The May Day holiday was started long ago as a festival to celebrate the return of Spring in the northern hemisphere. The earliest known May Day celebrations appeared with the Festival of Flora in Rome. Side note: Flora or Floralia is the Roman Goddess of Flowers. The early Roman festivals also celebrated Dionysis and Aphrodite… Read more »
Like most places in the world, springtime in May is an exceptionally wonderful time of the year in Maui. However, people who have not spent any significant time in Hawai’i imagine that the whole year must feel like springtime. Which is not really true. Summer is a little hotter with slightly longer days, and winter… Read more »
We get this question ALL the time – why should we go all the way to Hana? What is so special about The Road to Hana? Perhaps you’re not sure you really want to go there? Maybe you want to go but don’t know how to convince a family member who questions the whole thing…. Read more »
One of the things the residents of Hawai’i love most about our Island Home is the rich, multicultural traditions and customs. We share these customs with our friends, neighbors, and communities. Whether it’s the 4th generation Japanese, making hand-made mochi for the New Year, or the Dragon Dance for the Chinese New Year, there are… Read more »
One of the first things people think about when they hear about Hawai’i is swaying coconut palms and beautiful beaches. It is hard to imagine that at one time, there were no coconut palm trees on the Hawaiian islands at all! When the Polynesian migrants first arrived, there was only one species of native palm… Read more »
The Hōkūleʻa Epic Voyage – Mālama Honua: To Care For Our Earth The idea for this epic voyage began with a very unusual phone call. Nainoa Thompson, aboard Hōkūleʻa, spoke via satellite phone to Lacy Veach who was aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Nainoa, aboard Hōkūleʻa, was sailing from Rarotonga to Honolulu and Lacy was… Read more »
The magnitude of the great, double-hulled ocean-going vessel, Hōkūleʻa, launching on her maiden voyage on March 8, 1975, cannot be overstated. It was a monumental event for all people of Hawaiian ancestry worldwide. This single event gave a burst of energy back into the Hawaiian culture and a tremendous upsurge in pride. Hōkūleʻa was launched… Read more »
Centuries before the European sea-faring explorers discovered Hawai’i, the people living on these islands had already developed a great New Year’s tradition. This tradition is called Makahiki. The Makahiki preparations, ceremonies, and celebrations were extensive. This particular time of the year lasted from October through January. Four months were needed for all the activities that… Read more »
Long before Western explorers and Protestant Missionaries arrived, Hawai’i people had a time of year called Makahiki*. This time was a season of rest and rejuvenation. The days were shorter and a bit cooler – there was more rain to nourish the earth, and life slowed down. A natural end of the yearly cycle, the… Read more »
Sacred Places are found throughout the world. The word sacred can denote some sort of religious or spiritual significance to the place or site. A good example is Ka Pu’uhonua o Olowalu, a place of refuge sanctified by the gods of Ancient Hawai’i. Like many in Hawai’i, this place is held sacred by the hierarchy of… Read more »
