CAREERS
FE S TIV A LS FE S TIV A LS
C elebrations C hristm as
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a fe s tivalw ide l y ce l e brate d in th e U S.Th ank s giving D ay is th e fourth Th urs day in Nove m be r, w h e re m any Am e ricans m ay trave ll ong dis tance s to vis itfam il y and frie nds .
Christmas Th e fe s tivity ofCh ris tm as h onours th e birth ofJe s us and is h e l d on
Th e h ol iday date s back to around 16 21, th e ye ar afte r th e Puritans arar
th e 25th D e ce m be r.Itis cons ide re d as th e
rive d in M as s ach us e tts , de te rm ine d to p ractice th e ir dis s e nting re l igion w ith outinte rfe re nce .Afte r a rough w inte r, in w h ich abouth al fofth e m
‘ F e as tday ofCh ris tand is al s o a Ch ris tian h ol iday.Lots ofp re p arations tak e p l ace l e ading up to one ofth e m os tim p ortant e ve nts on th e Ch ris tian cal e ndar and diffe r
die d, th e y turne d for h e l p to ne igh bouring Indians , w h o taugh tth e m h ow to p l antcorn and oth e r crop s .Th e ne xtautum n's bountifulh arve s t ins p ire d th e Pil grim s to give th ank s by h ol ding a fe as t.
de p e nde nton w h e re in th e w orl d you l ive . F or e xam p l e: Adve ntbe gins four w e e k s be fore Ch ris tm as D ay and is a re cognis e d
Th e Th ank s giving fe as tbe cam e a
oth e r us e itp re p aring for Ch ris tm as day and to re m e m be r its p urp os e –
nationaltradition — notonl y be caus e s o m any oth e r Am e ricans h ave found p ros p e rity, butal s o be caus e th e Pil grim s ' s acrifice s for th e ir fre e dom s til l
th e com ing ofbaby Je s us , by buying food and p re s e nts , w riting cards and
cap tivate th e im agination.
ce l e bration by m any Ch ris tians –Cath ol ic, Angl ican e tc.al laround th e w orl d.Som e p e op l e us e Adve ntas a tim e offas ting, m e ditation or p raye r,
l e tte rs ofgoodw il land p e ace to al lm ank ind and cook ing th e Ch ris tm as fe as t.
To th is day, Th ank s giving dinne r al m os t
Candlelit processions tak e p l ace for th e F e as tofSaintLucy (St.Lucia
al w ays incl ude s s om e ofth e foods s e rve d atth e firs tfe as t:roas tturk e y, cranbe rry s auce , p otatoe s and p um p k in
D ay) on D e ce m be r 13th .Itis ce l e brate d in Scandinavia, w h e re girl s tak e p artin candl el itp roce s s ions and th e daugh te rs ofth e h ous e ris e e arl y to tak e coffe e or ch ocol ate to th e fam il y.
p ie .Be fore th e m e albe gins , fam il ie s or frie nds us ual l y p aus e to give th ank s for th e ir bl e s s ings , incl uding th e joy ofbe ing unite d for th e occas ion.
FEST IVA L S FEST IVA L S
C eleb ration s C hin ese N ew Y ear Chinese New Year Considered the most
the cycle, and so on. The strong, hardworking Ox led. Suddenly, the clever Rat, jumped on the Ox's back, he did not even feel the little thing getting a free ride. At the last second before reaching shore, the
important traditional event in the Chinese
Rat jumped on land, winning the race! The Ox came in second, the Tiger third, and so it on... the happy-go-lucky Pig took his time and
calendar that has been celebrated for over
came in last... the Chinese Zodiac and its twelve signs were born...
