Today's celebrations August 20th

Today is...

Constitution Day in Hungary

National Day in Hungary

National Homeless Animals Day in the United States of America

Restoration of Independence Day in Estonia

St. Stephen's Day in Hungary

The King & People's Revolution in Morocco

Montserrat Annual Pilgrimage in Montserrat

Get to know Estonian music!

Here are the top 5 Estonian songs in the music charts at the moment. To see the top 20, click here. We are by no means saying that this is all there is to Estonian Music, this is just what the Estonian public are loving at the moment!

HU - Hannaliisa Uusmaa Depressiivsed Eesti väikelinnad

mari-leen - printsess



Niki - Liisa (this is not the song that is in the chart but is another song by the same artist)



Traffic - Sõnad

The importance of press freedom

The United Nations General Assembly declared 3 May to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991.

Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. While such freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.

With respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information as sensitive, classified or secret and being otherwise protected from disclosure due to relevance of the information to protecting the national interest. Many governments are also subject to sunshine laws or freedom of information legislation that are used to define the ambit of national interest.

According to Reporters Without Borders, more than a third of the world's people live in countries where there is no press freedom. Overwhelmingly, these people live in countries where there is no system of democracy or where there are serious deficiencies in the democratic process. Freedom of the press is an extremely problematic problem/concept for most non-democratic systems of government since, in the modern age, strict control of access to information is critical to the existence of most non-democratic governments and their associated control systems and security apparatus.

World opinion is divided on the importance of having a free press, according to a poll conducted for the BBC World Service in 2007. Of those interviewed, 56% thought that freedom of the press was very important to ensure a free society but 40% said it was more important to maintain social harmony and peace, even if it meant curbing the press's freedom to report news truthfully. The strongest endorsement came from North America and Western Europe, where up to 70% put freedom first, followed by Venezuela, Kenya and South Africa, with over 60%. In India, Singapore and Russia, by contrast, more people favoured stability over press freedom.

Freedom of the Press is a yearly report by US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House, measuring the level of freedom and editorial independence enjoyed by the press in every nation and significant disputed territories around the world. Levels of freedom are scored on a scale from 1 (most free) to 100 (least free). Depending on the basics, the nations are then classified as "Free", "Partly Free", or "Not Free". If you would like to see the results of this report - which differs slightly from the Reporters Without Borders freedom of the press index - then click on the third link at the bottom of this post.

Every year, Reporters Without Borders establishes a ranking of countries in terms of their freedom of the press. Below is the ranking for 2009:

