Belarus (Bielarus) : public and bank holidays, closure of banks, stock exchanges, school vacations

cards/flowers : Introduced by Pope Gelasus in 498, perhaps in response to a local Roman tradition of lovers writing their names on an urn in February

Culture : Maslenitsa (also known as Butter Week, Pancake week, or Cheesefare Week) has its origins in both pagan and Christian traditions. In Slavic mythology, Maslenitsa is a sun festival, celebrating the imminent end of the winter. corresponds to the Western Christian Carnival.

Culture : A day that pays tribute to servicemen past and present, and recognises all men too. [www.belarus.by]

Secular holiday :

Culture : New constitution adopted on March 15, 1994, since been amended in 1996 and 2004.

School holidays :

School holidays :

Culture :

cards/flowers : Deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt. The Seder service on the first two evenings recounts the story of the Exodus

cards/flowers : The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Quran; a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, a number of other days. Allah desires for you ease; He desires not hardship for you; and that you should complete the period, and that you should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that perhaps you may be thankful [Wikipedia]

Secular holiday :

Orthodox : The day now honors all saints of the church, even those not known by name. The first All Saints' Day occurred on May 13, 609 (C.E.) when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon as a gift from the Emperor Phocas. Boniface dedicated it as the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs. During Pope Gregory III's reign (731-741), the festival was expanded to include all saints and a chapel in St. Peter's church was dedicated accordingly. Pope Gregory IV officially designated the day in 837. banks remain open

Culture : Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy

Secular holiday : Chicago, Saturday May 1st, 1886: 350,000 workers go on strike to call for an 8-hour working day. Industries are paralyzed nationwide. On Monday, as demonstrations go on, the police open fire. On Tuesday, Chicago is again on strike. Following a bomb launched against them, the police shoot again. 12 dead, of which 7 policemen. 8 anarchists will be condemned and executed. In 1889, the Socialist International Movement met in Paris and declared this day international workers' day . The Soviets will follow suit, just as the Nazis. In France, under the Vichy regime (1940-1944), the celebration is renamed Labour Day .

Secular holiday :

Secular holiday : Marks the capitulation of Nazi forces to the Allies (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and other principal Allied nations) in Berlin on May 8, 1945. It is celebrated in the successor states to the Soviet Union on May 9, because when the German Instrument of Surrender was signed (in the midnight), it was already May 9 in the USSR and Eastern Europe.

Culture : This holiday is dedicated to the main symbols of the country which embody the ideas of national unity and are the major attributes of sovereignty and independence in Belarus. [www.belarus.by]

School holidays :

Culture : The most popular celebration in contemporary Belarus. It is a hedonistic summer celebration of fertility in the name of a female God: Kupala

Culture : Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Great Patriotic War

Secular holiday : Belarus celebrate their independence on July 3, commemorating that date in 1944, when as part of the huge Soviet offensive Operation Bagration the Soviet Republic of Belarus was liberated from German occupation. Post-Soviet Belarus gained their independence on August 25, 1991. Belarussians therefore celebrate their independence on the day when the Soviets liberated them, rather than the day on which they received independence from the Soviet Union. [Wikipedia]

Culture : Lasts 3 days - http://www.belarus.by/ in Vitebsk 2015 edition confirmed