November 16, 2010
February 16, 2010
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, another date many do not think of as religious. But, once again, it is.
The name Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday." This is the day before Ash Wednesday, when it was traditional to eat a large meal of rich and fatty foods before the ritual fasting of Lent. This morphed over the years into a celebration of unrestrained release. Masks and costumes were worn to hide the identity of those celebrating, allowing celebrants to let loose the day before Lent, doing things they never would in their normal life.
My Mardi Gras was spent with friends, wearing beads and having a good time. I finished off the ice cream in my freezer, and meant to go buy another pint to have before tomorrow but ran out of time. We had a lot of fun, interesting conversations, and a bit of American Mardi Gras crazy tossed in. Traditional, in both the religious and not-so-religious way.
The name Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday." This is the day before Ash Wednesday, when it was traditional to eat a large meal of rich and fatty foods before the ritual fasting of Lent. This morphed over the years into a celebration of unrestrained release. Masks and costumes were worn to hide the identity of those celebrating, allowing celebrants to let loose the day before Lent, doing things they never would in their normal life.
My Mardi Gras was spent with friends, wearing beads and having a good time. I finished off the ice cream in my freezer, and meant to go buy another pint to have before tomorrow but ran out of time. We had a lot of fun, interesting conversations, and a bit of American Mardi Gras crazy tossed in. Traditional, in both the religious and not-so-religious way.
February 15, 2010
Nirvana Day
So, very little information on this one. So little, in fact, that I will just post what the Wikipedia entry says.
So, pretty interesting stuff. I love how this is the day Buddha died, but it is not focused on the death as much as the joy of his escape from mortal flesh. A very positive view of death.
So, no real celebration in the manner I am seeking. No special practices or dietary restrictions or anything. Still, a cool holiday that I made sure to tell people about throughout the day.
Parinirvana Day, or Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia. By some it is celebrated on 8th of February, but by most on 15th of February. It celebrates the day when the Buddha is said to have achieved Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body.[1] Buddhists celebrate the death of the Buddha because they believe that since he was Enlightened, he was free from the pain of physical existence.
Passages from the Nirvana Sutra describing the Buddha's last days of life are often read on Parinirvana Day. Other observances include meditation and visits to Buddhist temples and monasteries. Also, the day is a time to think about one's own future death and on the deaths of loved ones. This thought process reflects the Buddhist teachings on transience.
Some Western Buddhist groups also celebrate Parinirvana Day.
So, pretty interesting stuff. I love how this is the day Buddha died, but it is not focused on the death as much as the joy of his escape from mortal flesh. A very positive view of death.
So, no real celebration in the manner I am seeking. No special practices or dietary restrictions or anything. Still, a cool holiday that I made sure to tell people about throughout the day.
February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day
Interestingly enough, this is indeed a religious holiday. I know how shocking this must be to many of you. I know many of my Christian colleagues were unaware.
Originally, the holiday was created by the church in the year 496 AD. It was meant to be a celebration of love and affection between intimate companions. It was named after two saints, both named Valentine. Over the years, confusion among the general population confused the stories of the two saints enough where it was difficult to tell the differences between the men. In 1969, the celebration was officially removed from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints.
It is interesting to look into the saints that the holiday was named after. Neither was originally concerned with love or affection, as much as stories of sacrifice. It is not until Chaucer mentions Valentine's Day in the poem "Parlement of Foules." Before Chaucer, the holiday was a feast honoring the tow similarly named saints. After, it was connected to love and affection.
I, for my own celebration, did nothing. I have a habit of being single on Valentine's Day, so generally just do my normal thing. I worked, received some cards, and ate candy. Not that I wouldn't love to have someone special to share the day with, but you live with what you have.
Originally, the holiday was created by the church in the year 496 AD. It was meant to be a celebration of love and affection between intimate companions. It was named after two saints, both named Valentine. Over the years, confusion among the general population confused the stories of the two saints enough where it was difficult to tell the differences between the men. In 1969, the celebration was officially removed from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints.
It is interesting to look into the saints that the holiday was named after. Neither was originally concerned with love or affection, as much as stories of sacrifice. It is not until Chaucer mentions Valentine's Day in the poem "Parlement of Foules." Before Chaucer, the holiday was a feast honoring the tow similarly named saints. After, it was connected to love and affection.
I, for my own celebration, did nothing. I have a habit of being single on Valentine's Day, so generally just do my normal thing. I worked, received some cards, and ate candy. Not that I wouldn't love to have someone special to share the day with, but you live with what you have.
February 12, 2010
Mahashivratri
The Great Night of Shiva, a festival of fasting and worship of the Lord Shiva from Hindu faith. I found a couple of stories as to why this day is the one in which Lord Shiva is worshiped. They vary from it being his favorite day to it being the day he saved the world from destruction at the request of his wife (Parvati). There is also a story I found about Lord Shiva drinking up a great poison that was created during an event known as the "churning of the ocean." This poison was so strong that it turned his throat blue from the heat of it. A snake was found and wrapped around his neck, cooling his throat off. I did not see how this connected with the celebration, but it was a pretty cool story so I thought I would mention it anyway.
