Celebrating Faith and Culture Backgrounder
January 2015
The Peel District School Board is a mosaic of many cultures and faiths from all
over the world. To commemorate this diversity, the board recognizes special
faith and culture days of our communities. January 2015 has several special faith
and culture days to celebrate and remember:
K'aliyee in Aboriginal Spirituality
K'aliyee is celebrated by Nisga'a people of the Nass Valley in Northwest British
Columbia. It is the period of the north wind when prevailing weather blows off
glaciers and icecaps that have lingered from the last ice age.
January 1 - Gantan-sai (New Year) in Shinto
People of the Shinto faith—a Japanese faith practised for centuries—say
"Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!" on this day, which means "Happy New Year!"
This is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses are closed from
Jan. 1 to 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.
For happiness and good luck in the New Year, Japanese people begin to laugh
the moment the Gantan-sai begins, so they will have good luck throughout the
year.
January 1 - Temple Day in Buddhism
Buddhists of all schools attend a special service in the temple on this day in
dedication of their faith.
January 1 and 14 - New Year’s Day in Christianity and Canada
New Year’s Day has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for the past
400+ years. It also holds religious significance for the followers of the Christian
faith. In 153 BC, the Roman senate declared Jan.1 the beginning of the New
Year. This holiday was first observed in Babylon 4,000 years ago.
Celebrations around the holiday include: making of resolutions, parties on the
evening of Dec. 31, and a toast at midnight when the New Year officially begins.
On New Year's Day itself, many people watch football games, parades and spend
the day with family and friends. Followers of Orthodox Christianity celebrate the
New Year's Day on Jan. 14 based on the Julian calendar.
Eve of January 2 – January 3 - Milad-un-Nabi in Islam
Milad-un Nabi or Maulid (Mawlid) is celebrated by Muslims as Eid-e Milad, the
birthday of Prophet Muhammad. This is also anniversary of his death.
The celebration begins the evening before with reading from the Quran, followed
by poetry and songs in praise of the Prophet. There are also lectures and storytelling – about his life and teachings. In some big cities of the Muslim world, the
day is marked with processions. On the day of Milad, the Prophet's teachings are
repeated, the Quran is read and religious discourses are conducted in the
mosques.
January 5 - Birth of Guru Gobind Singh in Sikhism
Guru Gobind Singh was the 10th and final guru (1666-1708) in the Sikh faith. He
created the Order of Khalsa and declared the scriptures, the Adi Granth, as the
only guru after him for people of the Sikh faith.
Gurpurbs are festivals associated with the lives of the Gurus. Sikhs celebrate
Gurpurbs, like the Birth of Guru Gobind Singh, with an akhand path, a complete
and continuous reading of the Adi Granth, which takes 48 hours and finishes on
the day of the festival.
January 5 – Mahayana New Year in Buddhism
The followers of Mahayana Buddhism celebrate the New Year’s Day on the first
full moon day in January. The observance is a multi-day celebration.
January 6 and 19 - Epiphany or Feast of Theophany in Christianity
Followers of the Western Christian tradition celebrate Epiphany on Jan. 6. This
day marks the journey of three kings to worship Jesus in Bethlehem. Some of
the Orthodox churches—like Greek, Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian— that still
follow the older or Julian calendar celebrate the same tradition as the Feast of
Theophany on Jan. 19.
The term epiphany means to show, to make known or to reveal.
January 7 - Christmas in Christianity
Followers of the Eastern Rite celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus on Jan.
7, based on the Julian calendar. Traditional celebrations include singing carols,
having holy supper on Christmas Eve and attending church services on Christmas
Eve and the Christmas Day.
January 7 - Amitabha Buddha's Birthday in Buddhism
Mahayana (practised in Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Taiwan)
Buddhist followers celebrate Amitabha (celestial) Buddha's Birthday on this day.
Followers of the faith believe that he attained supreme enlightenment and now
presides over the Pure Land (western paradise) - a land of ultimate bliss.
January 12 - Seijin-no-hi in Shinto
Based on a Shinto rite of passage known as gempuku, Seijin-no-hi is the
Coming-of-Age Day, which marks the official entry to adulthood for all young
Japanese who will have reached the age of majority (20 years) between April 2
of the previous year and April 1 of the current year.
Declared a national holiday in Japan in 1948, 20-year-old women and men go to
shrines, wearing traditional clothing. Their families announce their adulthood to
the kami or spirits, and pray for their health and well-being.
January 13 - Lohri and January 14 - Makar Sankranti in Hinduism
This festival marks the end of the winter season (when daylight hours begin to
increase) and is primarily a harvest festival. This festival is also called Lohri in
Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Kicheri in Uttar Pradesh, Til Sankranti in
Maharashtra, and Uttaran in Gujarat, India. Kite flying and burning sugar cane
in bonfires is a couple of the more popular customs for this celebration. Newly
married couples and parents on the birth of their first child particularly celebrate
Lohri in the Punjab.
Makar Sankranti is the first Hindu festival of the solar calendar year. It falls at a
time when the sun enters the Zodiac sign of Makar (Capricorn), and when days
become longer from this point on so it is a time for celebration.
January 13 - Maghi in Sikhism
This is the first day of the month of Magh. This day commemorates the battle at
Muktsar, a town in Punjab, India, in which 40 Sikhs (called the Immortal Ones)
died for Guru Gobind Singh in 1705.
January 18 - World Religion Day in Bahá'í
At this annual celebration, representatives of all faiths and traditions are invited
to foster inter-faith understanding and harmony by focusing on the common
beliefs and spiritual principles underlying all religions.
January 19 to February 6 - month of Sultán in Bahá'í
In the Bahá'í calendar, there are 19 months of 19 days each. Each month
represents an attribute of God. January 19 is the beginning of Sultán, the
seventeenth month of the Bahá'í calendar, signifying "sovereignty."
The Bahá'í day starts and ends at sunset. The first day of each month is known
as a Feast Day.
January 24 - Vasant Panchami in Hinduism
A North Indian celebration, Vasant Panchami is celebrated in honour of
Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning and Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.
The fifth day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magh is Vasanta
Panchami and the first day of spring. Hindus celebrate this festival by holding
ceremonies to venerate Saraswati, goddess of wisdom and knowledge. People
dress in yellow and get together with their families. Marigold flowers are featured
in religious services. Symbolically, the education of children in their first year
begins on this day.
January 27 - Sakyamuni Buddha's Enlightenment in Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama, known also as Sakyamuni Buddha, attained enlightenment
at the age of 35 while sitting in deep meditation under the Bodhi tree. Followers
of the faith commemorate this day for their founder by holding Dharma functions
in the temples and by partaking of congee (a nourishing milk drink). On this day,
Buddhists reflect on the "Middle Path" - a path of moderation between extreme
self-indulgence and self-mortification taught by Sakyamuni Buddha.