Quake

No matter what holiday you celebrate or where, there is someting so incedible about this time of year. Quake is not going to let an opportunity pass without giving you some holiday cheer. I was looking a some of the different celebrations that go on during November and December. Below are just a few that I found interesting.

So you know, most of my info has come from Wikipedia and I am adding the links so you can find out more for yourself.

I also found a great site called Holidays on the Net. Check it out!

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īdu l-’Aḍḥā) “Festival of Sacrifice” or “Greater Eid” is a holiday celebrated by Muslims (including the Druze) worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God. Eid al-Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.^[1] Like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba). Eid al-Adha annually falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities last for three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.

Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half”. It was traditionally celebrated over the course of several days. Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year.^[2][3][4] It has some elements of a festival of the dead. The Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain; because some animals and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.^[5]

Christmas: or Christmas Day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.^[2][3] The date of commemoration is not known to be Jesus’ actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either a historical Roman festival^[4] or the winter solstice.^[5] Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.^[6]

^{Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, pronounced [ˈχanuka], also spelled Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar.}

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States honoring African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder).^[1] It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, primarily in the United States. Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Ron Karenga and was first celebrated from December 26, 1966, to January 1, 1967.

Halcyon Days. 

The usage descended through Old English from the Greek language expression (ancient Greek: Ἁλκυονίδες ἡμέραι, Halkyonídes hēmérai; modern Greek: Αλκυονίδες ημέρες, Alkyonídes ēméres), meaning “days of the halcyon (kingfisher)” literally and “calm days” metaphorically. The usage derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek legend of Alcyone. In the context of the legend, the halcyon is a type of kingfisher that builds its nest by the sea; the bird charms the winds and waves so that seas remain unusually calm during its nesting season, the seven days before and seven days after the winter solstice. There is more often than not a temporary improvement of the winter weather in Greece sometime during January. The myth of Ceyx and Alcyone describes how Alcyone, as recorded by Ovid, pines all day by the shore where Ceyx was destined to return. Unfortunately Ceyx, who is referred to as the son of the morning star (a reference to the solstice, not anything satanic), has died in a shipwreck. Alcyone finds this out, and throws herself into the sea. The gods feel pity for Ceyx and Alcyone, transforming them into Halcyon Birds. The first Halcyon days were those days in winter, on which Alcyone first lay her eggs. Her father Aeolus, god of the wind, calms the seas each year since so she can lay them again. Old Greek mythology describing 7 days of calm during winter.

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; “The Extreme of Winter”) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the Dongzhi solar term. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, “Returning”).

Bodhi Day (Japanese: 成道会 or “Jōdō-e”), traditionally the 8th day of the 12th lunar month (See Chinese Calendar), has been observed on December 8 in Japan since the Meiji Restoration (1862-1869). It is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautauma, experienced enlightenment, also known as Bodhi in Sanskrit or Pali. According to tradition, Siddhartha had recently forsaken years of extreme ascetic practices and resolved to sit under a Pipul tree and simply meditate until he found the root of suffering, and how to liberate one’s self from it. Traditions vary on what happened. Some say he made a great vow to nirvana and Earth to find the root of suffering, or die trying. In other traditions, while meditating he was harassed and tempted by the asura Mara (literally, “evil one” in Sanskrit), demon of illusion. Other traditions simply state that he entered deeper and deeper states of meditation, confronting the nature of the self.

What’s your favorite winter holiday? And how do you celebrat it with your friends and family?