The proper celebration of this is to offer Bael leaves to Lord Shiva, as well as an all day fast and an all night vigil. There is also mention of Ganja being used in spme places.
I, having no access to a lingam (let alone ganja or bael leaves) had to make do with merely mentioning the day to those I spoke with and offering Lord Shiva my devotion for the day.
A quick note here. I have not been able to properly celebrate any of the Hindu holidays very well at all. Due to a combination of lack of proper materials and lack of information on the proper activities. I would dearly like any feedback on how to remedy this situation. I feel bad not having the ability to properly celebrate any of these, and would like to fix this before the year is out.
The proper celebration of this is to offer Bael leaves to Lord Shiva, as well as an all day fast and an all night vigil. There is also mention of Ganja being used in spme places.
I, having no access to a lingam (let alone ganja or bael leaves) had to make do with merely mentioning the day to those I spoke with and offering Lord Shiva my devotion for the day.
A quick note here. I have not been able to properly celebrate any of the Hindu holidays very well at all. Due to a combination of lack of proper materials and lack of information on the proper activities. I would dearly like any feedback on how to remedy this situation. I feel bad not having the ability to properly celebrate any of these, and would like to fix this before the year is out.
February 2, 2010
Candlemas/Imbolc
Sweet, 2-for-1. Let's see what what we have here...
Candlemas
Candlemas is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. This is the day when Mary went to the Temple in Jerusalem to purify herself 40 days after giving birth. According to Jewish tradition, a woman who gave birth to a male child was considered unclean for 7 days. She was also supposed to spend three and thirty days "in the blood of her purification." After those 40 days, the woman needed to make a trip to the temple to receive ritual purification.
Upon presenting Jesus at the temple, they encountered Simeon the Righteous, who had been told by God that he would not die until seeing the Messiah. Simeon then prayed the prayer later known as the Canticle of Simeon, which told of Jesus' redemption of mankind.
The name Candlemas comes from the Western tradition of priests blessing beeswax candles and passing them out to parishioners for use in the home. This is also the day that Christan greenery was to be taken down, because failing to do so would result in death. It is also considered a bad omen to hear a bell toll on this date, signifying the death of a friend or relative. It is also believed that good weather on this date will mean a difficult resulting winter, and vice versa.
Imbolc
Imbolc is tied in with the end of winter and beginning of spring. It is a festival of light, fire, and purification. It is associated with teh goddess Brigid (Celtic goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft). This is also the day that people would watch for serpents and badgers to come out of their burrows to see what the weather for the following months would be like.
Traditionally, a cornhusk doll representing Brigid would be made by the unmarried women of the household prior to the holiday and given its own bed to sleep in. On January 31st (St. Brigid's Eve) the women would stay up all night tending to the doll. The following day the young men of the village would come to the houses and ask permission to enter. They would have to treat the women and dolls with respect while at the house.
Brigid is said to walk the earth this night, so it is customary to leave a piece of cloth outside to be blessed. The head of the household will smother the fire and smooth the ashes. The following morning, the ashes are checked for signs of being disturbed (showing Brigid was there). All cloth left out the night before is now considered blessed to have powers of haling and protection.
My Celebration
So, not much in the way of celebrations for this. A feast for the Christians and blessings for the pagans. No feasting, though I did actually buy myself something to eat while I was out and about today. No clothes left out for blessing, and no fire to spread the ashes from. I could have left something out to be blessed, but don't know how safe it would be to do that without fear of someone stealing my blessed cloth. Sad that I have to be this untrusting.
I do find it interesting that the two religious holidays falling on this date are very closely related, and directly led to the Groundhog Day celebrations we all know and love.
Candlemas
Candlemas is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. This is the day when Mary went to the Temple in Jerusalem to purify herself 40 days after giving birth. According to Jewish tradition, a woman who gave birth to a male child was considered unclean for 7 days. She was also supposed to spend three and thirty days "in the blood of her purification." After those 40 days, the woman needed to make a trip to the temple to receive ritual purification.
Upon presenting Jesus at the temple, they encountered Simeon the Righteous, who had been told by God that he would not die until seeing the Messiah. Simeon then prayed the prayer later known as the Canticle of Simeon, which told of Jesus' redemption of mankind.
The name Candlemas comes from the Western tradition of priests blessing beeswax candles and passing them out to parishioners for use in the home. This is also the day that Christan greenery was to be taken down, because failing to do so would result in death. It is also considered a bad omen to hear a bell toll on this date, signifying the death of a friend or relative. It is also believed that good weather on this date will mean a difficult resulting winter, and vice versa.
