6 February 2019. Don’t Try This At Home… Las Luminarias Festival in Spain

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On the eve of the Catholic feast of St Anthony (17 January), the Las Luminarias festival occurs in the village of San Bartolomé de Pinares in Spain. People ride horses through bonfires in order to rid the beasts of sin, purify them, and to give them protection for the coming year. Oh, yes… they cheat… they douse the horses in water before riding them through the fire. The locals build around 20 bonfires; around a hundred horses and riders take part. Don’t try this at home…

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Putin Greeted Russian Buddhists on the Lunar New Year

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President V V Putin greeted Russian Buddhists on the coming of the Lunar New Year and the beginning of the White month. The Kremlin website noted:

Drawing on the centuries-old historical, cultural, and spiritual traditions of their ancestors, Russian Buddhists celebrate this significant event widely. This holiday symbolises the renewal of man and nature, so, it’s common to sum up the year, sincerely wish each other health, and ask for fulfilment of one’s desires. People care for their loved ones and give alms to the needy. It’s important for the Buddhist community to participate actively in the life of our country, to strengthen their interaction with state and public organisations, to give much care to educating young people, and to implement popular charitable and educational initiatives. Such fruitful work deserves the deepest respect. I wish that the New Year would be successful and prosperous for Buddhist people.

5 February 2019

Interfax-Religion

http://interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=71973

12 November 2017. 196th Anniversary of the Birth of F M Dostoyevsky

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12 August 2017. Some of My Favourite Things… Wagner from Moscow… REAL Brass at 2:03… and “Rienzi”

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Culture is alive and well in the Rodina. Tannhäuser is, perhaps, my most fave piece by Wagner… I also have a soft spot for Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen.  The conductor for Tannhäuser is the German-based (but Russian-born) D M Yurovsky. A student orchestra in Weimar plays the Rienzi overture.

BMD