Goings on around the Galaxy
It’s always busy “out there” during the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox (northern hemisphere), or Autumnal Equinox (southern hemisphere), but this year, 2008, sees a remarkable alliance of holidays and celestial events. The Equinox (which means “equal night”) takes place at 05:48 UT on March 20. The full moon (known as the “worm” or “crow” moon) is on March 21. The Equinox is used to calculate certain religious holidays, and many ancient artifacts are constructed so as to act as a calendar upon moon or sunrise on that day.
Here are just some of the holidays taking place March 20/21:
| March 20, 2008 | Ta’anit Esther (Jewish); Maunday Thursday (Christian); Mawlid al-Nabi (Islamic); Birth of Mahavira (Jain); Spring Higan (Buddhist); ~Thunder Dance (Iroquis); Ostara (Pagan); Mabon (Pagan); ~Ibu Afo Festival (Yoruba); Spring or Atumnal Equinox (Pantheism). |
| March 21, 2008 | Purim (Jewish); Frawardin 1 (Zoroastrian); Nawruz (Zoroastrian); Good Friday (Christian); Festival of Naw-Ruz (Baha’i); Nineteen-Day Fast,1st of Baha (Baha’i); ~Panguni Uttiram (Hindu); ~Caitra Purnima (Hindu); Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu); Magha Puja (Buddhist); ~Iduna and Summer Finding (Pagan). ~ means that the dates are variable. |
Whether we say “NowRuz Pirooz” نوروز (Happy/Prosperous Persian New Year) or “Purim Sameah” פורים שמח-(Jewish celebration of the good deeds of Queen Esther), or participate in any number of festivities, we can all look to these days as times of renewal. Happy holidays to all!
MusEditions 
[…] March 22, 2008 — thebeadden Or whatever holiday you happen to be celebrating this week. Museditions was kind enough to post all the goings on these next few days. Some of which I’ve never even […]
Happy Easter « The Bead Den
March 21, 2008
Thanks for linking, Bead den! I figure “Happy Spring” covers the sentiment of many of the holidays, so I wish that for you!
museditions
March 21, 2008
Hi Muse. Love this post. It always amuses me to see religions try to ‘own’ a holiday. Everyday is a celebration! Check out this site for more on your topic. http://www.hermes3.net/ufc.htm I love what this guy writes. Happy Spring.
yogini
March 22, 2008
Happy Easter!, Muse..
Colourful Vision
March 23, 2008
I live in a very conservative community and they tend to be very unaware of anything other than Christian holidays. So, I always enjoy it when their paradigm gets punctured by an article in the local newspaper or other local publication about world holidays. Several years ago when I was working as the Art Director for one of those local pubs I encouraged the editor to write an article about all the various winter holidays. This was in back in 2001 or 2002 when people were still stitched like mummies into the American flag in response to 9/11 and ANY religion other than Christianity was suspected of terrorist connections. I thought the article might be a nice way to gently pry people’s minds open a bit. The writer did a nice job of surveying the mainstream religions, but much to my amusement she completely ignored the Pagans. So, since I was the designer of the pub and was the last one to see it before it went to the printer, I added a nice paragraph about Wiccan and other Pagan (i.e. Druid, Asatru, etc.) winter holidays. I’m not sure that they writer, who is a very sincere and conservative Christian, was very pleased. Apparently, for her, other established world religions are tolerable, but any of the Pagan religions (especially those originally wiped out by Christianity!) are not to be tolerated. Ironically, we got some positive responses to the article. Which goes to prove that it is possible to broaden people’s thinking even in the most conservative communities! 🙂
BTW, Mabon is the Wiccan/Pagan festival of the Autumnal Equinox, while Ostara is the Spring Equinox festival. Of course which you celebrate depends on the hemisphere you are in at the time. 🙂
joyfulseeker
March 24, 2008
yogini, every day is indeed a celebration. I think I was very fortunate to learn about many cultural celebrations when I was very young and open-minded. (LOL) I loved the link you sent! Fascinating work! Happy day to you.
Thank you, CV! I hope it starts to look like spring soon where you are. 🙂
Hey, that’s a good story, joyfulseeker, and clever how you slipped in the pagan days. 😉 I don’t so much celebrate holidays as acknowledge and rejoice in them. I’ve found that if I keep on learning different cultural rituals it reinforces togetherness rather than separation, in that I find more similarities than differences.
museditions
March 25, 2008
April 13 was the day the Sun went into Aries by the eastern Jotish calculation (allowing for precession). This and the prior new moon cycle are considered the true start of the new year in the Vedic calendar. I like the idea of Spring being the start of the new year, myself. Certainly feels more like it 😉
Davidya
April 16, 2008
It surely does feel more like it to me, too, davidya. January’s a little frantic. Happy spring!
museditions
April 17, 2008
[…] a week ago & St. Patrick’s Day the day after, right through the Equinox with its “equal night” & Good Friday with its full moon the next day into night to Easter itself; this has been […]
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August 1, 2008