Quick Facts Summary: a Christian season of preparation before the celebration of Christmas 2019 Date: 1st – 24th December (Western Christianity), 28th November – 6th January (Eastern Christianity) Celebrated by: Christians, Westerners Linked Holidays: Christmas, Lent, Martinmas (Christianity) Background and Theological Significance Advent is a liturgical season of preparation within the Christian Church which is […]
by Mike Lewis As the old song goes: “I ain’t gonna study war no more”. I have always abhorred conflict. When stories of war, terrorism, violence or abuse, physical or mental, in any shape or form are shown in the media, be they real or fictional I simply turn off. It is not part of […]
Quick Facts and Stats Summary: Elections that will decide the local representatives in Hong Kong’s legislature 2019 Date: 24th of November Celebrated by: The people of Hong Kong Background and Theological Significance Elections, like all festivals, are ritualised acts aimed at refreshing a society. The theology behind elections is driven by a recognition of the […]
Quick Facts Summary: A Sikh festival celebrating the birth of the founder of the faith Guru Nanak 2019 Date: 12th November Celebrated by: Sikhs, Nanakpanthis, parts of India (as a National Holiday) Linked Holidays: Gurpurab festivals, Vaisakhi (Sikhism) Background and Theological Significance Guru Nanak Gurpurab, also known as Guru Nanak Jayanti and Guru Nanak’s Prakash […]
by Andrew Sarle This is a revised version of an article submitted to Second Generation Voices, the journal for the children of victims or survivors of the Holocaust, when one of the editorial board realised that I was a Second Generation member who was a Church of Scotland minister. This gave me the opportunity to […]
Quick Facts Summary: an Islamic festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad 2019 Date: 9th November (Sunni), 10th November (Shi’a) Celebrated by: Muslims, most Islamic countries around the world Linked Holidays: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Christmas Background and Theological Significance Mawlid al-Nabi al-Sharif (in Arabic, مَولِد النَّبِي, literally meaning ‘the birth of the prophet’) […]
Quick Facts Summary: a three-day Christian commemoration of the saints and all the faithful departed. 2019 Date: 31st October, 1st November, 2nd November Celebrated by: Western Christians, Western Culture Linked Holidays: Hallowe’en (Western), Samhain (Pagan) Background and Theological Significance Hallowtide, also called Allhallowtide or the Hallowmas season, is a triduum (three day observance) in the […]
Quick Facts Summary: a five-day ‘festival of lights’ celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists 2019 Date: 27th October (regional variations) and two days either side Celebrated by: Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Indians Linked Holidays: Tihar and Swanti (Nepalese variations of Diwali), Bandi Chhor Divas (Sikhism), Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism), Galungan (Balinese Hinduism), Kali Puja (Hinduism) […]
