My new Twitter handle is now live - check me out at @jackiewgibson!
CNN has posted a history of bias against Sikhs - more reason for people to learn about religions before they attack anyone:...
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/A0ltLLIm
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/l3KrAJZf
Hackers group Anonymous takes down Vatican website: http://t.co/B6lbGAVp
WGN-TV calls doomsday prophecies "an illusion": http://t.co/mv8Gzyw7
RT @graceishuman: Really,? Asking people JUST LEAVING the service how they felt about it? Tacky, tacky, inappropriate
Whitney Houston's funeral service really took the world to church. Love Pastor Winans' honesty, very moving.
#teacher ? Here are appropriate responses to situations with your Jehovah's Witness student: http://t.co/A6UfqcgH
#Teachers: Want to know why your Jehovah's Witness student won't say the pledge and how to respond? http://t.co/EIdlgDwW
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Holiday Information
Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights, which began yesterday. Lasting 8 days, the holiday celebrates light conquering darkness (in particular, it celebrates the day the Jews conquered the Greeks and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks who had desecrated it).
Though the holiday doesn’t typically receive as much participation and significance as Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, many Jews still practice lighting the menorah and other holiday traditions. The menorah is a candle-holder with 9 candles in it (one for each night of Hanukkah plus a “servant” candle). Tonight, 2 candles will be lit, as today marks day 2 of Hanukkah.
In New York City, locals kicked off Hanukkah with the lighting of a giant menorah (12-feet high). The ceremony was dedicated to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, formerly of Brooklyn, and his wife Rivka who were killed in Mumbai during the terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahaj Palace in Mumbai, India, on November 28.
(As an aside, the rabbi and his wife are survived by two small boys, one of whom was at their side when they were killed. To learn more about them or to help them this holiday season, visit the Holtzberg relief fund Web site.)
Happy Hanukkah!
Copyright 2009 Religion Transcends.
Light and darkness. Saints and witches. Goodies and goblins.
It’s safe to say this time of year is full of both the honorable and the horrifying. As Chalicecentre.net puts it, “Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from October 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.”
As we round out the month of October, perhaps you’re finishing up a Diwali celebration, visiting family members’ graves for Day of the Dead, or dressing up for Halloween. There’s a lot going on! Yet more conflicting holidays are on the way.
All Saints’ Day
When is it celebrated? Christians will celebrate this holiday on November 1. A holy day of obligation, Catholics are required to attend Mass tomorrow.
Who is being celebrated? All Christian saints and martyrs. Some saints are celebrated on specific days throughout the year. But on this day, saints and martyrs are celebrated collectively.
What are saints? Saints are deceased individuals who are honored for the good lives they led and the miracles associated with them. Catholics may ask the saints to pray with them or for them, as they are closer to God and may pray for those in need.
Want a history of the celebration? Visit Newadvent.org.
All Souls’ Day
When is it celebrated? Christians will celebrate this holiday on November 2.
Who is being honored? All the dead. Christians may pray for them, visit their graves, or simply reflect on the lives and deaths of loved ones. Often they pray for the souls of loved ones who may be in Purgatory.
What is Purgatory? Catholics believe Purgatory is the place where souls go if they are not being damned to Hell for grave sins but are not yet ready for Heaven because they have not yet paid for minor sins. In Purgatory, souls must be cleansed of sins in order to eventually move to Heaven. When loved ones pray for or hold Mass in honor of those souls, it is believed it helps them move to Heaven.
Want a history of the celebration? Visit Newadvent.org.
Samhain
When is it celebrated? Wiccans/Pagans will celebrate this holiday on November 2. Samhain is one of the four main festivals of the Celtic tradition. (Another is Beltane, similar to Samhain except that it marks the beginning of Spring.)
What is being celebrated? Beginning with the Celts/Druids, pagans celebrate the end of summer on Samhain. This is their new year, as it marks both the end of harvest and the beginning of a new season. During this time, Wiccans pay respects to the dead. Others use this time to make supplications of the dead and practice divination.
What is divination? Divination involves connecting with the spirit world. At certain times of the year like Samhain, it is thought that divination is easier than at other times. Divination can involve invoking spirits, asking questions of the dead, interpreting dreams, and necromacy (or magic related to death).
Want a history of the celebration? Visit Chalicecentre.net.
Today marks the beginning of the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Diwali is the most popular of all Hindu festivals, and is also celebrated by Jains and Sikhs. During this four-day festival, celebrants decorate houses and public places lamps.
Who/what is being celebrated?
Initially, Diwali marked a Hindu harvest. But over time it became associated with a number of gods, goddesses, and associated tales.
Lakshmi: For most Hindi Indians, Diwali honors Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. For that reason, Hindus see this as a good time to start a new business or to pray for success in the coming year. The lamps placed in homes and public places at this time are used to guide Lakshmi to homes and businesses.
Kali: In Bengal, celebrants honor Kali, goddess of strength.
Parvati: Some believe Diwali is celebrated as the day when the goddess Parvati gambled with her husband.
Krishna and Vishnu: Hindus may celebrate the vanquishing of demons by these gods.
Rama and Sita: Others celebrate Diwali as the time when the god Rama and his wife Sita returned home after exile.
Lord Mahavira: Jains celebrate the day Lord Mahavira attained nirvana, eternal bliss.
Regardless of which god a given celebrant is honoring, each story tells of victory over evil, light over darkness, thankfulness and hope over despair, prosperity over poverty, and so on. Again, this is a festival of light, which has conquered darkness and empowers goodness and hope.
How is it celebrated?
Diwali is usually celebrated with lights and fireworks. Many countries have also taken to buying clothes, treats, and larger gifts at this time.
Thanks to Senate Resolution 299 and House Resolution 747, both passed by in 2007, the United States now recognizes the “religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali.“
Today, followers of the Baha’i faith are celebrating the birth of the Bab.
The Bab (which means “the gate”) was born as Siyyid Ali-Muhmmad in present-day Iran on October 20, 1819. A descendent of the Islamic prophet/founder Muhammad, the Bab became a prophet in his own right. He spoke of one who would follow him and spark a new way.
The person he spoke of later turned out to be Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i religion. The two men never met, but the Bab set the stage for the founder’s coming.
Baha’i followers celebrate 9 holy days where they are not supposed to work. Three of those holy days commemorate portions of the life of the Bab: his birth, his declaration of mission, and his death.
Like Baha’i, everyone may take part in this celebration.
Learn more about the life of the Bab on Beliefnet.com.
Learn more about Baha’u’llah and Baha’i on ReligionTranscends.com.