One of my friends here has left Peru behind and moved to Chile. Temporary is the way of things for the expatriots here.
So he’s on to Santiago to start a new phase of his life and looking for ways to pass the time before his new job starts.
Just his luck, he happened to arrive on a day Santiago was celebrating dogs. In fact, he messaged me excitedly to say the governor of Santiago Province promised six new dog parks in the next year. Santiago is also making a big effort to invest in rescues to deal with the stray dog problem – but this isn’t the purpose of this week’s post.
I don’t have much information on the dog holiday in Chile. There are a lot of celebrations all over South America for things we don’t think about in the States, and there’s not a lot of information available. But I was able to find out more on other holidays for dogs around the world. There aren’t as many options for cats, but I have found a couple of lists with different options for those who want to celebrate on their own (and frequently you’ll find a place for most of these holidays at HPNW).
One of these holidays I’ve lived through, and probably have mentioned on this blog before. This was the Hindu festival of Dashain that I got to see when I lived in Nepal – it’s a long festival of several parts, one of which includes days celebrating various animals. Of course, cows are on the list, being sacred to Hinduism. Crows have a day as well. As do dogs.
On this day, dogs are given wreaths of flowers to wear around their necks, and are marked with tikka, a red paste used on the skin for many religious and celebratory purposes. I was excited about this holiday when I first heard of it, before I even dreamed of going to Nepal, but I’ve felt a little uncomfortable with it since seeing how dogs are treated there in daily life. It’s not that I have a problem with the religion or the holiday – more that there’s only one day a year where dogs in homes and streets are treated exceptionally well, while during the rest of the year, it’s common to see dogs subject to forms of abuse. (Side note: I’d love to see a holiday like this being used to spread education on how animals can be treated, and could imagine this in the United States. Imagine if we had a day celebrating cows and pigs, and used it as a chance to change the industrial food industry.)
Another holiday I’ve become interested in is The Feast of St. Roch, apparently celebrated in Bolivia. St. Roch is the patron saint of dogs, and in South America, religious countries take their saints’ days seriously. Here in Peru, it’s not uncommon to have a couple of days off every month or so – usually by surprise to the unsuspecting atheist – for a religious celebration. For the Feast of St. Roch, dogs are dressed in colorful ribbons. It’s coming up in a couple of weeks – on August 16 – and I’ll be looking to see if any of the dog-related celebrations take place in Peru.
Also coming up in August is International Dog Day, which has on its website this list of ways to celebrate. Many of these you can do year round, or alter to honor cats or any other animal.
But my favorite holiday I read about was, in fact, made up by a child who wanted to prioritize kindness to animals. It’s called Wolfenoot, takes place on November 23, and people are supposed to eat roast meat and a cake designed to look like the full moon. The story behind Wolfenoot is adorable; read about it in this article here. Definitely one I’ll want to take part in.
Overall, though, my understanding is there could be way more holidays for animals that we choose to actually do something with, whether it be by hosting a party, volunteering, or simply remembering to treat our animal friends a little nicer.
Finally, here’s a comprehensive list of holidays you can search through to find one that suits you!
Which holidays do you celebrate with your pet?