four thousand years and which also marks the beginning of the first lunar month, the
H an n ukah
end of the long winter season and the
Hannukah or Chanukah is the Jewish
beginning of spring. The festival is
Festival of Lights, which dates back to
colourfully celebrated by fireworks, dances
New Year celebrations begin on New Year's Eve, the big party is on New
two centuries before the beginning of Christianity and is celebrated around November or December. The festival reminds Jews of a time over 2500 years ago when a Syrian king, Antiochus, tried
Year's Day, and the festivities continue for the next 15 days. It all ends
to make the Jewish people worship Greek
with the first full moon of the year, fifteen days later with the Lantern
gods. A statue of Antiochus was erected in
Festival, another great carnival and the perfect ending to the great holiday
the Jewish temple. The Ten Commandments forbid Jews to worship statues or idols and so they refused. A small group of Jews called Maccabees rebelled and after a three year war, they recaptured
(such as the famous Lion dance) and the giving of gifts, flowers and sweets. Gold in a dominant colour to symbolise the wish for prosperity, as is red – the colour used to symbolise luck. The
season. As per the ancient Chinese customs, each year is assigned an animal according to the Chinese Zodiac. According to the age-old myth, Buddha decided to call all the animals on earth. But only twelve came: a rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat or sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and a pig In order to decide their order in the Chinese Zodiac cycle, the animals held a race. The first one to
Jerusalem from the Syrians. But the temple was all but destroyed.The Jews had to clean and repair the Temple and when they were finished, they rededicated it to God. They did this by lighting the lamp (Menorah) - which
cross the river would be granted the first year, the
was a symbol of God's presence. Only one small jar of oil was found, enough for one day, but
second to come in would be the second animal in
miraculously the lamp stayed alight for eight days.
FESTIV ALS FESTIV ALS
Tra d ition / H is tory
Chris tm as Day and is acelebrated by m any Chris tians allarou nd the w orld. A dvent com es from the Latinw ord ‘adventu s ’ w hich m eans ‘arrival’. A dvent m eans atim e ofw aiting , not only for Chris tm as , bu t
C h ris tm a s Christmas M u ch ofw hat w e do and how w e celebrate Chris tm as now , is du e to tradition or ou r his toricalaw arenes s ofthis Chris tian fes tival. There are tw o m aintraditions – one bas ed arou nd the traditions ofthe chu rch, w hich are celebrated pu blicly and the other w here the traditions are k ept by fam ilies and have differed dependent ontim es , places ,
als o w henJ es u s becam e m anand w as bornababy inBethlehem over tw o thou s and years ag o. Som e people u s e A dvent as atim e offas ting , m editationor prayer and to rem em ber its pu rpos e – the com ing of baby J es u s . Others m ay u s e this tim e preparing for Chris tm as day by bu ying food and pres ents to celebrate to s hare w ith fam ily and friends , w riting cards and letters ofg oodw illw ith peace to allm ank ind and cook ing the Chris tm as feas t.
cu ltu res and fam ilies them s elves . Chu rches cons ider the celebrationof
Eid
Chris tm as very im portant and hos t s pecials ervices . Thes e s ervices
Muslim Festival – Eid, Idul Fitri
inclu de:The Crib A cu s tom ofs etting u p aCrib s cene or Nativity ofthe A s s is is et u p the firs t one inItaly. This w as qu ick ly replicated arou nd the
(Septem ber) M ark s the end of Ram adan. Eid u l-Fitr or Id-U l-Fitr is a M u s lim holiday that m ark s the end of
w orld and s tillexis ts today, w ith evens m aller s cenes being s et u p in
Ram adan, the Is lam ic holy m onth of
people’s hom es . A dvent W reaths Circu lar pine bou g hs w ith holly and ivy, and either for or
fas ting . Eid is anA rabic w ord m eaning ‘fes tivity’, w hile Fitr m eans ‘to break the
five candles u ponit decorate achu rch’s alter or ag ainhom es arou nd the
fas t’ (and canals o m ean‘natu re’, from the w ord ‘fitrah’) and s o
w orld. The firs t candle is lit to recog nis e the fou r w eek period ofA dvent,
s ym bolis es the break ing ofthe fas ting period. Eid is celebrated over athree day period inIs lam ic cou ntries .
