Love Locks at Namsan Park, Seoul

Photo: Love Locks at Namsan Park, Seoul, South Korea

The Namsan Park covers Mt. Namsan and its surrounding areas in central Seoul, South Korea. The N Seoul Tower, a radio and TV communication tower, doubles up as an observation tower too because it offers panoramic views of Seoul's skyline.

Interestingly, the tower’s observation deck attracts a lot of lovers who believe that locking padlocks to the railings there as a symbol of their loves can make their loves everlasting. The padlocks that you see in the picture are locked by lovers who may be visiting the spot only for this purpose.

The tradition of love locks has its origin in a failed Serbian love story of World War I vintage. The location is the bridge Most Ljubavi (the Bridge of Love) in Vrnjačka Banja. Nada, a schoolmistress, fell in love with an officer named Relja, who too committed to her love. But soon Relja had to go to Greece on war duty and eventually he fell in love with another woman there. Nada, who came to know of her lover breaking off, could not recover from the blow and soon died due to heartbreak.

After this sad incident, the local young women started writing their own names along with the names of their lovers on padlocks which they locked on to the railings of the Bridge of Love where Nada and Relja used to meet.

In early 2000s, love locks started appearing in the rest of Europe, including in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Gradually the tradition caught up at various locations in several other countries such as Algeria, Australia, Canada, United States, Taiwan and Uruguay.

Yule Log, the Dessert and the Tradition

Photo: A homemade Yule log (Bûche de Noël) made of chocolate filled with raspberry jam - the traditional French dessert for Christmas

Yule log is a traditional dessert served during the Christmas season. It is made from sponge cake and ingredients such as chocolate, butter cream, various extracts, and often shaped like a mini Yule log.

Historically Yule was originally celebrated by the Germanic peoples. In Nordic countries, and in some English speaking countries, words equivalent to Yule are used for Christmas. The customs such as Yule singing, Yule goat and Yule boar are linked to the pagan tradition of Yule.

The pagan Yule can be traced to several fourth century communities, even before they were converted to Christianity. They continued many of their original traditions even after conversion, though they underwent many changes in the course of time.

It is not clear if the historical Germanic Yule feast involved ancestor worship and the cult of the dead, as was prevalent in some pagan rituals. However, when the custom fell out, probably in the 1940s, it became just the dessert.

The English historian Henry Bourne (1694-1733) traced the origin of the Yule log to Anglo-Saxon paganism. He noted that the celebration involved burning a log of wood, known by names such as Yule Clog, Gule Block or Christmas Block. Its purpose was to illuminate the house and was symbolic of the return of the Sun and seeking longer duration of daylight.

The custom can also be traced to the folklore of England. According to lore, the Yule log is burned at night on the Christmas Eve. It should burn uninterrupted till only ash is left, because relighting it is considered unlucky. People sit around the fire and narrate stories of ghosts.

While setting fire to the log, people keep silence and make their wishes silently. After this, candles are lit from the fire and placed on a table following which silence can be broken. No other lights must be lit that night. Often a piece of the wood is saved to be lighted along with the next year's log. On the Christmas morning, a leaf or a tree branch is brought home before taking anything out of the house.

In France, where the custom is known as Bûche de Noël, the branch from a fruit bearing tree is circumambulated thrice around the house and blessed with wine, before burning. This custom seems to have been discontinued by a log-shaped cake, known as Bûche de Noël.

Yule log is also similar to Badnjak as in Slavic mythological rituals and other customs such as smearing the log with the blood of fowls or goats. The ash from the log is scattered in gardens and agricultural fields to promote fertility on the New Year's Eve.

Buddha's Hand, an unusual citrus fruit

Photo 1: Buddha's Hand, closed hand-shaped green fruit on semi-dwarf plant

Photo 2: Buddha's Hand, ripe closed hand shaped fruit

Buddha's Hand is a bizarre citron. Its scientific name is Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, and is a member of the Citrus genus to which lemons, oranges, grapefruit and limes belong.

It’s called Buddha's Hand because of the shape of the fruits that resembles a human hand with fingerlike projections. The origin of this citrus plant, also known as Fingered Citron, is traced to northeast India and China.

The Fingered Citron is an evergreen, large, fast-growing shrub that can grow to a small tree of 3m to 5m height. It has long thorny branches and oblong leaves. Its white flowers have a purple tint and appear in fragrant clusters.

