Although some religious festivals occur each year on a set date, many religious festivals occur at different times each year. This is because most religious holidays or festivals are based on a valentines day gifts for him 2011 date, the phases of the moon, the timing of the equinoxes and solstices or a combination of the two.
Muslim festivals usually begin at sundown on the previous day. The dates for the full moon are for nothern hemisphere countries. According to the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar, this day marks the birth of the tenth and final Sikh prophet-teacher. Guru Gobind Singh introduced many of the customs that Sikhs practise today including the 5 K’s. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, was born Gobind Rai in Patna, Bihar on 22 December 1666 CE. The twelfth day of Christmas, celebrates the visit of the wise men, or magi, to the baby Jesus. Many Eastern Orthodox and Armenian churches still use the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar.
This means that they celebrate Christmas and other fixed festivals thirteen days after the Western churches, so the 7th January in the Orthodox calendar equates 25th December in the Western calendar. Hilary’s is the coldest day of the year. Hilary was a fourth century Bishop of Poitiers. It also means one meets another. It is celebrated in mid-winter and marks the transition of the sun from the Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. People take dips in rivers and worship the Sun God especially in the holy Ganges river.
The dip is said to purify the self and bestow “punya”. Special puja is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest. Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festival of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the reaping of crops and a special thanksgiving to God, the sun, the earth and the cattle. Pongal festival lasts for four days. Annually the third Sunday in January.
The aim of World Religion Day is to foster the establishment of interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasizing the common denominators underlying all religions. Year 4710 – Year of the Dragon. The most important event in the traditional Chinese calendar marking the beginning of the first lunar month. Gold is a dominant colour to symbolise the wish for prosperity, and red is also much used as a lucky colour. Business accounts should be settled and all debts should be paid before the new year begins. Celebrations can last three days or more. St Dwynwen’s day is celebrated in Wales on 25 January and commemorates the patron saint of friendship and love.
This day marks the birth of the seventh Sikh prophet-teacher. Festival celebrating growing power of light. Lighting fires was important for this festival as it was also the holy day of Brigid, the Goddess of fire, healing and fertility. For the Christian calendar, this holiday was reformed and renamed ‘Candlemas’ when candles are lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary. Candlemas marks the day when Jesus was presented in the Temple. Candles for use in churches are usually blessed on this day. This last day of winter is a time to drive out evil spirits with a bean throwing ceremony.
Handfuls of beans are thrown into dark corners, with shouts of “Fortune In, Devils Out”. Commemorates the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in about 570 C. It also marks the end of the celebration of Chinese New Year. Lanterns of all colours but white – the colour of mourning – are hung up.
Mahayana Buddhist festival marking the final passing away from this world of Gautama Buddha at Kushinagara, India, at the age of 80. Tu B’Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. People plant trees in memory of a loved one or friend and eat fruit, particularly those that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Note that in the Jewish calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day. Magha Puja is the second most important Buddhist festival.
The main festival to worship Shiva, one of the most important forms of God. Many Hindus will fast and prayers are focused on Shiva and his shrines and statues. Each new moon is dedicated to Shiva, but Maha Shivratri is especially important because it is the night when he danced the ‘Tandav’, his cosmic dance. Commonly known as Pancake Day, this is the day before the start of Lent. Christians traditionally ‘use up’ rich foods in preparation for fasting during Lent.