birth ofJ es u s orig inates back to the 13th centu ry w henSt. Francis of
leading u p to Chris tm as , w ith s u bs equ ent candles being lit each Su nday thereafter. The fifth candle (ifrelevant), is thenlit on Chris tm as m orning . A dvent is one ofthe m os t recog nis ed celebrations w hich beg anarou nd 1,50 0 years ag o. It s tarts each year, fou r w eek s before
FEST IVALS FEST IVALS
T rad ition / H istory Eid Muslim Festival – Eid-al-Adha ( October) is anIs lam ic fes tivalto rem em ber Ibrahim 's ( A braham 's ) w illing nes s to s acrifice his s on Is hm aelw henG od ordered him to do this . How ever, ju s t as Ibrahim w as abou t to k ill Is hm ael, G od pu t a s heep inhis place. Som e people dis pu te that the s onof s acrifice w as Is aac. Nevertheles s , thes e events are rem em bered and celebrated at Eid al-A dha. M u s lim s celebrate Ibrahim 's com plete obedience to the w illofG od du ring Eid-al-A dha. They rem ind them s elves oftheir ow nw illing nes s to s acrifice anything to follow G od's com m ands . It is obs erved arou nd the 10 th to the 13th day ofthe Is lam ic m onth ofDhu al-Hijjah. This fes tivalals o m ark s the end ofthe annu alHajj pilg rim ag e to M ecca inSau diA rabia. It is one ofthe m os t im portant fes tivals for a M u s lim , w here they m ak e a s pecial effort to attend the m os qu e for a prayer s ervice, lis tento a s erm onand w ear new clothes or their nices t ou tfits . M u s lim s als o s end Eid cards
D iw ali Deepavalior Diw ali( October / Novem ber) Diw aliis the m os t w ell-k now nofthe Indianand m os t im portant Hindu fes tival. The actu al date ofDiw aliis onthe fifteenth day ofK artik a – the nam e ofthe Hindu m onth and falls ineither inOctober or Novem ber each year, depending onthe cycle ofthe m oon. The fes tivalru ns for five days , beg inning w ith Dhanteras . The m aincelebrations happenonthe third day. The fou rth day ofDiw aliis the Hindu New Year. Diw alidem ons trates the s tory ofhow g ood w ins over eviland celebrates the retu rnofRam a and Sita. A celebrated fes tivalnam ed ‘ Fes tivalofLig hts ’ orig inates from the m eaning ofthe w ord Diw ali m eaning ‘row oflig hted lam ps ’. Ifyou w ent to this fes tivalyou w ou ld s ee row s ofhu ndreds oflam ps , called diyas , placed onw alls , rooftops , on paths and ing ardens to rem em ber the part ofthe s tory w here people lit the w ay hom e from the fores t for Ram a and Sita. Inaddition, they believe the m ore lam ps there are lit, the m ore lik ely they are to be vis ited by the G oddes s ofLak s hm i w ho als o bring s w ealth.
containing pers onalg reeting s to bu s ines s as s ociates , friends and fam ily
Du ring the Diw alicelebrations hom es are decorated w ith brig ht colou rs ofyellow , red and g reenand as m any candles as
m em bers , as w ellas g ive g ifts to children. It is als o oblig atory to donate
pos s ible are lit. This s ym bolis es filling you r hom e w ith lig ht to let
m oney to charity. This is to help poor people bu y food and clothes s o they canals o celebrate this fes tival.
allthe dark nes s and g loom g o.
P LA C ES P LA C ES O F W O R SHIP A lthou g h Sik hs s how reverence to the Gu ru Granth Sahib, their res pect is to its s piritu alcontent ( s habad) not the book its elf. The book is ju s t the vis ible m anifes tationofthe s habad. The w alls ofthe Gu rdw araare decorated w ith artw ork s how ing flow ers , anim als , birds , the g u ru s and events intheir lives . A Gu rdw araals o has a s pecialhallfor the preparationand cons u m ptionofveg etarianfood, w here Sik hs s it onthe floor tog ether and eat am ealhere. This is called aLang ar Hall. A llSik hs tak e atu rnofhelping to ru nthe k itchen. Ou ts ide, flow nonor near the Gu rdw ara, you w ills ee aNis hanSahib, w hich is a triang u lar flag w ith the Sik h k handa( s ym bol) onit.