The plant loves temperate climate, and is sensitive to extreme climatic conditions like excessive heat and frost. It can be reproduced from branch cuttings.

Unlike other citrus fruits, Buddha's Hand fruit, looking like a lemon with fingerlike projections, has a sweet aroma. It contains only a very small amount of pulp and negligible juice, and is seedless.

Admired for its unique shape and aroma, the fruit can be eaten raw. It is mainly used in various recipes for its unique flavor, lemony zest and zing, and also to flavor alcoholic beverages. It can be sliced into strips, or chopped and added as special ingredients in sweet breads, cakes, cookies and ice creams.

In traditional medicine, the sliced, dried peel of immature fruits is recommended as a tonic. The fruit is known to help relieve pain and discomfort due to injuries, swellings and bruises and to relieve discomforts related to respiratory diseases, diarrhea, constipation, high blood pressure, heart problems, menstrual issues, etc. (This is no medical advice, consult a doctor).

The fruit is important as a religious offering at Buddhist temples. Buddha prefers fruits with closed fingers, resembling folded hands symbolizing the act of prayer. Some fruits of this plant naturally resemble Buddha's hand symbol and are specially revered. The fruit is a symbol of good fortune, longevity and happiness in China where it is also a traditional offering in temples and given as a New Year gift.

The Fingered Citron is very fragrant and is used in Japan, Korea and China as a perfume for rooms and clothing. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and in pots placed on porticos and terraces.

Two Devadasis from Chennai in India, 1920s

PD Photo: photograph of two Devadasis from Chennai in India, taken in 1920s

Devadasi, a word in many Indian languages, means ‘a woman who serves god’, and is a practitioner or follower of the Devadasi tradition, a Hindu religious tradition in which girls are married of to and dedicated to a deity - Deva (god) or Devi (goddess), or they are simply married of to a temple. These women learned and practiced Bharatanatyam, Odissi and other forms of classical Indian dances, and they enjoyed high social status. However, the Devadasi Tradition and practices were made illegal in all states/ regions of India in 1988.

However, Devadasis still exist in India, as shown in a 2004 report by the National Human Rights Commission of the Government of India that read, "After initiation as Devadasis, women migrate either to nearby towns or other far-off cities to practice prostitution". A study from 1990 recorded that 45.9% of Devadasis in a particular district were prostitutes, while most of the others relied on manual labour and agriculture for their income. The practice of dedicating Devadasis was declared illegal by the Government Karnataka in 1982 and by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1988. However, as of 2006 the practice was found to be still prevalent in at least 10 districts of northern Karnataka and 14 districts in Andhra Pradesh.

Devadasis are known by various other names, such as Jogini, and the Devadasi practice of religious prostitution is known as Basivi in Karnataka and Mathangi in Maharashtra. The tradition is also known as Venkatasani, Nailis, Muralis and Theradiyan.

Kazakhstan's equestrian tradition

PD Photo: Kazakh horseback riders in traditional dress demonstrate a kissing game, Kyz kuu (Chase the Girl), one of a number of traditional games played on horseback, taken on 13 September 2000 by SSGT Jeremy T. Lock, USAF. In the photo, the Kazakh woman is ‘winning’ by whipping the man.

As part of the Gala concert of CentrAsBat 00, Kazakh horse-riding performers demonstrate Kazakhstan's cultural tradition of the equestrian game called Kyz kuu (also known as Kyz kuumai, known outside Central Asia as ‘Girl Chasing’, ‘Catch the Girl’, ‘Chase the Girl’, or ‘Kissing Game’), a traditional sport among the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. CentrAsBat was formed on 15 December 1995 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, under the aegis of the UN and NATO's Partnership for Peace program/ US Central Command (US CENTCOM).

In the game a man on horseback waits at a given point. When a young riding woman starts her horse galloping from a given distance behind him and passes him, he may start his horse galloping. They race towards a finish line ahead. If the man is able to catch up to the woman before the finish line, he is then rewarded with a kiss, which is a victory for him. If the man cannot catch up with her before the finish line, the woman rider turns around and chases the man back to the finish line. If she reaches the man, she may use her whip to beat him, which signifies a victory for her.

PD Photo: Kazakh bride in traditional Kazakh wedding dress on horseback (1911-1914), photo by Russian photographer Sergei Ivanovich Borisov (1860-1935). In the background, there is a yurt, a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure, a home, traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.