by Month – Page 30 – every day's a holiday!

October 18, 2011October 21, 2011

Alaska Day

October 18

“Some return from Alaska. Not all die there. They return blind and rheumatic for the rest of their lives, with hands useless, shriveled as if in a gesture of perpetual anguish. Hands that long hours with the fishnets went numb from cold and chests that, worn-out from coughing lost all strength… Adventures! Fortunes! All a lie! Alaska is the hell that extinguishes faith and quickens curses to the lips.”

Alfonso Fabila, “The Horrible Hell of Alaska,” 1929

Well things have gotten a little better since Alfonso wrote his memoir, and today the state is home to over 700,000 Americans. October 18 is Alaska Day, celebrating the day in 1867 that Russia transfered 1.7 million square kilometers to the United States.

Signing of Treaty of Cessation of Russian Alaska to U.S. — Signing of Treaty of Cessation of Russian Alaska to US

Recently my optometrist moved there. Now he’s an optical Aleutian. (Rim shot)

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Alaska is the largest state.

How big is it?

Alaska is so big, if it were a country, it would be the 18th largest in the world.

It’s bigger than France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Austria, and Greece combined.

According the Alaska Science Forum, Alaska has more coastline than all other states combined, and its lake areas alone are larger than the Hawaiian Islands.

17 of the 20 highest mountains in the United States are in Alaska.

Its former governor could see Russia from her house. (This has been disputed.)

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Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 2 cents an acre. The deal, known as “Seward’s Folly”, paid for itself within 30 years. In 1896, gold was discovered near the Yukon, thus beginning the great Klondike Gold Rush.

After World War II, Seward was further vindicated when Alaska became one of the U.S.’s most prized possessions in terms of strategic defense. At its western-most point, Alaska is only 55 miles from Eastern Siberia.

These days residents of the lower 48 cherish Alaska for its wildlife and environmental diversity, as well for its large reserves of untapped oil. Because of this dichotomy, the state is the frontline in the battle between environmental groups and proponents of cost-efficient energy.

Alaska comes from an Aleut word meaning “the mainland.” The state’s motto is “North To the Future!”

October 13, 2011October 21, 2011

Sukkot

15th of Tishri (October 12-19, 2011)

In the month of Tishri, Jewish holidays go from one extreme to the other. The month begins with the spirited Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the most solemn fasting day in the Hebrew calendar. But on the 15th of the Tishri, celebrants are encouraged to eat, drink and be merry for Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Sukkah means ‘booth’ or ‘hut’. It refers to a temporary shelter like the kind the ancient Hebrews built during their 40 years wandering the desert. The festival of Sukkot lasts for seven days.

“Beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days…On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God…This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come…Live in booths for seven days…so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.”

Leviticus 23

There are all sorts of rules describing how to make one. For instance, you need to be able to see the stars from inside. We tried finding a Sukkah on Shopzilla, but all we got was this.

One of the main traditions of Sukkot is the waving of the ‘Four Species’; two branches (myrtle and willow), a palm frond, and an etrog (a type of lemon). The four elements of nature are bundled together and waved as shown here.

According to Judaism 101:

Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. This may not be entirely coincidental…The pilgrims were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of celebrating and found Sukkot.

October 11, 2011October 21, 2011

My 1st Canadian Thanksgiving

2nd Monday in October

This weekend I shared something with my one year-old niece: our first Canadian Thanksgiving. She was born just after Thanksgiving last year.

The most glaring difference I’ve noticed between Thanksgiving in the U.S. and in Canada is that Canadian Thanksgiving is on a Monday. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.

In the process of celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving, I have learned a few other things about our Canuck brethren and sisteren.

1. Conservatives are blue and liberals are red, which when you think about it, makes more sense.

2. Election season in Canada is only SIX WEEKS LONG! Two years less than what we’ve had to endure south of the border.

3. It’s traditional for the Finance Minister to wear brand-new shoes when presenting the new budget.

4. Saskatchewan, despite its reputation as a barren wasteland, is the sunniest province in Canada. (Which is like being the rainiest place in the Sahara.)