Mosque (Muslim ) A M os qu e is aplace ofw ors hip for M u s lim s allarou nd the w orld. Dom es are s eenonthe top ofM os qu es . They repres ent the u nivers e and help k eep the bu ilding cool. Som e M os qu es als o have M inarets . Thes e are tall
at the front ofaM os qu e. It indicates the directionofthe Is lam ic Holy city, M ecca. M u s lim s m u s t face inthis directionw hen t
hey pray. Som e M os qu es have a Sahn- anenclos ed cou rtyard w ith a s ym m etricalpoolor fou ntain, or other areau s ed to w as h before prayer, avery
im portant M u s lim tradition. The Prophet, peace be u ponhim , s aid 'cleanlines s is halfoffaith'. W u dhu is the ritu alw as hing perform ed by M u s lim s before prayer. M u s lim s m u s t be cleanand w ear g ood clothes before they pres ent them s elves before God. M u s lim s s tart inthe nam e ofGod, and beg inby w as hing the rig ht, and thenthe left hand three tim es , thenthe m ou th is cleaned three tim es . W ater is breathed ing ently throu g h the nos e three tim es . The face inclu des everything from the top ofthe forehead to the chin, and u p to both ears . The face is one ofthe es s entials inW u dhu and m u s t be w as hed at leas t once, or the W u dhu is incom plete. How ever, it is u s u ally w as hed three tim es . The arm s u p to the elbow , inclu ding the hands , are one ofthe fou r es s entialareas that need to be w as hed. The
callto prayer. Ins ide, you w ills ee A rabes qu e art w ork - thes e are
rig ht arm is w as hed three tim es firs t, thenthe left three tim es . W ater from w et hands is pas s ed from the beg inning ofthe hairline and over
repeating patterns that s ym bolis e the infinite natu re ofGod. It is u s ed to
the head. This is only done once. The w iping ofthe hair is the
tow ers near or attached to the M os qu e. U s ed by the m u ezzinto g ive the
w here M u s lim s bow u ponand pray. The Q u ran, Q u ’ranor
third ofthe fou r com pu ls ory acts . U s ing dam p hands , the back and ins ide ofthe ears are w iped. The feet repres ent
K oranis the M u s lim ’s Holy Book . A M inbar is arais ed
the las t ofthe fou r com pu ls ory areas ofw as hing .
platform from w hich the Im am delivers his s erm on. This is
The rig ht foot is w as hed u p to the ank les three tim es , the the left.
decorate the ceiling s , w alls and carpeting onthe floor
the Is lam ic equ ivalent ofapu lpit. The M ihrab s tands at
PLACES PLACES O F W O RS H IP A place ofw ors hip is a s pecially des ig ned bu ilding or holy s pace w here individu als or a g rou p ofpeople, s u ch as a cong reg ation, com e to perform acts ofdevotion, w ors hip, prayer, reading and celebration. A bu ilding cons tru cted or u s ed for this pu rpos e is s om etim es called a hou s e ofw ors hip. Chu rches , M os qu es and Tem ples are exam ples of s tru ctu res created for w ors hip.
Ch u rc h ( Ch ristianity) A chu rch is a place ofw ors hip for m any Chris tians arou nd the w orld. Ins ide, you w ill s it ons pecials eats called pew s . U s u ally, you w illfind a Bible at the end ofeach pew . The Bible is the Chris tianHoly Book . There are lots ofcopies ofthe bible ina chu rch. The vicar reads from it du ring his s erm on. A font is a prom inent featu re too. It is u s ed to hold holy w ater for the celebrationofbaptis ing Chris tians into their faith. The pu lpit is a rais ed platform w here the vicar or pries t w ills tand to deliver his s erm on. The altar s tands at the front ofthe chu rch. It is u s ed to hold im portant item s , lik e the Bible, candles and a cros s . The cros s is very im portant, as it the s ym bolofthe Chris tianrelig ionand rem inds Chris tians ofhow J es u s died. A ls o at the front ofa chu rch, you w illfind a lectern. The Bible is placed on
the lectern. M em bers ofthe chu rch and the vicar or pries t canread from here. M any chu rches are decorated w ith s tained g las s w indow s . Thes e s how relig iou s pictu res to rem ind chu rch g oers ofim portant events inChris tianhis tory.
G u rd w ara ( S ikh ) A Gu rdw ara is a tem ple and als o a place ofw ors hip for Sik hs arou nd the w orld. It m eans the g atew ay to the g u ru . Ins ide, there are no idols , s tatu es or relig iou s pictu res , becau s e Sik hs w ors hip only God and they reg ard God as having no phys icalform ; nor are there candles , incens e, bells or any other ritu alis tic s ym bols . You w illfind a m ainw ors hip hall, w here allSik hs s it onthe floor to s how that they are allequ al. This is called a Diw anHall( or Darbar Sahib), w hich is w here the focu s ofattentionand the only object ofreverence is - the book of Sik h s criptu re, the Gu ru Granth Sahib. It is treated w ith the res pect that w ou ld be g ivento a hu m anGu ru . The Gu ru Granth Sahib is k ept ina room ofits ow ndu ring the nig ht and carried inproces s ionto the m ainhallat the s tart ofthe day's w ors hip. The book is placed ona rais ed platform ( Tak ht or M anjiSahib, m eaning ‘throne’) u nder a canopy ( Chananior Palk i) and covered w ith anexpens ive cloth w hennot being read. Du ring a s ervice, a pers onw ith a w his k or fancalled a Chau r, w aves it over the Gu ru Granth Sahib.