese/Lunar New Year begins sometime in January or February which is much more comfortable a start date for me.

Do you know under what animal year you were born? When born in mid-January to mid-February, it may not be on the animal shown on regular charts.  You may fall in the previous year.  See the following to learn what sign you fall under… http://lynncoins.com/chinese_new_year.htm.  In 2011, it begins on 3 February, The Year of the Rabbit, Year 4709.  In 2012, it begins on 23 January, The Year of the Dragon, Year 4710.

Check this site out (also at http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/zodiac/zodiac.html) to learn the history behind the Chinese animal signs and to locate under which animal year you were born.

During this annual festive period, I honor my heritage by doing my best to practice the ten rituals listed below.  I hope you enjoy learning about these Asian traditions and consider celebrating the Chinese New Year as I do. I believe you will find many of these ancient customs quite practical today.

The Lunar New Year holiday is celebrated by many Asian cultures.  Most typically it is celebrated over a minimum three-day period to about fifteen days surrounding the first full moon of the year. Rituals begin the day before the full moon, the day of the full moon, and the day following the full moon.

1.      Pay off all debts by the end of the year. Starting weeks and perhaps months ahead of time, save money in order to begin the New Year without debt and with something in the bank to pay for the celebration to come.

2.      Clean your house from top to bottom before the New Year arrives. As a reward for your hard work, house cleaning is not allowed during the New Year holiday, to assure that you do not sweep away any good luck.

3.      Decorate your home with special paper greetings, flowers, and fruits. Tie greeting cards and good luck symbols on a blooming tree you can purchase or make one yourself. By having or placing an abundance of fragrant flowers and fruits on the tree, the luckier the family will be in the New Year.

4.      Wear new clothes on the first day of the New Year. Wearing new cloths help signify the beginning of a New Year clean and fresh.

5.      Invite the entire family over on New Year’s Eve. Use this special time to renew your love for one another and share the transition between the old year and New Year.

6.      Say Happy Birthday. Everyone becomes a year older with the New Year, no matter when your birthday actually occurs. Give children red “Lai See” envelopes with “good luck” money inside. This tradition is also used for many other festive occasions, in lieu of modern gift-giving practices.

7.      Honor and remember ancestors. Display photos of deceased family members and loved ones. Over the New Year, create an altar with food and fruits and burning incense to fill your home with well-being.

8.      Cook up a storm, enough for the three-day celebration. Include in your preparations all your favorite dishes, plus a few traditional New Year standards. Plan ahead because you should not “dig for” or run water during the first day in the New Year. This gives the earth and water a day of rest, too.  Have fun dining at a Chinese restaurant. But be aware, your favorite places may be closed on New Years Day, as well as other establishments owned by celebrating Asians.

9.      Visit family and friends. As the first day in the New Year is spent with your immediate family, the second day in the New Year is often spent inviting good friends and special guests over. The third day in the modern tradition is to celebrate with teachers and business associates.

10.  Pay significant attention to your actions. Acknowledge the first time you perform everyday tasks in the New Year. Do not show anger at anyone during the first three days in the New Year. It is especially improper to tell a lie, raise your voice, use indecent language, or break anything on the first day of the New Year.

BONUS TIPS:
1.  Build new friendships: This is a great time of year to develop a new friendship with someone you know who is from an Asian culture who celebrates the Lunar New Year.  Perhaps it’s someone at work, a neighbor, or someone within the community  in which you live.  Share with them how you have been reading about the upcoming Lunar/Chinese New Year and wanted to wish them a Happy New Year.  To wish someone who observes the holiday a Happy New Year will definitely light up their day and bring you closer to each other as friends.

2.  Other resources:  For additional information on this festive holiday… and information on festivities in the San Francisco area, here are a few web sites for you to view:

— www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/China/traditional_foods.html for a brief description of traditional foods served during this holiday.

— www.chineseparade.com; and www.sfgate.com/traveler/events/cny for information on the festivities happening in San Francisco, where the largest celebration occurs outside.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!… Gong Xi Fa Cai !… Sun Neen Fi Lok!… Xin Nian Kuai Le!… Happy Prosperity and Happy New Year!

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People often ask me how I plan for trips overseas that last for up to 2 months. Here are my 8 checklist items I do for every trip:

(Admittedly some information is from an American perspective as a U.S. citizen. For our international subscribers, please share your knowledge of how things work the same or differently in your country.)

1.  Create a travel folder. Put everything relevant to your trip in a folder, as you gather items. I like learning about the must-see historic places (museums, monuments), the best insider restaurants and bars, what holidays or special events may be happening while in town, whether there are any wineries nearby, and a bit about the history of the region, including forms of government and predominant religion. Most importantly, I look for information about local everyday practices to observe and display that will help me enjoy the visit like a local. It’s all great airplane reading if I didn’t get to it sooner.

2.  Research visa requirements. Investigate as far in advance as possible. I constantly hear stories about people who waited until the last minute before learning a visa was required and had to pay lots of money to have one expedited. Bookmark this site, which will show you every country’s requirements:  http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4965.html

(For information on entry requirements for a specific country, please go to the Entry/Exit Requirements section in the Country Specific Information for the country in which you are interested. You may also contact the U.S. embassy or consulate of that country for further information.)

3.  Register yourself and the trip with the U.S. State Department. I first learned about this through the Protocol Association with which I am a member. I do it as soon as my itinerary is confirmed. As much as we all complain about “big brother” watching, when it comes to traveling to other countries, it has given me great comfort to know I am identified and what I must do to seek my government’s help should a situation arise.