5. Ottawa is the second or third coldest capital in the world, tied with Moscow, and right behind Ulan Batar, Mongolia.

6. Terrence & Philip is not a real TV show.

We celebrated like true Canucks, enjoying breakfast at the Dutch Wooden Shoe Pannekoek House. In the afternoon we followed the age old wisdom of Canadian superstar Robin Sparkles…

[published October 13, 2008]

October 5, 2011October 11, 2011

Navami & Dashami

October 5-6, 2011

Maha Navami

According to an 1815 French text…

“Maha-navami, known also under the name of Dasara, [is] specially dedicated to the memory of ancestors. This feast is considered to be so obligatory that it has become a proverb that anybody who has not the means of celebrating it should sell one of his children in order to do so.”

Okay—celebrants don’t actually sell off the kids to honor to celebrate, but the holiday is a big deal in India (especially Bengal) as well as parts of Nepal, Bhutan, and other countries with Bengal populations.

Also, Maha-navami isn’t the name of the whole celebration. Navami means ninth day, and refers to the ninth and penultimate day of the Durga Puja festival. It’s observed in different ways throughout the subcontinent.

Maha-navami falls right after Maha-ashtami (eighth day) and opens with Sandhi Puja, the ritual that recalls Durga’s defeat over Mahishasura’s two generals, Mundo and Chando.

Dashami

The following day, Dashami, is a sadder occasion, as worshippers of Durga try to postpone the inevitable.

Dashami is the day when Goddess Durga accompaning her children sets for Kailash, her husband’s abode. With a heavy heart the Bengalis immerse the clay idol of Durga in the sacred Ganges bidding her goodbye and earnestly waiting to see her again the next year…

http://www.durgapujagreetings.com/nirghonto.html

Durga Puja – the Morning After (The Ecological Impact)

October 3, 2011October 21, 2011

Durga Puja – Bengal

Durga Puja is the largest celebration of Bengal and Bangladesh, and is also celebrated throughout Bhutan, and Nepal. It worships the mother goddess Durga, who was called into existence by the trinity of Hindu gods, Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, to defeat the demon Mahishasura.

According to legend, Shiva gave the once-loyal Mahishasura a power that he would later regret: that Mahishasura would not be killed by any man.

Confident he could never be stopped, Mahishasura went all maniacal on the lesser gods (Devtas) and plunged the Universe into havoc. The gods pleaded with Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. The three created the only thing that could stop Mahishasura: an all-powerful goddess.

Durga was made from the best of all gods:

Her face reflected the light of Shiva,
her ten arms were from Lord Vishnu,
her feet were from Lord Brahma,
the tresses were formed from the light of Yama, the god of death
and the two breasts were formed from the light of Somanath, the Moon God,
the waist from the light of Indra, the king of gods,
the legs and thighs from the light of Varun, the god of oceans
and hips from the light of Bhoodev (Earth),
the toes from the light of Surya (Sun God),
fingers of the hand from the light of the Vasus, the children of Goddess river Ganga
and nose from the light of Kuber, the keeper of wealth for the Gods.
The teeth were formed from the light of Prajapati, the lord of creatures,
the Triad of her eyes was born from the light of Agni, the Fire God,
the eyebrows from the two Sandhyas,ie, sunrise and sunset,
the ears from the light of Vayu, the god of Wind.

http://www.durga-puja.org/mythology.html

The gods then armed her to the teeth (which as we know, were Prajapati’s) and she proceeded to kick the surprised Mahishasura’s butt. Since that day, Durga has symbolized the unity of the forces of good over those of wickedness.

