Holidays & Observances – Page 35 – Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library

Simbang Gabi (December 16-24)

Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Christmas celebration. Similar to the Mexican Las Posadas and other Navidad celebrations in the Spanish speaking world, Simbang Gabi is a Novena, or a nine-day festival. Dating back hundreds of years to the beginning of Spanish rule over the Philippines, Simbang Gabi emerged as a distinctly Filipino celebration of Christmas. One of the features that developed in response to the agricultural practices of Filipino farmers is that the services are carried out in the very early morning, sometimes as early as 3:00 AM.

Simbang Gabi begins on December 16 and concludes with the Misa de Gallo on December 24.

Many Canadians trace their roots to the Philippines, including many students here at Lord Tweedsmuir. Ask some of your fellow students about Simbang Gabi! You can also find out more here:

Check out your School Library’s current display of books: “Holidays and Holy Days.”

Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1)

From the Official Kwanzaa Website:

“Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December thru 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.”

Find out more:

And check out these books from our display, “Holidays and Holy Days” :

International Human Rights Day

From the United Nations:

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): a milestone document proclaiming the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The theme for Human Rights Day 2020 is “Recover Better: Stand Up for Human Rights.” From the UN:

This year’s Human Rights Day theme relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts. We will reach our common global goals only if we are able to create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched, systematic, and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.
UN.org

Find out more:

Check out these books in your School Library:

Hanukkah (December 10 to 18)

Jews in Canada and around the world celebrate Hanukkah starting at sundown on December 10.

The Festival of Lights is a celebration of God’s deliverance and provision. The event began in remembrance of Maccabean revolt in the 2nd Century BCE, when the Hebrews recaptured the Temple in Jerusalem, the spiritual centre of Judaism. Each candle of the Menorah is lit, one per day for the 8 day Festival.

Like all Jewish Holy Days, which follow the lunar Hebrew Calendar and therefore vary against the Gregorian calendar, Hanukkah can occur anytime from late November to late December. This year Hanukkah will conclude on the evening of December 18.

For more information on Hanukkah, check out some of the following:

Check out our display: “Holidays & Holy Days” books such as:

Christmas Day (December 25)

scroogechristmas — source: public domain

On December 25, Christians in Canada and around the world celebrate the Nativity, the birth of the Christ. Christians believe that a Jewish Rabbi named Yeshua, who was born in Bethlehem, in Roman occupied Israel roughly 2000 years ago, was the Messiah, the long awaited saviour promised by God. The Hebrew word Messiah translates to Greek as χριστός, romanized as Khristos, from which we get the anglicized form, Christ. Christians believe that God became one of us in the person of Jesus, or Emanuel, literally “God With Us.”

As Christianity spread from the Holy Land into the Roman Empire and to the Celtic peoples of the north, traditional pagan winter festivals such as Yule were taken over as Christian festivals and Christmas became a winter celebration.

Over the course of the last century, Christmas has grown from a strictly Christian religious festival to become a secular holiday celebrated by people of many different religions, cultures and worldviews from all over the planet. For some, Santa Claus, stockings and gift-giving are central to Christmas. To others, it is a much needed time of rest and merry-making at the coldest and darkest time of year. Some may agree with the Grinch, who simply hated Christmas, or with Ebenezer Scrooge when he said it was a “Humbug” — although both of them changed their positions in the end!

Whether you are celebrating the birth of the Christ with your family and friends, or observe Christmas as a strictly secular event, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Rohatsu (December 8)

The religion known as Buddhism dates back to the 6th or 5th Century BCE, when the Indian Prince Siddhartha Gautama became the “Buddha,” literally, “the Enlightened One.” The followers of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism observe Rohatsu, or Bodhi Day, in celebration of the day that the Buddha sat below the Bodhi Tree and meditated on the meaning of life. This day is celebrated mainly by the Buddhists of northern and eastern Asia, and in countries to which those people have immigrated (such as Canada). To many this holiday is known as Bodhi Day and it occurs on the 8th day of the 12th month of the lunar year

In Japan the day is known as Rohatsu. With the Japanese adoption of the western calendar (Gregorian) Rohatsu is fixed on December 8th.

