Hip Belgians ... Funking for Jamaica ... Trendy chairs ... Straw bears
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Belgium
New Year, new look? Revamp your wardrobe at the January sales in Antwerp, Europe's fashion capital. Lovers of Dries van Noten, Dirk Bikkemberg and Anne Demeulemeester will be able to find their "deconstructed" creations at the following shops: Lieve Van Gorp (Hopland 1); Louis (Lombardenvest 2); Walter (St Antoniusstraat 12); and Coccodrillo (Schuttershofstraat 9).
6 January
Spain
Epiphany is the day on which Spanish children receive their Christmas presents. The Dia de Reyes (Day of the Kings) is celebrated in Canada, in the province of Alicante, with the procession of the Three Wise Men, who make their way into town through the surrounding fields. A 17th-century religious play, known as the Play of the Three Magi, is also performed.
6 January
Jamaica
Away from the crowded beaches and high in the Cockpit mountains, you can see a piece of Jamaican history at the Accompong Maroon Festival. This annual celebration commemorates the 1738-39 Peace Treaty between the Maroon population and the British government. Since then, the Maroons have been granted a special status within Jamaica and have their own chief and government. During the day there will be traditional dancing, singing and feasting on pork and rooster. A reggae sound-system will help keep things swinging through the night.
6-7 January
Ethiopia
In 1582, when the Christian world adopted the revised Gregorian calendar, Ethiopia stayed with the Julian calendar. So, if you can't bear the thought of Christmas being over for another year, head for Addis Ababa. "Genna", the Ethiopian Christmas, starts on Wednesday night and goes on all day Thursday. Priests lead the procession with prayers in Ge'ez, the ancient liturgical language, and play drums and rattles, while twirling multi-coloured parasols.
Until 15 March
Denmark
"Arne Jacobsen's Classic Functionalism & Lifestyle of the 90s", at Kunstforeningen Gammel Strand, Copenhagen, celebrates the work of one of the most famous Danish furniture and interior designers. Arne Jacobsen rose to fame for his unconventional approach to chair design, and in the 1950s he created the "Seven Series seat", a natty plywood number which became a worldwide best seller. The exhibition also focuses on fellow Danish designer and architect, Verner Panton, and French designer and style-guru, Philippe Starck.
8-10 January
UK
The Straw Bear procession is a pre-Christian custom revived annually in Whittlesey, Peterborough. The Straw Bear, which looks more like a giant corn-dollie than a bear, parades along the streets on Friday followed by 20 morris-dancing teams. There will be stalls, folk dances and evening barn dances on Saturday. On Sunday, in true pagan fashion, the bear is burnt.
10 January
Philippines
The Feast of the Black Nazarene is the Philippines' largest religious procession, in which a life-sized blackwood statue of Christ is carried through the streets of Manila's Quiapo district. The Black Nazarene was transported by ship from Mexico to Manila in the 17th century, and today thousands of Catholics jostle for the privilege of carrying, or just touching, the coroza (the carriage) of the more than 200-year-old statue.
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