The virgin of Guadalupe day / The virgin of Fatima day

Guadalupe day, December 12, is Mexico’s most important religious holiday. On this day people from all over Mexico travel to the chapel Tepayac Hill in Mexico City, where the mother of Jesus is said to have appeared before an Indian peasant named Juan Diego back in 1531.

All the julio 16, the devout ones to the virgin of Carmen come in pious pilgrimages, peregrinations, caravans, parades and processions to give thanks to the favors invoked to her. The Colombian carriers adopted her as their mistress as the protection and intercession that Carmen assumes to the Virgin of in situations of danger.

Huge holidays are held all over Mexico and Central America to honor the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Throughout the day, people come to the church to pray. Many of them pin milacres near the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe. These small silver or tin objects are shaped like hearts, arms, or legs, and symbolize the giver’s thanks for a cure.

The Colombian drivers give the orders bless scapularies and images which hang and stick in their vehicles like protective shield.Then, the terrestrial carriers take the image in a gigantic caravan in which the horns of the cars make sound, being made notice by every village that they pass.

To celebrate this holiday, second graders made the traditional items that would be a part of the holiday. The children enjoyed corn cakes and candy sticks as well as the paper roses and milacres that they made for their holiday. Each child decorated a Mexican boy or girl in typical costume and watched a video reenacting Juan and his vision.

In the town of the country the drivers and owners of tractomulas realize an honoring in Tocancipá's Car-racing track. With an eucharist there is opened the holiday of races of these vehicles that come from all the corners of the country to produce worship to her mistress.

The Wedding in Greece/Colombia

A Greek wedding for the orthodox rite is a rich ceremony in symbolism. The marriage is perceived more as the union of two souls that like a contract between two people. By this reason, not preveé the exchange of votes. The couples come to the church carrying white candles and they join with their hands to consecrate their union.

While in Colombia, the marriage is carried out when a couple is loved and they want they form a family.

Traditions and customs in Greece

• Betrothal: Is the moment in which the rings exchange as a sign of promise and devotion among the spouses. The gesture is repeated three times, because this is the number of the most holy Trinity.
• La coronation: It symbolizes that the spouses will be the kings of the family and crowns place them or dimantes, depending on the parochial tradition. At the same time is a commitment that they will confront next to all the difficulties that come.
• Wine: The act to share wine symbolizes it put in common of all the things of the life.
• The procession: The priest carries the spouses to give a three returns around the sacramental table, symbolizing the together trip that are going to initiate.
• The blessing: After the ceremony of the wedding, the priest should remove the crown and the spouses show between the songs and choruses their desires.
• The holiday of wedding: After the ceremony, the celebration. The Greek anniversaries are very amusing because the sing and, above all, the dance, they charge an indisputable prominence. Also they will be a protagonist the tradition to break dishes in the dance floor. The motive: to attract the good luck to the bride and groom.

Traditions and customs in Colombia

• Bachelors' farewell: the friends of the girlfriend and the boyfriend organize a party one day before the wedding
• The wedding godfathers': the married futures look for to thier best friends in order that they are witnesses of their union
• The dress and accesories: It is common that the girlfriend uses for her wedding a white dress. In addition, they use the light one as symbol of good luck and a veil as symbol of youth and virginity or purity. Some girlfriens use somewhat new, something used, something lent and somewhat blue in their wedding
• The hoops: these are a promise of eternal love that the pair does before God and the guests of their wedding
• The branch: after the wedding the bride throws her branch and the lucky one that get the branch will be the next one in marrying
• The rice and the flowers: when the grooms of the ceremony go out the guests they throw to them rice and/or flowers to wish good luck them in marriage
• Charging the wife: the husband charge to his wife up to the car as symbol of love ans safety
• Honeymoon: The grooms move back several days in intimacy.

St. Valentine's day / The love and friendship day

Traditionally in Britain, spring begins on St. Valentine's Day (February 14th), It also was called 'the Birds' Wedding Day'. It is the traditional day on which people express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.

In Colombia, this day is celebrated the third Saturday of September and It's a traditional celebration where the friends, in love, bride and groom, husbands and lovers are expressed their love. Colombians don't celebrate St. Valentine's day in February because that month is the school season and besides is carries out one of the most important festivities of the Country: The Carnival of Barranquilla.


Some women in England get up before sunrise on Valentine's Day. They stand by the window watching for a man to pass. They believe that the first man they see, or someone who looks like him, will marry them within a years or if the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband-tobe.

But we have the tradition to play "The secret friend". This common tradition consists of introducing in a container small roles with the names of the participants, then, each one goes extracting a role of the container and they should give a gift the person whose name say the role. Also we do exchanges of invitations to have dinner and small meetings with the most nearby friends. The gift is complemented with an exit to eat, to dance or to stroll and to celebrate the fortune of the Love and the Friendship. As much bride and groom as friends exchange gifts, according to the personal preferences and the economy.