January 14, 2017 - International Kite Day and Kite Festivals Around the World

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 88 DAYS

Kite's Galore

Yay! It's Saturday - no school, no homework, no making lunches -- uh - wait a minute - I had to make lunch today lol for the kids to bring to the barn.

But, I would much rather get up early, make lunch and pack up the car for a day of fun than for school!

So, here's a question - do you remember flying a kite when you were  a kid?
I remember, clear as day, going to Astoria Park in Queens as a very little girl with my parents and my dad getting that kite up in the air.

I also remember other people doing the same thing.  Doesn't it seem like the art and joy of simple kite flying has been lost?

Well, i have news for you, it hasn't!  Maybe it's not as prevalent as it once was because kids today are so involved in organized sports or spending lots of time on their electronics. But, kite flying is a time honored leisure event that is still going strong around the world.

That's right, in fact, today is International Kite Day!

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL KITE DAY
International Kite Day originated in India, in the state of Gujarat, which is famous for its many annual festivals.

The kite festival, called Uttarayan in Hindi, celebrates the day that winter ends and summer begins, as well as the upcoming harvest season.
The kites symbolize the spirits of the gods that are awaking from their deep winter sleep.

GUJARAT, INDIA KITE FESTIVAL (credit: gujarattravelagent.com)

Originally, kite-flying was a sport practiced by royalty and the very wealthy, but in the recent years it has become a festival for which people come from all over the country and even the world to take part in.

It is especially popular with people from Japan, Italy, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, France, China and even the USA.

Kites have their history in China over 2000 years ago when kites were made of silk and bamboo (credit: d'source.com)

Did you know that the history of kites date back more than 2000 years?

HISTORY OF KITES
 
• Kites were invented in China, where materials ideal for kite building were readily available: silk fabric for sail materials, fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line, and resilient bamboo for strong, lightweight framework.

• The earliest written accounts of kite flying was under Chinese General Han Hsin, Han Dynasty (206B.C – 220A.D.).

*The popularity of kite flying spread from China along trade routes to Korea, India, and Japan. They arrived in Korea in the period of the Three Kingdoms (4-645 A.D.).

* Kites were brought to Japan around the 7th century by Buddhist monks. They were used as magical figures or “talismans” to avert evil spirits and as invocations for a rich harvest.

​* In the Edo Period (1603-1868), kite flying became very popular when, for the first time, Japanese people below the samurai class could fly kites. The Edo (now Tokyo) government tried unsuccessfully, to discourage this pastime because “too many people became unmindful of their work.”

In the Edo Period (1603-1868) in Japan, kite flying became very popular. (credit: www.asahi-net.or.jp)

Tanya has the inside skinny with 17 Fun Facts about Kites so do not miss her blog!!

Stay tuned for more information about kites on February 8th, which is National Kite Day here in the U.S!!

Back to today...
I spent my day at Tanger Outlets all morning with Punkin.  While she caught up on a snooze, I tried to find toe warmers for the girls.  Boy, do their little tootsies get cold riding in the Winter!

​No luck at North Face outlet or a few of the other stores.  Did you know that North Face doesn't even sell socks!

I'm going to head over to Wal-Mart later as I'm sure they would have them.

The girls are also quickly outgrowing their storage box at the barn.  With two or more of everything (saddles, saddle pads, halters, helmets, riding boots lead ropes, and lots of grooming supplies, I think I have no choice but to upgrade them to a "Large" box. (An additional $25/month from $75 to $100.

Well, I'm off to get Kelsey a buttered everything bagel and chips (the lunch of champions)  While I made Gianna a sandwich and fruit salad, Kelsey advised me to only give her cut up cucumbers because she wanted a fresh bagel from the bagel store.  Yes Ma'am!

Nothing very exciting for the rest of the day after riding.  We'll probably just go home and veg out with a movie.

Since it's a 3-day weekend, tomorrow will more than likely be a mellow day of finishing up homework for the kids since Monday we have plans to hang out with friends for lunch and the mall.

Happy Saturday!
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 23 DAYS

Kites and More

Whew! We made it back just in the nick of time...

With saying our farewells to Lake Tahoe yesterday and the long drive back to SoCal.

