Agra, once the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16th and early 18th centuries, is one and a half hours by express train from New Delhi. Tourists from all over the world visit Agra not to see the ruins of the red sandstone fortress built by the Mughal emperors but to make a pilgrimage to Taj Mahal, India’s most famous architectural wonder, in a land where magnificent temples and edificies abound to remind visitors about the rich civilization of a country that is slowly but surely lifting itself into an industrialized society.

The postcard picture of Taj Mahal does not adequately convey the legend, the poetry and the romance that shroud what Rabindranath Tagore calls “a teardrop on the cheek of time”. Taj Mahal means “Crown Palace” and is in fact the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It is best described by the English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, as “Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.” It is a celebration of woman built in marble and that’s the way to appreciate it.

Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child. The death so crushed the emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have grown snow white in a few months.

When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted four promises from the emperor: first, that he build the Taj; second, that he should marry again; third, that he be kind to their children; and fourth, that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. It was designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa and it is best appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to the passion that inspired it. It is a “symbol of eternal love”.

Traveling to Russia is rather an extraordinary way of spending your vacation or holidays but you will be definitely praised for that. You see, there is still a prototype in our society that Russia is a still a communist-style country where everything is forbidden and there is nothing civilized as well as it is a common thing to meet a bear walking along along the Red Square. Actually, these are jokes but many people think that there have been absolutely no changes since 1991.

Fortunately, there are many organizations in the US, like Russian National Group that are working on increasing the reputation of Russia abroad and also assisting in getting Russia visa at the embassy. Such agencies offer nice variants of travelling to the country with the deep feeling of Imperial heritage and open-hearted mentality.

When its time to making you family vacation travel plan, always keep in mind all the family members including teenagers and young children. A lot of family vacations are planned for educational purposes, while others make it an all out pure entertainment getaway. Whatever your reason may be, make sure to include activities that will make the trip more entertaining for everyone.

Always keep in mind that young adults normally prefer to do there own thing when traveling or visiting a foreign country. When you have teens who like to experiment with a camera, be sure your family vacation travel plan includes a destination full of beautiful scenery and breathtaking views. Just remember, when the kids are happy, your family vacation will be more enjoyable.

If you want your vacation to be a highly educational experience for your kids, then a trip to a foreign land such as France or Germany should be included in your family vacation travel plan. Here they’ll learn the culture, language, and a way of life which they were never aware of. When your children get the opportunity to communicate with people from a different ethnicity other than their own, it will greatly boost their confidence level. A trip to the Panama Canal can also be a wonderful learning experience for your children and adults alike. During these educational family vacations your children can decide on future fields of study as well as revive their energy level producing a better performance in school studies and extra curricular activities.

Candles and religion have gone hand in hand for centuries. Even after the invention of light bulb, churches around the world still light candles for the services. Candles have for centuries been used to mark special occasions and Advent is no different.

In fact, Advent is so connected with candles that the Advent wreath has 4 candles and some have a fifth candle in the center. Each candle has a special meaning and each one needs to be lit on a certain day.

Advent is known as the season when the King is coming. For this reason, purple has been the traditional color that is used for the Advent wreath since purple is considered the color of royalty. On an interesting note, purple was chosen as a royal color simply because the dye was one of the most expensive dies available.

But back to the Advent wreath, which has 3 purple candles and one rose colored candle. Each candle represents a countdown to the coming of the King and it also has a symbolic meaning. The first purple candle means Hope. The second purple candle means Love. The third candle that you light is the rose colored candle and it means Joy. And finally, the fourth candle and third purple one means peace. The candle that rests in the center of the Advent wreath should be white and it represents Christmas Day. The fifth candle is completely optional.

When you use your Advent wreath, you will light a purple candle on the first Sunday of Advent, the second Sunday of Advent you will light two purple candles; the one you already lit the week before and the second one. The third Sunday of Advent, you will light the two previous candles as well as the rose candle, and on the fourth Sunday, you will light all the candles except the white one. The candle in the center represents Christmas so you don’t light it until Christmas Day.