Winter Carnivals

I have a few blog carnivals to update here, but I also discovered several Winter Carnivals around the world that look fabulously winterish and I wish I could attend them all!

There’s the oldest running winter carnival in the Eastern United States, in its 111th year, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. Head on over to the Adirondacks and enjoy a festival of winter sports, drama, music, dance, and fireworks. I had to mention the Adironondacks, because while attending a New Year’s party, I met a wonderful New Yorker from that area.

And there’s definitely a feeling of winter in the air at the Carnival of Family Life. You can enjoy a virtual visit to this carnival of wintery blog entries.

St. Paul, Minnesota, is famous for its Winter Carnival, the oldest and largest winter festival in the United States. Unbelievable ice sculptures, fun parades, cultural celebrations, and even an elaborate treasure hunt. Back in 1885, a New York reporter wrote that winter in St. Paul was “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” St. Paul set out to prove him wrong, and the result was the first St. Paul Winter Carnival, full of life and activity.

After a visit to St. Paul, you can head to the next carnival, The Carnival of Homeschooling, with many New Year and winter themes as well! It’s the second anniversary of this carnival, and the hosts are wanting a new look. If you can come up with a new graphic to represent the Homeschool Carnival, be sure to enter it in the contest at Why Homeschool.

Any list of Winter Festivals would be incomplete without the Sapporo Snow Festival. This world famous festival in Hokkaido, Japan, attracts about two million people annually, in the first week of February.

I have a cousin who lives in Sapporo, and he used to tell me about having snow up to his rooftop. All that snow gets turned into hundreds of gorgeous snow sculptures, lit up at night in brilliant light. It’s a wintery fantasy land.

Are you feeling cold yet? Keep those gloves on, there’s a long winter ahead! It’s not so chilly over at the Christian Carnival, so stop in there and warm your soul.

I’d also like to tell you that Diary of 1 will be hosting two different carnivals in January, 2008. The Christian Carnival will be right here on January 16, and the Carnival of Family Life will be presented here on January 21. Prepare those entries, I’m ready for some more fabulous winter carnivals! The week preceding each carnival, you are invited to submit your entry here for the Christian Carnival, and here for the Carnival of Family Life.