Here is a look at some upcoming holidays in September for those of various faiths. I will give a break down of the holiday and traditions that go with it. September: 8th: Nativity of Mary - Christian Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God, heralded joy to all the world. For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God. Destroying the curse, He gave blessing; and damning death, He bestowed on us life everlasting. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice, Christ our God. - See more at: wf-f.org/BirthofMary.html#sthash.qujpDlpY.dpuf It is the celebration of the birth of one of historys great mothers. She is the mother to the most influential spiritual leader of all times and is followed and revered by many. Many beliefs not just Christian have views about Mother Mary. Many Pagans believe her to be a Goddess and one of the great mother deities. In Catholicism she is revered much like Pagans revere and worship Patron Goddesses. Marys Birthday Cake All children love birthday cakes -- so today, lets make a birthday cake for the Blessed Virgin Mary. A white layer cake or angel food cake would be appropriate, with white icing and blue icing for trim (white is a symbol of purity; blue symbolizes fidelity, and is a color especially used for Mary). We suggest letting the children help with the decorations, if possible. If you have a small statue of Mary, it could be placed in the center of the cake, which can be surrounded by 10 candles -- one for each Hail Mary prayer in a decade of the Rosary. (If you dont have a little statue, you can write Marys name on the cake in blue icing.) At the end of the evening meal, each child could take turns lighting the 10 candles as the whole family prays together a Hail Mary for each candle, ending with the Lords Prayer. - See more at: wf-f.org/BirthofMary.html#sthash.qujpDlpY.dpuf 22nd- Mabon( Northern Hemisphere) Ostara( Southern Hemisphere)- Pagan-Wicca: Mabon: Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 21, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings.paganwiccan.about/od/mabontheautumnequinox/a/AllAboutMabon.htm Celebrate with feats, laughter and nature. Collect things such as leaves, feathers, stones, gourds and other natural items to decorate your home and alters. A great time of the year to make incense and candles for those long winter nights coming. I am only touching lightly on this as I have been sharing on it:) Ostara:Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, is an enchanted borderland time outside of time where a magickal seam joins dark and light. From this moment on, the Sun God begins his seminal journey across the sky. His light and warmth overtake the darkness of Winter until his power peaks at Summer Solstice in June. Ostara is a time of new fire. The light and dark are in perfect balance, but the light is growing and the Sun is about to burst forth with new energy. It is a season of fertility and growth. Eostre or Ostara is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring to whom offerings of cakes and colored eggs were made at the Vernal Equinox. Rabbits were sacred to her, especially white rabbits, and she was believed to take the form of a rabbit. ALTAR: For the Ostara altar: -- Candles should be light green. -- Incense may be jasmine. -- Decorate the circle with spring wildflowers. -- Place an earthenware or wooden bowl containing soil or a large seed of some kind on the altar. HERBS to use in your magic at Ostara: lily of the valley, tansy, lavender, marjoram, thyme, tarragon, lovage, lilac, violets, lemon balm, dogwood, honeysuckle, oakmoss, orrisroot, sunflower seeds, rose hips, oak, elder, willow, crocus, daffodil, jonquil, tulip, broom (Scotch or Iris), meadowsweet, acorn, trefoil (purple clover), vervain. STONES: Clear quartz crystal, rose quartz, agate, lapis lazuli, amazonite, garnet. ACTIVITIES : Perform a seed blessing and indoor planting ritual. Have a traditional breakfast of buns, ham, and eggs. Make natural egg dyes from herbs. Color hard boiled eggs and add symbols for the Fertility God, the Goddess, the Sun God, unity, fire, water, agriculture, prosperity and growth, strength and wisdom, spring, love and affection, and protection. Consecrate the eggs: In the name of the Goddess of Spring, (name); and the ever-returning God of the Sun, (name); By the powers of the four elements -- earth, air, fire, and water; I do consecrate these eggs of Ostara.. Point the athame at the eggs, make the sign of the pentagram, and see the energy flow through the blade into the eggs, and say: New life lies within as new life shall enter the soil. Let those who seek this life find it and consume it, for all life feeds on life. The eggs may be hidden and an Ostara Egg Hunt commences. Make pysanky and krashanky, magickal amulets of fertility, protection, and prosperity. Make hot cross buns to honor the union of the earth and the sun for Spring. Slash the X with the bolline and bless the cakes. Toss crushed eggshells into the garden and say: For fairy, for flowers, for herbs in the bowers, The shells pass fertility with springtime flowers. Wear green clothing. Eat an egg you have empowered with a quality you desire. On Ostara Eve, light a purple or violet candle and burn patchouli incense. Carry them both through the house, and say: Farewell to wintry spirits and friends; On morrow we greet the spirits of spring. Our blessings to thee as your way we wend; And merry well meet next winter again. Blow out the candle and say: Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again. At this time, witches cast spells for careers, relationships, and love. Its a time for planting new ideas. Seek harmony and balance in the incredible energy of the season, and project good health, good fortune, and confidence in achieving goals. FOOD: Eggs! Spring lamb, cream and milk, bake bread with a decorated egg inside, spring salad, hot cross bunsearthwitchery/ostara.html It is where the Christian holiday of Easter stems from. 24th-26th: Rosh Hashanah * - Jewish The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world. The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G‑d; we evoke Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, we listen to one hundred shofar blasts over the course of the Rosh Hashanah services. Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year’s blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words “Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.), in evocation of the verse, “And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea.” And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candlelighting and prayers we recite kiddush and make a blessing on the challah. chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm 27th: Meskel- Ethiopian Orthodox Christian The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried.[1] Demera engulfed in flames, 2013. According to local traditions, this Demera-procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself. The firewood is decorated with daisies prior to the celebration. Charcoal from the remains of the fire is afterwards collected and used by the faithful to mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross (compare Ash Wednesday). Edward Ullendorff records a number of beliefs of the meaning of Demera, with some believing that it marks the ultimate act in the cancellation of sins, while others hold that the direction of the smoke and the final collapse of the heap indicate the course of future events -- just as the cloud of smoke the Lord over the Tabernacle offered guidance to the children of Israel (Exod. 40:34-38).[2] One explanation for the high rank this festival has in the church calendar is that its believed that a part of the true Cross has been brought to Ethiopia from Egypt. It is said to be kept at Amba Geshen, which itself has a cross shape. According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the discovery of the True Cross is traditionally believed to have been in March, but Meskel was moved to September to avoid holding a festival during Lent, and because the church commemorating the True Cross in Jerusalem was dedicated during September.[3] Ullendorff speculates that Meskel replaced an older festival, with pagan and Hebraic associations, which he believes received its Christian sanction around the reign of Emperor Amda Seyon in the fourteenth century. The most ancient meaning of these feasts -- as was also the case in Israel -- was no doubt seasonal: the month of Maskaram marked the end of the rains, the resumption of work, and the reopening of communications.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meskel 29th- October 3rd: Navaratri ** - Hindu During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as Durga, which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as Devi (goddess) or Shakti (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there. Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights. hinduism.about/od/festivalsholidays/a/navaratri.htm The Nine day celebrations: The celebrations takes place in the form or 3 sets of 3 days. Each set dedicated to the three Goddesses. The first set of three days is dedicated to Goddess Durga (The goddess of Power), the second set of three days is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and Prosperity) and the third set of three days is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Arts and Education) 1st – 3rd day of Navratri - In the First three days of Navratri The goddess Durga is invoked as kali in order to destroy the evil and our impurities. Many people fast on the first and the last day only. But, there are many who fast on all nine days. The celebration starts by preparing a mud bed at the place where pooja takes place. Barley seeds are sown in it. Each day is dedicated to an avatar of Maha Durga. First day is dedicated to Kumari, the girl child. 2nd day is dedicated to Parvati, the young woman. The third day is dedicated to Goddess Durga’s Kaali avatar in order to acquire triumph over the evil and impurities. 4th – 6th day of Navratri -On this set of three days Goddess Lakshami is worshipped. Here she is the giver of spiritual wealth and prosperity to the worshipper. She is also the symbol of peach and prosperity. It is believed that the worshipper is blessed with inexhaustible wealth, peace and prosperity. The fifth day is known as Lalita Panchami. All the literature in the house is displayed in the pooja place and a lamp is lit. Goddess Sarasvati is then invoked. 7th – 8th day of Navratri -The final set of three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati is the Goddess of Art and Education. The worshipper is blessed with immense knowledge. The eighth day is known as Durga Ashtami. Im majority of the households a Havan (holy fire) is performed. All the family members participate in this havan. Mahanavami -The ninth day is known as Maha Navmi. The day starts by Kajak i.e. the girl Childs are fed with Puri, Halwa and Chane. There must be atleast a set nine girls. Before offering food, their feet are washed and cleaned as a symbol of respect for the Goddess Durga. On Navami all the girl child are considered to be the form of Goddess Durga. After offering food they are given clothes or fruits or money. The number of girls could be any, depending on the worshiper’s will. The tenth day is Dussehra, also known as Ravan dahan, Dashmi, Vijay Dashmi. On the tenth day, the shoots which were sown on the first day are about 3 – 5 inches in length. These seedlings are then pulled out and given to devotees in the form of Prasad.hindu.org.au/article.php?id=15
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 13:02:01 +0000
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