Diwali or Deepawali, known as the ‘festival of lights,’ is usually celebrated in October or November, and is on November 4 this year.
Lasting over five days, the holiday is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs worldwide. The name of this festival is derived from ‘avali,’ which means ‘row,’ and ‘deepa,’ meaning ‘clay lamps.’ When merged, these words mean ‘a row of lights.’ For this reason, lights are symbolic of this festival and Indians go overboard with sparklers and fireworks to fuel the inner light that spiritually protects them from the darkness.
The beauty of Diwali is that it is not limited to the celebration of just one historical event. Each religion remembers different stories and historical events behind it. Hindus honor the return of their religious deities Sita and Rama to Ayodhya, following an exile of 14 years. The day when Goddess Mother Durga destroyed the demon Mahisha is also celebrated. The festival of lights also honors the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ramachandra.
Sikhs also celebrate the release of their sixth guru, Hargobind Singh, from prison in 1619. Remarkably, the foundation stone of the holiest place for Sikhs, the Golden Temple of Amritsar, was embedded in 1577 on Diwali. For Jains, Lord Mahavira, the founder of their religion, called Jainism, reached the state of Nirvana or Moksha on the occasion of Diwali.
Regardless of the events or religion surrounding it, Diwali brings with it happy tidings and a promise of a better tomorrow. People zealously light lamps in their houses and throw grand feasts to celebrate happiness, good times, and good fortune. Purity, cleanliness, and brightness are all synonymous with Diwali. The new harvest and new financial year in the business community also begins on this occasion.
Diwali festivities last five days. On the first day, people clean their houses and buy kitchen utensils or gold as a sign of good fortune. On the second day, colorful decorations and clay lamps are furnished. Day three, the main day of Diwali, brings families together for Lakshmi pooja, during which they praise the Goddess Lakshmi and host grand dinners. The same festivities then continue on days four and five, with the exchange of gifts and welcoming families and friends into homes.
The Jewish Festival of Rededication, also called the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day celebration that falls each year on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, which generally falls in December in the Gregorian calendar. (In 2021, Hanukkah is November 28 through December 6).
The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. This group of Jews are known as the Maccabees. The name was formed from the first letters of a Hebrew phrase, “Mi Kamocha Ba’eilim Hashem,” which translates to “Who is like You, God.” The history of Hanukkah – much like the histories of many religious or ancient holidays – has various starting and ending points. The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history. Around 200 B.C., Judea — which is modern-day Israel/Palestine — came under the control of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, proved less benevolent. Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.
In 168 B.C., Antiochus IV Epiphanes soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy Second Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls. Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus and the Seleucid monarchy. When Matthathias died in 166 B.C., his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee — ‘the Hammer — took the helm. Within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, relying largely on guerilla warfare tactics. The revolts turned out to be a success, and the Jews regained the rights to practice their religion in their temples. In order to do so, Judah called on his followers to cleanse the temple and light a menorah with oil that had been blessed by the high priest all night every night until the new altar could be built over the old one.
This is the gold candelabrum whose seven branches represented knowledge and creation and was meant to be kept burning every night. But, there was only one flask of oil left that would only last for one night. They lit it anyway and it stayed lit for eight days, the amount of time needed to press new oil. According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, Judah Maccabee and the other Jews who took part in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival.
November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.
Watch a documentary on an “Indian Chief who redefined what it means to be American.”
We've all heard about the Day of the Dead or seen the classic sugar skull paintings—but what does this celebration really represent?
Here’s one thing we know: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween.
Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a 2-day celebration showing love and respect for deceased loved ones. People celebrate by doing costumes, holding parades, and making offerings to deceased loved ones.
Though related, the two annual events differ greatly in traditions and tone. Whereas Halloween is a dark night of terror and mischief, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over two days in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy. Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, people do traditional makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, and make offerings to lost loved ones.
The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.
Upon dying, a person was believed to travel to Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead. Only after getting through nine challenging levels, a journey of several years, could the person’s soul finally reach Mictlán, the final resting place. In Nahua rituals honoring the dead, traditionally held in August, family members provided food, water and tools to aid the deceased in this difficult journey. This inspired the contemporary Day of the Dead practice in which people leave food or other offerings on their loved ones’ graves, or set them out on makeshift altars called ofrendas in their homes.
This day was established in 1998 to memorialize those who have been killed as a result of transphobia and to raise awareness of the continued violence endured by the transgender community.
"Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible —, it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."
— Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith.
https://www.glaad.org/tdor
Held annually the Friday after Thanksgiving, this day encourages Americans of all backgrounds to observe and honor Native Americans through appropriate ceremonies and activities. President Obama stated, “I encourage every American to join me in observing Native American Heritage Day ... It is also important for all of us to understand the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their status today, and to appreciate the contributions that First Americans have made and will continue to make to our Nation.”
Native Americans are the descendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native people who were the original inhabitants of the United States. American Indian Heritage Day aims to highlight the relationship between the United States government and the Native American governments, as well as honor the achievements and contributions of Native Americans to the US.
Native Americans have made distinct and significant contributions to the United States and the rest of the world in many fields, including agriculture, medicine, music, language, and art. Throughout history, Native Americans have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, as well as scholars.