Shōgatsu, public holiday observed in Japan on January 1–3 (though celebrations sometimes last for the entire week), marking the beginning of a new calendar year. On the eve of the new year, temple bells ring 108 times: 8 times to ring out the old year and 100 times to usher in the new year. Prior to the start of the holiday, […]
Saint Basil the Great, (born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia—died Jan. 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1), Early church father. Born into a Christian family in Cappadocia, he studied at Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens and later established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi. He opposed Arianism, which […]
Epiphany, (from Greek epiphaneia, “manifestation”), Christian holiday commemorating the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and the manifestation of his divinity, as it occurred at his baptism in the Jordan River and at his first miracle, at Cana in Galilee. Epiphany is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian church (the other two are Easter and Christmas). Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and other Western churches observe the feast on January 6, […]
Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs, was born on December 22, 1666 in Patna, Bihar, according to the Julian calendar. As this calendar is obsolete in the present day, his 356th birth anniversary will be celebrated on December 29 this year. Every year on this day, gurudwaras are decorated and people visit to […]
Mahayana Buddhists celebrate the new year by honoring and praying for Buddha and other deities. Every Buddhist is expected to visit a nearby temple to light candles which are believed to bring happiness and good luck for the commencing year. Songs are sung as an offering to deities while statues of Buddha are washed as […]
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