1 Denmark 0.00

1 Finland 0.00

1 Ireland 0.00

1 Norway 0.00

1 Sweden 0.00

6 Estonia 0.50

7 Netherlands 1.00

7 Switzerland 1.00

9 Iceland 2.00

10 Lithuania 2.25

11 Belgium 2.50

11 Malta 2.50

13 Austria 3.00

13 Latvia 3.00

13 New Zealand 3.00

16 Australia 3.13

17 Japan 3.25

18 Germany 3.50

19 Canada 3.70

20 Luxembourg 4.00

20 United Kingdom 4.00

20 United States 4.00

23 Jamaica 4.75

24 Czech Republic 5.00

25 Cyprusa 5.50

25 Hungary 5.50

27 Ghana 6.00

28 Trinidad and Tobago 7.00

29 Uruguay 7.63

30 Costa Rica 8.00

30 Mali 8.00

30 Portugal 8.00

33 South Africa 8.50

34 Macedonia 8.75

35 Greece 9.00

35 Namibia 9.00

37 Poland 9.50

37 Slovenia 9.50

39 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.50

39 Chile 10.50

39 Guyana 10.50 42 Suriname 10.60

43 France 10.67

44 Cape Verde 11.00

44 Slovakia 11.00

44 Spain 11.00

47 Argentina 11.33

48 Hong Kong 11.75

Grenada 12.00

49 Italy 12.14

50 Romania 12.50

51 Northern Cyprusb 14.00

51 Maldives 14.00

51 Mauritius 14.00

54 Paraguay 14.33

55 Panama 14.50

56 Papua New Guinea 14.70

57 Burkina Faso 15.00

57 Haiti 15.00

59 Republic of China (Taiwan) 15.08

60 Kuwait 15.25

61 Lebanon 15.42

62 Botswana 15.50

63 Liberia 15.50

63 Malawi 15.50

63 Serbiac 15.50

63 Tanzania 15.50

63 Togo 15.50

68 Bulgaria 15.61

69 South Korea 15.67

70 Bhutan 15.75

71 Brazil 15.88

72 Benin 16.00

72 Seychelles 16.00

72 Timor-Leste 16.00

75 Kosovod 16.58

76 Nicaragua 16.75

77 Montenegroc 17.00

78 Croatia 17.17

79 El Salvador 17.25

80 Central African Republic 17.75

Tonga 18.00

81 Georgia 18.83

82 Comoros 19.00

82 Mozambique 19.00

84 Ecuador 20.00

85 Peru 20.88

86 Uganda 21.50

86 United Arab Emirates 21.50

88 Albania 21.75

89 Senegal 22.00

89 Ukraine 22.00

91 Mongolia 23.33

92 Guinea-Bissau 23.50

93 Israel (Israeli territory) 23.75

94 Qatar 24.00

95 Bolivia 24.17

96 Kenya 25.00

97 Zambia 26.75

98 Dominican Republic 26.83

99 Lesotho 27.50

100 Guinea 28.50

100 Indonesia 28.50

100 Mauritania 28.50

103 Burundi 29.00

103 Côte d'Ivoire 29.00

105 India 29.33

106 Guatemala 29.50

106 Oman 29.50

108 United States (extra-territorial) 30.00

109 Cameroon 30.50

110 Djibouti 31.00

111 Armenia 31.13

112 Jordan 31.88

113 Tajikistan 32.00

114 Moldova 33.75

115 Sierra Leone 34.00

116 Republic of the Congo 34.75

117 Cambodia 35.17

118 Nepal 35.63

119 Angola 36.50

119 Bahrain 36.50

121 Bangladesh 37.33

122 Philippines 38.25

122 Turkey 38.25

124 Venezuela 39.50

125 Kyrgyzstan 40.00

126 Colombia 40.13

127 Morocco 41.00

128 Honduras 42.00

129 Gabon 43.50

130 Thailand 44.00

131 Malaysia 44.25

132 Chad 44.50

133 Singapore 45.00

134 Madagascar 45.83

135 Nigeria 46.00

136 Zimbabwe 46.50

137 Gambia 48.25

137 Mexico 48.25

139 Niger 48.50

140 Ethiopia 49.00

141 Algeria 49.56

142 Kazakhstan 49.67

143 Egypt 51.38

144 Swaziland 52.50

145 Iraq 53.30

146 Azerbaijan 53.50

146 Democratic Republic of the Congo 53.50

148 Sudan 54.00

149 Afghanistan 54.25

150 Israel (extra-territorial) 55.50

151 Belarus 59.50

152 Fiji 60.00

153 Russia 60.88

154 Tunisia 61.50

155 Brunei 63.50

156 Libya 64.50

157 Rwanda 64.67

158 Equatorial Guinea 65.50

159 Pakistan 65.67

160 Uzbekistan 67.67

161 Palestinian Authority 69.83

162 Sri Lanka 75.00

163 Saudi Arabia 76.50

164 Somalia 77.50

165 Syria 78.00

166 Vietnam 81.67

167 Yemen 83.38

168 People's Republic of China 84.50

169 Laos 92.00

170 Cuba 94.00

171 Myanmar 102.67

172 Iran 104.14

173 Turkmenistan 107.00

174 North Korea 112.5

175 Eritrea 115.50

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_press

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_Press_(report)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7134918.stm

Today's celebrations May 1st!

Today is...

Agriculture and Labor Day in Haiti

Constitution & Independence Day in the Marshall Islands

Constitution Day in Latvia

Día del Trabajo (Labor Day) in Mexico

Fete du Travail in Djibouti

International Labor Day in Vietnam

Kazakhstan People's Unity Day in Kazakhstan

Labor Day / Spring Day in Estonia

Labor Day of May Day in Poland

Law Day in the United States of America

Lei Day in the United States of America

Loyalty Day in the United States of America

Mid Year Day (Banks only) in Thailand

Save the Rhino Day in the United States of America

Svatek prace (May Day) in the Czech Republic

Tag der Arbeit (Labor Day) in Switzerland

Virgen de Chapi in Peru

Working Day in Mali

Youth & Sports Day in Cyprus (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)

Beltane (Northern Hemisphere) in Celticism

Samhain (Southern Hemisphere) in Celticism

Labour (Labor) day in Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, East Timor, Liechtenstein, Macau, Montenegro, Aruba, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, the Netherlands, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Taiwan, Tajikstan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, St. Eustatius, St. Lucia, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Syria , Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaire and Zambia (phew!)

