|
10 |
11 |
12
 Masá'il
(Questions) is the 15th month. |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16
 Hanukkah,
the Festival of Lights (and the Feast of Dedication),
begins. It commemorates the victory of Judah
the Maccabee and religious freedom, and the rededication
of the Temple in 165 BCE. It also celebrates the power
of God and the faithfulness of Israel. Hanukkah begins
at sundown the previous day. Suspension of work is not
required. |
|
17 |
18
International Migrants' Day (UN) |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22
December Solstice 00:22 UT
Tohji-taisai, the Grand Ceremony of the December
Solstice, celebrates the joy of the ending of the yin
period of the sun, when it declines in strength, and the
beginning of its growing power or yang period. The sun
is of central importance in Japan, expressing the
presence of Amaterasu Omikami, the Kami of the Sun.
Yule, which marks the New Year in the Anglo-Saxon and
northern traditions of Wicca, is the celebration of the
birth of the God as the Winter-born King, symbolized by
the rebirth of the life-generating and life-sustaining
sun. It is a time for ritually shedding the dross of the
past year, and for contemplating avenues of spiritual
development in the year ahead.
|
23
Hanukkah
ends
|
|
24 |
25
Christmas celebrates the anniversary of
the birth of Jesus. Christmas is given more importance
in Western Christianity than in Eastern.
|
26
The anniversary of the death of Zarathustra (Zoroaster),
the founder of the Zoroastrian faith. His dates are
uncertain: the Greeks dated him at ca. 6000 BCE. Western
scholars now suggest he lived in either the second or
the first millennium BC. Some of his hymns, known as
Gathas, are preserved in the Zoroastrian scriptures.
Kwanzaa is celebrated by many North Americans of West
African descent in recognition of their African
heritage. The candles of a seven-branched candelabrum
representing attributes such as unity,
self-determination, responsibility, cooperative
economics, purpose, creativity, and faith are
successively lit over the seven days of the festival. |
27 |
28 |
29
Day of Hajj/Day at 'Arafat commemorates the concluding
revelation to the Prophet at Mount 'Arafat shortly
before his death. Muslims on Hajj attend a service on
the plains in front of Mount 'Ararat. |
30
Eid al-Adhá (the Festival of
Sacrifice) is the concluding act of pilgrimage and is
observed even when not on pilgrimage. As Abraham offered
his son, Ishmael, to God, Muslims offer sheep, goats,
and camels. They distribute the meat to the poor. |
