Celebrating Faith and Culture Backgrounder
January 2016
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 2016 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 4000 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.
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 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 Theophanyon 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. Some sub-groups observe the day on Jan 6. Traditional celebrations include singing carols, having holy supper on Christmas Eve and attending church services on Christmas Eve and the Christmas Day.
January 11 - 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, Bihu in Assam, 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. Regional and cultural celebrations of this festival vary in traditions and customs.
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 17 - 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 17 - 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.
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 – 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.
Sunset of January 24 to 25 – Tu B'Shevat in Judaism
Tu B'Shevat, also known as the New Year for Trees, falls on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, and celebrations begin after sunset the night before. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat, no matter when it was planted during the year. It is customary for people of the Jewish faith to eat a fruit or plant trees on this day.
If you have a colleague who celebrates one of these days, don't forget to offer them best wishes! If you have students in your school who are followers of any of the listed religions:
- Make sure the dates are included on your school calendar
- Have your principal announce the day over the PA system
- Hold an assembly to talk with students about the importance of these days
- Include a mention of these days in your school newsletter
- Include information on your school website
- Display student artwork announcing these days or depicting their ideas about these days
- Invite a member of a local faith group to come in and discuss the significance of this day with students
- Have class discussions about these days
- Ask some of your students who celebrate certain holidays to write a short essay on how they celebrate this day at home. Have them read it to the class to share this celebration with the other students.
- Have parents offer a cultural session
Questions?:
If you would like any more information on how to celebrate these days, please call Varsha Naik, Community Liaison Coordinator at 905-890-1010, ext. 2573 or e-mail her