Walpurgisnacht (Witches' Night)

Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht) is a traditional religious holiday of pre-Christian origin, celebrated today by Christian as well as non-Christian communities, on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. Early Christianity had a policy of 'Christianising' pagan festivals so it is perhaps no accident that St. Walpurga's day was set to May 1. Historically Walpurgisnacht is derived from various pagan spring customs. Bonfires were built to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that were then widely believed to walk among the living. This is followed by the return of light and the sun as celebrated during May Day, although bonfires and witches are more closely associated with Easter (especially in Ostrobothnia, Finland) and bonfires alone with midsummer in the rest of Finland.

In Estonia, Volbriöö is celebrated throughout the night of April 30 and into the early hours of May 1, where May 1 is a public holiday called "Spring Day" (Kevadpüha). Volbriöö is an important and widespread celebration of the arrival of Spring in the country. Influenced by German culture, the night originally stood for the gathering and meeting of witches. Modern people still dress up as witches to wander the streets in a carnival-like mood.

In Finland, Walpurgis day (Vappu) is, along with New Year's Eve and Juhannus, the biggest carnival-style festival held in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration, which begins on the evening of April 30 and continues to May 1, typically centres on copious consumption of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages. Student traditions, particularly those of the engineering students, are one of the main characteristics of "Vappu". Since the end of the 19th century, this traditional upper-class feast has been appropriated by university students. Many graduates from lukio, and thus traditionally assumed as university students or alumni, wear a cap. The cap of the engineering students is distinguished by a pom-pom hanging from it. One tradition is to drink sima, a home-made mead, along with freshly cooked doughnuts.

In Germany, Walpurgisnacht, the night from April 30 to May 1, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the Blocksberg and await the arrival of Spring.In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called "Easter fires". In rural parts of southern Germany it is part of popular youth culture to play pranks such as tampering with neighbours' gardens, hiding possessions, or spraying graffiti on private property. These pranks occasionally result in serious damage to property or bodily injury. One of the best places to celebrate Walpurgisnacht is the town of Thale, where not-so-pagan hordes of 35,000 or more arrive for colourful variety events and the Walpurgishalle museum tells you all you need to know about sacrifices, rituals and local myths. People dress as witches and toss away all reserve as they dance around fires.

In Sweden, Walpurgis Night (Swedish: Valborgsmässoafton or simply Valborg) has become a public holiday. The forms of celebration in Sweden vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough writes that "The first of May is a great popular festival in the more midland and southern parts of Sweden. On the eve of the festival, huge bonfires, which should be lighted by striking two flints together, blaze on all the hills and knolls". One of the main traditions in Sweden is to light large bonfires, a custom which is most firmly established in Svealand, and which may have begun in Uppland during the 18th century: "At Walpurgis (Valborg), farm animals were let out to graze, and ever since the early 18th century bonfires (majbrasor, kasar) have been lit to scare away predators". In Southern Sweden, an older tradition, no longer practised, was for the younger people to collect greenery and branches from the woods at twilight: these were used to adorn the houses of the village. The expected reward for this task was to be paid in eggs. Singing traditional songs of Spring is widespread throughout the country. In Uppsala students also go rafting in Fyrisån on home-made and often humorously decorated rafts. Several nations also hold "Champagne Races" where students go to drink and spray champagne or sparkling wine on each other. The largest celebration is in Stockholm’s Skansen open-air museum, where a festive concert runs from mid-afternoon to around midnight. In Gothenburg, students from the Chalmers University have for the last century conducted the Cortège parade, with floats showing mock scenes from major events over the past year. More than 200,000 people line the streets to view the parade.

April 30 is "pálení čarodějnic" ("burning of the witches") or "čarodějnice" in the Czech Republic, the day that winter is ceremonially brought to an end, by the burning of rag and straw witches or just broomsticks on bonfires around the country. The festival offers Czechs the chance to eat, drink and be merry around a roaring fire.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night
http://journals.worldnomads.com/worldfestivals/post/29465.aspx

Today's Celebrations February 24!

Today is...

Baire Proclamation in Cuba

Día de la Bandera (Flag Day) in Mexico

Independence Day (1918) in Estonia