Imbolc
Imbolc is tied in with the end of winter and beginning of spring. It is a festival of light, fire, and purification. It is associated with teh goddess Brigid (Celtic goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft). This is also the day that people would watch for serpents and badgers to come out of their burrows to see what the weather for the following months would be like.
Traditionally, a cornhusk doll representing Brigid would be made by the unmarried women of the household prior to the holiday and given its own bed to sleep in. On January 31st (St. Brigid's Eve) the women would stay up all night tending to the doll. The following day the young men of the village would come to the houses and ask permission to enter. They would have to treat the women and dolls with respect while at the house.
Brigid is said to walk the earth this night, so it is customary to leave a piece of cloth outside to be blessed. The head of the household will smother the fire and smooth the ashes. The following morning, the ashes are checked for signs of being disturbed (showing Brigid was there). All cloth left out the night before is now considered blessed to have powers of haling and protection.
My Celebration
So, not much in the way of celebrations for this. A feast for the Christians and blessings for the pagans. No feasting, though I did actually buy myself something to eat while I was out and about today. No clothes left out for blessing, and no fire to spread the ashes from. I could have left something out to be blessed, but don't know how safe it would be to do that without fear of someone stealing my blessed cloth. Sad that I have to be this untrusting.
I do find it interesting that the two religious holidays falling on this date are very closely related, and directly led to the Groundhog Day celebrations we all know and love.
January 30, 2010
Tu B'shvat
Happy New Year!
Sort of...
Today is the Jewish New Year of the Trees. It coincides with the flowering of the almond trees in Israel.
The name is derived from the Hebrew date the holiday falls on. It is the 15th day of the month Shvat. The Tu part of the name is for the 15, which is represented by the numbers tet vav (9 and 6), since it is against Jewish tradition and rabbinic laws to use the letter numerals for 10 and 5 together. This rule is because these (yud for 10 and hey for 5) together from the abbreviation for the name of God, which is strictly forbidden. Instead, 9 and 6 are used to represent 15.
The customs for this date are to plant trees and eat dried fruit and nuts (especially figs, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds). In the Kabbalistic tradition, the order in which you eat the fruits and nuts is important. Eating them in the proper order is said to create a connection with the Tree of Life, and thereby closer to God. With each serving of fruit or nuts, you are supposed to drink white and red wines or grape juices, progressing from white to red with a drop of white in it.
The proper order is:
So, the first holiday that I could in some way celebrate without much difficulty. I went to this site and ordered some supplies. Most of them were for later holidays, and will not be talked about until later in the year. One thing I got, however, was a fruit and nut tin. It was designated kosher, so that was good, and had some hazelnuts and a variety of fruit in it. I took this to my job and shared with coworkers, while explaining what the celebration was. I was not fortunate enough to get the right mix to eat the Kabbalistic seder, but that's a possibility for next year if I plan ahead better.
Also, I avoided eating pork, despite the fact that work was offering some really tasty looking pork chops. It seemed fitting.
Sort of...
Today is the Jewish New Year of the Trees. It coincides with the flowering of the almond trees in Israel.
The name is derived from the Hebrew date the holiday falls on. It is the 15th day of the month Shvat. The Tu part of the name is for the 15, which is represented by the numbers tet vav (9 and 6), since it is against Jewish tradition and rabbinic laws to use the letter numerals for 10 and 5 together. This rule is because these (yud for 10 and hey for 5) together from the abbreviation for the name of God, which is strictly forbidden. Instead, 9 and 6 are used to represent 15.
The customs for this date are to plant trees and eat dried fruit and nuts (especially figs, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds). In the Kabbalistic tradition, the order in which you eat the fruits and nuts is important. Eating them in the proper order is said to create a connection with the Tree of Life, and thereby closer to God. With each serving of fruit or nuts, you are supposed to drink white and red wines or grape juices, progressing from white to red with a drop of white in it.
The proper order is:
- Fruits and nuts with hard, inedible exteriors and soft edible insides, such as oranges, bananas, walnuts, and pistachios.
- Fruits and nuts with soft exteriors, but with a hard pit inside, such as dates, apricots, olives and persimmons.
- Fruit that is eaten whole, such as figs and berries.
So, the first holiday that I could in some way celebrate without much difficulty. I went to this site and ordered some supplies. Most of them were for later holidays, and will not be talked about until later in the year. One thing I got, however, was a fruit and nut tin. It was designated kosher, so that was good, and had some hazelnuts and a variety of fruit in it. I took this to my job and shared with coworkers, while explaining what the celebration was. I was not fortunate enough to get the right mix to eat the Kabbalistic seder, but that's a possibility for next year if I plan ahead better.
Also, I avoided eating pork, despite the fact that work was offering some really tasty looking pork chops. It seemed fitting.
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