Everything's local right? Well, maybe so, but that doesn't mean that in an increasingly interconnected world it isn't important to keep track of the rest of the world too. This week for Watery Wednesday we take a look at communal celebrations and festivities around the world, both within and outside of Paganism. Read about a Pagan festival in Ukraine, the celebration of the summer in Spain, and the enshrinement of a beloved feline in Japan. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
One of the issues which united many in the global Pagan community is the issue of environmentalism. Here in the U.S., we're pretty familiar with our own take on the movement, but what does "eco-Paganism" look like in other parts of the world? Courtesy of Patheos, we take a look at one Czech Pagan's response.
As many of you know, the Pagan Spirit Gathering was endangered this year by flooding. As it turns out, a Ukrainian festival also had a close call but was able to pull through anyway. Read more about the Ukrainian cultural festival at Ukraine Today.
Communities often come together to support their own when they're in need. But communities can also pool together their resources to help other communities. This story from The Huffington Post covers the efforts by some Jewish groups to reach out an help the African-African community in the wake of tragedies like the Charleston shooting.
Does your local township or community have a mascot? One imagines few mascots are as adored and beloved as Tama, the feline station master and mascot of Kishi Station in the Wakayama prefecture of Japan, who recently passed away on June 22. Love for Tama reached far and wide through Japan and following an elaborate Shinto-style funeral, the cat has been enshrined as a local goddess.
How did you celebrate the summer solstice? Many think of the festival as an exclusively Pagan one, but as it turns out many cultures around the world celebrate the year's longest day, including the predominantly Catholic region of Catalonia in Spain, which celebrates the solstice as "St. John's Day" or "El Nit De Foc" (the Night of Fire). Read more about the holiday at The Malay Mail.
Top image by sailko