For more on Rohutsu and the life of the Buddha:

and these books in your School Library:

St. Nicholas Day (December 6)

If people tell you that Santa Claus isn’t real, tell them to think again! Saint Nicholas lived in the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD(CE). He lived in what is now known as Turkey, but what was then a Greek area of the Roman Empire. The legends surrounding his life grew and evolved over the years, eventually leading to our modern picture of Santa.

In much of Europe and in many parts of the world, St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6, or on another date other than Christmas.

For more information, check out the St. Nicholas Centre.

You can also check out these books about St. Nicholas AKA Kris Kringle AKA Santa Claus, at your School Library:

The Winter Solstice and Yule (December 21)

The days of Fall grow shorter and shorter, and in the Northern Hemisphere the month of December is dark and cold. The low point is the Winter Solstice, December 21st, the shortest day of the year.

In traditional pagan cultures, this time of the year represented the battle between darkness and light, between life and death. Death and darkness seem to be winning through this season. On the Solstice, the dark and cold had reached its nadir. Henceforth the days would grow longer and warmer. The darkness gives way to light, and death gives way to life. Hope is restored.

Many of the festivals and celebrations that take place at this time of year, from many different cultures, follow this theme. Yule was celebrated by many peoples of northern pre-Christian Europe, including the Celts, and such Germanic groups as the Angles, Saxons, Danes and Norse. Like many of the pagan holidays, Yule was adapted by Christian Europe and incorporated into Christmas traditions. However, followers of neopagan religions, such as Wicca, have re-established Yule as a distinct celebration.

Find out more:

For more on this and other winter observances and feasts, check out our display, “Holidays and Holy Days,” and books such as:

Holidays & Holy Days

We are well into the season of Holidays and Holy Days. Check out our display of books, DVDs, audiobooks and more.

The Holiday Season

The Holiday Season has begun. Known by many names such as the Festive Season or the Holidays, this wonderful time of year traditionally begins with American Thanksgiving and continues into December and the New Year. This year, perhaps more than most in recent memory, the Holidays are a welcome escape and temporary respite from the problems and issues of our day.

Yet the reality of the pandemic remains. As hard as it will be to adjust our long held traditions of seasonal gatherings with family, friends and neighbours, we need to do so. Please find ways to celebrate the season that will help us all, together, to fight the spread of Covid. Please follow all the guidelines that restrict the nature and scope of social gatherings. Maintain social distancing. Wear your mask. Let’s work to keep our most vulnerable family, friends and neighbours as safe as possible during this Holiday Season.

Look soon for our “Holidays and Holy Days” display of books and other library materials related to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule and the various feasts and festivals of this otherwise dark and cold time of year.

Diwali

Diwali is celebrated by millions of people in India, Canada and around the world. Hundreds of millions of Hindus celebrate “the Festival of Lights.” People of other faiths, including Sikhism, also celebrate. For Sikhs the festival has added significance as it generally coincides with a Sikh celebration known as Bandi Chhor Divas. Many people will celebrate a five day festival from November 12 to 16 in 2020, with the main celebration of Diwali on November 14. However, it may be celebrated at different times, and in different ways, by various groups in India and in the Indian diaspora.

source: Creative Commons / Wikimedia Commons

For more on Diwali, check out:

Remembrance Day

At Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary today we have our annual assembly to observe Remembrance Day. This year in the midst of the pandemic, we observe Remembrance Day with an online ceremony. As always, we honour the memory of those Canadians who have fallen in war. We do not celebrate or glorify war, but we pay respect to those that have paid the terrible costs of war.

It is important to remember that Remembrance Day is not one of the those holidays that is just a chance for rest and recreation. Please take some time today and tomorrow to reflect on what Remembrance Day is all about. On November 11th at 11:00 AM, plan to take some time to honour those that have died and those that have served. Whether you attend a ceremony in person, or check out the television coverage of the ceremony in Ottawa, take some time for Remembrance.