Incline Village (c)travelincousins.com

Incline Village (c)travelincousins.com

The roads were finally cleared (for the most part and the already beautiful landscape of Lake Tahoe was even that much more beautiful. It was actually kinda sad to be leaving...but of course we'll be back (in March). 

Incline Village (c)travelincousins.com

North Lake Tahoe (c)travelincousins.com

North Lake Tahoe (c)travelincousins.com

North Lake Tahoe (c)travelincousins.com

We were astounded by some of the flooding that we saw as driving through the outskirts of Sacramento - which is usually fairly dry (remember that California has been in a drought for serval years), but now with this crazy wet season 42% of the state has actually recovered!

Flooding (c)travelincousins.com

Flooding (c)travelincousins.com

While driving past the many farmlands, we had even witnessed several poor cows all vying to stand in what little dry patches of land that they could find.
It looked as though the cows were standing on itty bitty islands amongst large flooded fields - none of which I was able to take pictures of as we drove past them.

And then several hours later, as timing would have it we arrived into Los Angeles right in the middle of rush hour (which was nothing short of the pits).

With some fancy navigational skills and plenty of winding side street action. I pulled up to the Long Beach rehearsal space with just 3 minutes to spare!

The kids got out and rehearsed like pros. They are now all ready for their performance at Disney on Monday.

After rehearsal was over we still had a few things to do before finally heading home. Eventually making it back to the warm welcoming hugs of the fam bam sometime around 10pm.

​
Today is actually filled with some more prep for the show at Disney and then we really have no set in stone plans.
Dave was thinking maybe we go out to eat, hit up the book store and catch a movie. Sounds good to me.
But personally I'm not sure if he came up with those things because they are what he wants to do, or that he just doesn't want me to go stir crazy from having no plans?!
Whatever it is - I think it will be a fairly mellow Saturday (at least once all of the chores and errands for Disney are taken care of).

So did you know that today happens to be International Kite Day?!

Whenever I think of kites I can't help but think of fond memories at the beach or park with my beloved Grandfather - he was definitely a kite lover. My father has also been known to be quite a fan of kites. And honestly how can you but love the idea of flying a kite. 
​
I honestly get a bit memorized by staring up at the sky and watching the usually quite colorful and whimsical kites flying against cloud spotted blue sky.

17 Fun Facts About Kites

1. A kite consists of three basic parts: the body, the line, and the bridle that attaches the line to the body. 
2. In 1749, a Scottish meteorologist named Alexander Wilson used a kite with a thermometer attached to measure air temperatures at 3000 feet.
3. Kites were also instrumental in research and development of the Wright rothers when building the first airplane in the 1880’s.
4. In 1964, The American Kitefliers Association was formed and now has over 4000 members in at least 35 nations.
5. The kite industry has taken leaps and bounds with the creation of stunt and power kites designed to go faster and perform more intricate tricks than ever before with ongoing innovations.
6. Traditional kite flying soared in the late 1980’s, worldwide.​
7. Like many other things, this retro activity is coming back by the number of festivals in the U.S. and around the world.
8. In 1988 Case Study: Sales of kites by US manufacturer, Go Fly A Kite were $80 million with 90% of sales to U.S. market.
9. $100-$200million worth of kites are sold by all kite manufacturers worldwide.
10. April is National Kite Month (www.nationalkitemonth.org) when Kite enthusiasts across North America celebrate the history and the future of the world’s favorite pastime.
11. The smallest kite in the world which actually flies is 5mm high.
12. The largest kite in the world is called the Megabite, which is 55 x 22 metres (630sq metres).
13. The longest kite in the world is 1034 metres which is 3394 ft.
14. The fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 mph which is 193 km/h.
15. The record for the longest kite fly is 180 hours! 
16. The highest that a kite has flown is 3801 metres, which is 12,471ft.
17. The largest number of kites flown on a single line is 11,284; this record is held by a Japanese kite maker. Kite flying was banned in Japan in 1760 because too many people preferred to fly kites than work!

Be sure to check out Elisa's side for some rather interesting history about kites.

And now let's add a little bit of travel to this fun hobby - check out:

Top 10 Kite Festivals around the World

I've got to go for now, much to do!

Have a great one and I'll see you back here tomorrow,
​-T