Durga Puja lasts almost a fortnight, beginning on the 12th of Aashin in the Bengla calendar (September 29 in 2008), but doesn’t really get kicking until the 18th of Aashin (October 5 this year) and lasts four or five days:

October 2008 (Aashin 1415)

October 3 (evening) to October 4: Maha Panchami

October 4/5: Maha Shashti

October 5/6: Maha Saptami

October 6/7: Maha Ashtami

October 8: Maha Navami

October 9: Dashami

Today’s Maha Shashti is “the sixth day of the moon when Goddess Durga is welcomed with much fanfare and gusto. Look for the ‘Bodhon’ rituals when Goddess Durga is unveiled.” –http://www.durgapujagreetings.com/nirghonto.html

Though the religious aspects of the festival are still strong, Durga Puja has become a cultural and community celebration in recent decades.

October 3, 2011October 10, 2011

German Unity Day

October 3

On this day in 1990 the great divide between East and West Germany, the front line between Soviet and Western ideologies for over four decades, was erased in an instant. Germany became one nation for the first time since 1945.

The reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990 followed the dramatic destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 9 the previous year.

A whole generation of young Germans have grown up post-reunification; the oldest are now adults. Despite the spontaneous joy and camaraderie that accompanied reunification, for many years a few Germans on both sides of the former Iron Curtain waxed nostalgic and echoed Ronald Reagan’s sentiments with a twist: “Mr. Putin, Put back this Wall!”

The West’s discontent lay partially in the economic struggle they had shouldered since 1990, adapting to both a new European Union and the weaker economy of the East. In the East, on the other hand, though they may have lacked fancy cars and TVs during the Soviet era, many missed the security that socialism afforded.

Unity Day doesn’t provide a solution to economic woes, but it offers something more than that. An opportunity to declare something that for many decades was forbidden in Germany: pride in one’s country.

The expression of national pride, something taken for granted in much of the rest of the world, was a big no-no during the half-century following World War II.

On October 3, as Oktoberfest nears its end, the ban on pride is lifted for a day. From the snow-covered peaks of Garmish-Partenkirchen, to the white cliffs of Rugen, to the harbors of Hamburg, to the phoenix that is Leipzig, Germans come together to celebrate what they all have in common.

October 2, 2011October 10, 2011

Gandhi Jayanti

October 2

It is not my purpose to attempt a real autobiography. I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1940

India, a land overflowing with the holy days of its many religions, has only three official national holidays of its own: Republic Day, Independence Day, and Gandhi Jayanti.

The first two celebrate the power and the freedom of the state and its people. The third celebrates the power and humbleness of a man, the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on this day in 1869 in Porbander, Gujarat. He was influenced by his mother’s Jainism, and its concept of Ahimsa, but he was not particularly religious, or even spiritual as a child.

His father died when he was 15, and at 18 he left India to study law at University College London. It was there, when faced with the different lifestyles of Westerners, he reflected on his own beliefs. As a vegetarian, he joined the Vegetarian Society, and began reading in earnest the scriptures of Hinduism, including the Bhagavad Gita, as well as doctrines on Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.

After returning briefly to India, he took a position at an Indian firm in South Africa. The post was supposed to be for a year, but Gandhi stayed for twelve. First he worked with Indians to oppose a bill denying Indians the right to vote. The bill passed despite his efforts. In 1897, he was nearly lynched by an angry white mob, but Gandhi refused to prosecute his assailants.

Then Gandhi led the Indian resistance against forced registration in South Africa. It was during this time Gandhi solidified his theories of peaceful resistance through civil disobedience, eventually forcing the government to agree to a compromise.

In 1915, at age 45, Gandhi returned to his homeland. He would spend the remaining 30+ years of his life fighting–through nonviolence–for the independence of his country, for the rights of his countrymen, and for peace between his brothers. It was this last cause for which he would give his life.

Gandhi’s weapons included strikes, protests, and boycotts of British goods. He encouraged Indians to spin their own cloth and renounce British titles of nobility.

