HUMBER INTERFAITH CALENDAR MULTIFAITH HOLY DAYS & FESTIVALS
DECEMBER 2014 : CALENDAR - DESCRIPTIONS
In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, we provide the following Multifaith Holy Days & Festivals realizing that it is not exhaustive. Should you wish your faith’s days to be included, please contact the Chaplain at x 4427 or chaplain@humber.ca for due consideration.
01 Monday
Mnidoo-Giisoons (Aboriginal-Ojibwe)
Little Spirit Moon.
06 Saturday
Full Moon The moon is at its greatest visibility.
St. Nicholas Day (Christianity-Eastern)
Celebrates St. Nicholas (from 3rd century Asia Minor) as the protector children and the bringer of gifts. Children leave shoes before a chimney or outside the front door of the home in the hope of obtaining Christmas treats.
08 Monday
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
(Christianity-Catholicism)
Celebrates the birth of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as being conceived without sin.
12 Friday
Masa’il (Baha’i)
Masa’il, meaning Questions, is the fifteenth month of the Baha’i year.
17 Wednesday
Hanukkah (Judaism) to Dec 24
(The Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication)
Commemorates the victory of Judah the Maccabee for religious freedom plus the rededication of the temple in 165 BCE. Hannukkah begins at sundown the prior day.
21 Sunday
December (Winter) Solstice
The time when the Winter season begins.
Yule (Wicca)
Celebrates the new year, in the Anglo-Saxon and northern traditions of Wicca, with the birth of the God as the Winter-born King symbolized by the rebirth of the life-giving and life-sustaining sun; a time for ritually shedding the dross of the past year to contemplate spiritual development for the year ahead.
Tohji-Tasai (Shinto)
Celebrates the end of the sun’s period of decline (Yin) and its forthcoming renewal of strength (Yang).
22 Monday
New Moon The moon is at its least visibility.
23 Tuesday
Birth of Joseph Smith (Mormonism)
Celebrates the birth of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons.
25 Thursday
Christmas (Christianity-Western)
Celebrates the birth of Jesus, whom Christians worship as the Christ and Saviour of the world.
26 Friday
Death of Zarathustra (Zoroastrianism)
Celebrates Zarathustra (Zoroaster), founder of the Zoroastrian faith (dates uncertain).
Kwanzaa to Jan 01/2015(West African / North American)
Celebrated by North Americans of West African descent in recognition of their African and family heritage.
St. Stephen’s Day (Christianity-Western)
Commemorates Stephen who died as the first Christian martyr.
Boxing Day (Christianity-Western)
Collections of gifts are given to those in need.
31 Wednesday
Sharaf(Baha’i)
Sharaf, meaning Honour, is the sixteenth month if the Baha’i year.
Ghambar Maidyarem to Jan 04(Zoroastrianism)
Celebrates the creation of the animals and is the time for equitable food sharing.
Omisoka (Shinto)
To celebrate the new year, Shinto temples ring bells 108 times to remove the worldly desires of persons seeking a long life.