Bookmark this site, https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/, to register your trip and learn the answers to the questions of why register, how to register, and how the embassy or consulate will assist you while abroad.

4.  Confirm all arrangements. Confirm all details in writing with the in-country contact, travel agency, hotel, and the like. Print copies of all correspondence that includes contact names and numbers. Do not pack this information in your suitcase, in case your luggage is delayed. Keep it in your carry-on bag.

5.  Make copies of important documents. Create a document checklist and make copies of each document to place in each piece of luggage. Leave a complete set of all documents in a folder marked “Travel Documents” on your dining table or top of your desk. Give a copy to the person you have designated as your “back home” contact in case of emergencies:
— Passport
— Personal contact information:
+ Full legal and nickname, home address, all telephone numbers
+ Other immediate family members who are in the same household, such as children and roommates
+ Place of employment, contact name, address, telephone number and email addresses
— Emergency contact: The person back home to reach, including name, home and office address,
all telephone numbers and email addresses.
— Travel Insurance
— Medical information:
+ Medical and health insurance company, including policy number and telephone number. Learn what your
policy will cover or will not cover when traveling outside your home country.
+ Primary care and specialized doctor names, addresses, all telephone numbers, and email addresses.
+ Medications: List all prescribed medications. I also include vitamins and supplements.
+ Allergies: Whatever you are allergic to, list them. I’m allergic to cats, avocados, most shellfish, most
fish, and most nuts.
+ Immunizations: Usually Immunization Cards are provided when you get shots. Take the cards with you
and have copies made as well.
+ Death instructions: List basic Living Will instructions, designated funeral home information, and the like.
— Complete Itinerary: A complete listing of all flights and hotel information for the entire trip.

Honestly, this may look like a great deal of work, yet if you take the time to do this once, it will be done forever… until updates are required.

6.  Figure out in-country transportation in advance. During the planning process, decide by what methods you will be traveling from place to place, whether by private car, taxi, or by what kind of local public transportation. Nowadays you can download maps that clearly show how to get from one place to the other. Especially in London, Paris, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Beijing, it is convenient and safe to use public transportation to many locations.

For arrival at the airport, compare the rates for hiring a car or taking a taxi to your hotel upon arrival, especially when arriving after dark. You may be surprised to learn a hired car may be less expensive than a taxi. There is nothing worse than to be scrambling for a taxi and dealing with luggage when you are exhausted. By hiring the car, they will pick you up, take care of carrying your luggage, and know how to get you to the hotel without getting lost.

When traveling by taxi, always have the name of the hotel or location, street address, driving directions, and most importantly the telephone number of the place (contact person) for the driver, written in their native language.

7.  Use hotel ID cards. Upon check-in at your hotel, ask the front desk for a few hotel cards. These cards have their full contact information written in the native language. Some even have a small map on the back to help a driver get you back home safely. As it is said: “Never leave home without it” (meaning the hotel card). Keep two or three cards with you at all times. If a driver doesn’t give one back to you, you’ll have spares for other trips, without having to hit the front desk each time it happens, or forget and get stuck. That happened to me… only once.

8.  Pack standard items for every trip: My international trips have been from 4 days to two months. Regardless of the duration of the trip or whether I am visiting for pleasure or business, here are the standard items I have for every trip:
— Put together a standard medical pouch once and you’ll have it for all future trips. I leave mine in the suitcase between trips. In this pouch I have cold remedies; extra vitamin C tablets; dental floss; Listerine packets; Tylenol, Advil, and aspirin; diarrhea pills (Imodium and Pepto Bismol); rubbing alcohol for sanitizing wounds; two sizes of Band-Aids; lint remover; small bottle of hand sanitizer and packets (Purell); a small sewing kit including scissors, nail clip, nail file, safety pins, insect repellent and hydrocortisone; small tube of Wine Out (in case of a spill); travel packets of sunscreen; dry eye drops; shoe shine buffer; and most of all, my Chinese Po Chi Yun pills for when I get an upset stomach from eating certain foods that are too rich for me. Whatever is important to you, this is where you keep them.
— An all-weather coat with a hood in case it rains, plus an umbrella when rain is more certain. On my last trip to China in May the weather was uncertain, and it did rain on a couple of days.
— A solid color, wide and long shawl to wear in lieu of a jacket or coat in the day or evening.
— For planned or unexpected nicer evening activities, I always pack at least one dressy outfit. For men I recommend packing at least one sports jacket and slacks, with one or more shirts and ties, depending on the length of the trip. Beyond this, who cares if people see you wearing the same outfit more than once? For women, you can change looks with different accessories. Men can change their look with ties, a small item to pack.
— A pair of shorts and a swimsuit for possible hotel spa activities.
— Sun hat for prolonged outdoor activities and sunglasses.
— A small flask of brandy to enjoy in the privacy of your room on certain nights.

Bonus: Pack a few small gifts of appreciation. For certain special people and services provided, small gifts from your country of origin is often more meaningful than any monetary gratuity… which in some countries and situations is not appropriate. One of my favorite gifts is a small box of See’s Candy, from an old-time San Francisco company.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH:  What are some of your standard checklist items when traveling internationally—no matter where you live in the world. I am most curious to learn if there are certain practices a person must/should do in other countries before traveling abroad. Post your comments below.

Happy Practicing!