Following a mass protest that ended in violence in 1922, Gandhi served two years in prison for sedition. Afterward, Gandhi worked to bridge the gap between the Indian political divisions that had intensified during his imprisonment.

In the Spring of 1930, Gandhi led the 400 kilometer Salt March, in which thousands of Indians journeyed to the sea to make their own salt, in protest of the Salt Tax. The British arrested tens of thousands of Indians in the wake of the campaign.

Gandhi continued his opposition to British rule throughout World War II. In 1947, India finally won its long awaited independence. To avoid an impending civil war between India’s Muslims and Hindus, Gandhi reluctantly agreed to support the partition of the country into two republics, India and Pakistan.

Just as Gandhi feared, the partitioning was accompanied by mass bloodshed.

On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was taking his nightly walk through the garden of the Birla Bhavan house in New Dehli when he was shot and killed by a radical Hindu, angry at Gandhi’s support of payment to country of Pakistan.

At his request, his ashes were spread throughout India.

“It is a superstition and an ungodly thing to believe that an act of a majority binds a minority. Many examples can be given in which acts of majorities will be found to have been wrong, and those of minorities to have been right. All reforms owe their origin to the initiation of minorities in opposition to majorities…

Democracy cannot be evolved by forcible methods. The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within…

Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands dyed red with innocent blood.”

Gandhi on Democracy

Gandhi was instrumental in civil rights movements on two continents, Asia and Africa. His teachings inspired leaders of the civil rights movement on a third continent, North America, after Gandhi’s death.

For these reasons and more, in 2007 the United Nations declared October 2 “International Day of Non-Violence.” The Dalai Lama once said of Gandhi:

His life has inspired me ever since I was a small boy. Ahimsa or nonviolence the powerful idea that Mahatma Gandhi made familiar throughout the world. Nonviolence does not mean the absence of violence. It is something more positive, more meaningful than that, for it depends on wholly on the power of truth.

October 1, 2011October 10, 2011

China National Day

October 1

By population, it’s the biggest National Day in the world. On this day (October 1) in 1949 Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China declared victory against the National army of Chiang Kai Shek and announced the birth of a new nation. A grand ceremony was held in Tiananmen Square celebrating the new People’s Republic of China.

Over sixty years later the Chinese continue to celebrate the country’s National Day with three full days of festivities. The holiday runs from October 1 to October 3 each year, but the whole week is referred to as a “Golden Week”. The other “Golden Week” is during Chinese New Year.

Parades, fireworks, and music concerts are some of the key features of the holiday, especially in larger cities like Shanghai. In the past, approximately 800,000 volunteers have helped out around the country to ensure the festivities go smoothly. (Guardian 9/30/09)

The main parade in Beijing can involve hundreds of thousands of people. The parade is an opportunity to show national spirit, and also for the government to strut its military stuff in peacetime.

Of course not all spectators are equally enthralled.

“This is basically a live action Powerpoint presentation, except more painful because the slides actually have to slowly walk by.”

—Chen Xi, 10/1/09

But most see a great deal of symbolism and take pride in the ceremonies:

” Amid 60 gun salutes, 200 national flag guards in olive green uniforms walked down the platform of the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the center of Tian’anmen Square, marching northward on ared carpet toward the national flag post.

“The guards walked a total of 169 steps, which symbolized 169 years since 1840, a watershed in China’s history when the country lost the Opium War with Britain. That eventually led to the scramble of Western powers in China.

“The founding of the People’s Republic ended China’s history of being humiliated by outside forces. The country now is emerging as a major political and economic power on the international stage…

“…The 440,000-square-meter Tian’anmen Square is believed to be the largest city square in the world. Six decades ago, the founding ceremony of the PRC was held on the square and late Chairman Mao Zedong announced the birth of New China. Mao himself pressed the button to hoist the first national flag of the PRC.”

— Flag-raising Ceremony Held for China’s National Day Celebration