The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Have you been wondering what to get a friend or business associate for New Year's? What about a Nationalities Council of Indiana calendar for 2011!

It's filled with photos of the ethnic organizations that make up the council (and stage the annual International Festival in the Indiana State Fairgrounds).

If one of them represents your ethnic heritage, great! If not, it's a reminder of the world in Indiana!

Groups featured are:
January: Barangay Club of Indiana (Filipino)
February: ATA-IN (Turkish)
March: Italian Heritage Society of Indiana
April: Indiana Partners of the Americas (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
May: Estonian Society of Indianapolis
June: American Indian Center of Indiana (Native American)
July: Society for the Promotion of Persian Culture (Iranian)
August: Indiana State Association of Middle Eastern Teachers and Dancers
September: Indianapolis Latvian Community Center
October: Circle City Lodge of Sons of Norway
November: Czech and Slovak Society of Indiana
December: Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

(Yes, there are more than 30 other groups -- those selected for the 2011 calendar were drawn in a lottery!)

There are a few calendars left for holiday giving! Just send a check for $12 (payable to the Nationalities Council of Indiana) to NCI, PO Box 1623, Indianapolis, IN 46206, and we'll wing one out to you -- or to whomever you'd prefer it be delivered! If you enclose a gift card, we'll send that on as well.

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Dyngus Day in South Bend

Politics and culture collide in northern Indiana on Dyngus Day -- the day after Easter (this year: 24 March). It's a religious holiday in Eastern Europe (especially Poland) that probably has pagan roots. Celebrations are common in the United States in regions with large populations with Polish, Czech and Slovakian heritage.

But, it takes a particular twist in Indiana. According to Wikipedia, "In South Bend, the day is often used to launch the year's political campaign season (particularly among Democrats)- often from within the West Side Democratic Club, the M.R. Falcons Club or in local pubs, where buying drinks is favored over handshaking."

This year, former President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea will visit South Bend on Dyngus Day to kick off Hoosiers for Hillary at the West Side Democratic Club, 617 South Warren Street (time to be announced).

Sounds like a lot more fun than the traditional celebration in Poland, where, early in the morning, boys awaken girls by pouring buckets of water on their heads and then "beat" them on the legs with switches made from willow, birch or decorated tree branches. The "victim" rewards her "attacker" with a decorated egg, then ties a ribbon to the boy's whip -- more ribbons, more bragging rights. (Girls will save the best eggs for the boys they like best.) Women get revenge in the afternoon by pouring a bucket of cold water on the men. Older men are given Třešňovice (cherry brandy) instead of eggs.

UPDATE:
No matter what it says in The Indianapolis Star this morning (22 March), Easter marks the end of Lent, not Dyngus Day!