International travel and cultural appreciation week celebrates travelling and exploring the world one step at a time. It also celebrates all the different cultures in the world. It is basically a international sized Folkarama with travelling. This holiday is meant for anyone who hasn't experienced travelling or for anyone who likes to travel. The meaning of the holiday is to let yourself take a break from whatever you are doing and hop on a plane and go where ever you desire and learn something new about a place. Everyone deserves a vacation and a chance to experience something new.
For International Travel Week all modes of transportation (planes, trains, buses) are absolutely free and you are allowed to travel to as many places as you can in 7 days. However you do have to pay for food and hotels of the locations you go to. It is in mid-February which for most people, is not the best time of the year. Christmas is over and it is a time year that drags a lot. This is the perfect opportunity to get away and relax. During this week, all school and work absences are excused. However if for some particular reason you want to not travel and you still go to work or school, it counts as extra hours so you could finish work or school quicker. But hardly anyone does that.
This week is meant to be a fun week of travelling, relaxing and being adventurous.
My Favourite Holiday
My favourite holiday is Christmas. Christmas happens on December 25th and it is my favourite holiday because I love what it celebrates and I enjoy the festivities and food that come with it. I love eating hot turkey and mouth watering stuffing with cranberry sauce. I also how it's in winter and it is the bright spot of what is usually a sometimes dreary time of year. Christmas originally was to celebrate the birth of Christ and how he was born to save us all from sin. But as time progressed people just celebrate it as a time of giving and thanksgiving.I think that Christmas has definitely lost some of it's original meaning since today people who aren't even Christians celebrate Christmas. They just do it for the gifts, dinners and relaxation. There are much more songs that don't talk about Jesus' birth and we also have Santa flying his reindeer giving presents to all children. It is very commercialized now. I feel like if we don't remember the true meaning of Christmas, then it is almost pointless to celebrate it. It's called 'Christ'mas for a reason and if the majority of the people who celebrate it are ignoring the fact that God came into this world because he loved us so much, then it just becomes an ordinary day of giving gifts, eating turkey and receiving gifts from Santa. Not that giving/receiving gifts and spending quality time with your family is bad, it just shouldn't be our true focus. At Christmas time, my family first goes to church at Grant Memorial on Christmas eve for the candle light service, then we head home and the next morning we get up and open our stockings. After that we have breakfast, then we open presents underneath our fake Christmas tree and for the rest of the day we relax in the house before having a turkey dinner. I always look forward to Christmas and I think it triumphs all other holidays that we have.
'International sized Folklorama'. I love it! This idea is great and I bet there are many people who would agree with me. This would be great especially for people who are not able to buy plane/train/boat tickets on there own, because it may be their dream to travel the world, but because they don't have the means to they otherwise couldn't. This week could change their lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's also great because then we can go around and learn about our world by actually seeing it and not just reading about it. It would be lots of fun to see all the diverse cultures and lifestyles of others. Cool Beans :)
Great idea, sounds like a neat holiday! I love the freedom your holiday brings, and how it can look different for everyone, and can also be experienced differently every year.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the idea of being able to fly for free anywhere in the world. I think it's really important for people to be able to explore the world around them, and see all of God's awesome creation! I think visiting other cultures around the world also can cause you to appreciate your own culture even more. Great Job!
This sounds like such an amazing holiday! I would definitely participate in it. I especially like the idea of having a parade in each capital city.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very important for people to experience different cultures and lifestyles. I do not think that many people get to experience different cultures because of finacial reasons, that is why I think making it free is a good idea. But, who is paying for the trips? The transportation industry would probably not be in favour of this holiday unless it is being payed for by someone else.
Great job on inventing a new holiday. I think that you have some fantastic ideas here!
International Folklarama is such a cool idea, because it combines all kinds of cultures, ideas and traditions, and celebrates them all, equally. I think we have some kind of notion that where we grew up or the places where we have visited are superior to other countries, but we only think this because we haven't experienced what else other countires or cultures have to offer. I think this is a very creative idea that could bring about a lot of understanding and acceptance, and break cultural barriers.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Hillary about the cost. It's a shame that travelling is so expensive, because there are so many things to see.
One more question, is airport security increased around this time? Because I could see the holiday being exploited by people who try to smuggle things around the world.
I also think that your commment about Christmas being a bright spot in a dreary time of year is so true. I couldn't imagine not knowing Jesus and being able to celebrate the holiday. It just loses so much meaning when you take away Christ.
All in all, awesome job. We should travel around the world sometime. We should go to Australia. They have PLATYPII there!
K
I think this idea of a holiday is a good way to get everybody to relax, but I do not know if it would work. What about the people who work at airports, drive buses, et cetera, are they expected to work? If not how is everyone else supposed to participate? And is they are how do they get paid if they are not taking in any money from the people who are using their services? I agree with what you said about how Christmas is not really 'Christ'mas anymore. It is sad to see the holiday degrading.
ReplyDeleteFirst of, I have never been so excited to read someone's blog! This was amazing, and honestly I would love for this to be an actual thing (I know there's Folklorama, this is different). I think it was a great idea that transportation be free because a lot of the time that's the reason why people don't travel.
ReplyDeleteThe float idea reminded me of when I went to Hawaii to the Polynesian Cultural Centre. Whiles attending we found a stream that ran practically through the middle, and noticed a lot of people gathering, so we decided to stay and watch. What happened was just what you had said. On these floats were people dressed in the clothing from the area, dancing, singing, playing instruments, it truly was a great experience.