Prayer, lights, food, and remembrancesCultural Celebrations Around the world for the departed.

MSSO 2011

Life, Death and Spirits

This presentation prompted by the Mexican Celebration of the Day of the Dead lead to multiple discussions among Multicultural (MSSO) students, faculty and staff. After introducing the concept of the celebration of the Day of the Dead it became clear that even if we might come from different parts of the world and have very different religious backgrounds somehow our humanity transcends our cultures. Setting up this altar has exposed us to an intrinsic commonality. While rituals, traditions and celebrations might differ we all seem to find solace in honoring our loved ones. This Altar was started as a Day of the Dead altar, but has morphed into an altar that hosts Indian, Chinese and Christian symbols amid pictures of loved ones. This altar presents a glimpse into an aspect of our diverse student body. The more we learn about each other the more we understand each other.

All Saints' Day

All Saints' Day (officially the Solemnity of All Saints and also called All Hallows or Hallowmas[), often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.

In terms of Western Christian theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heave. Specifically, in the Catholic Church, the next day, All Soul’s Day commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints_Day

Celebrated by people of Mexican heritage .

The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died.

The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern holiday to indigenous observances dating back thousands of years, and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mitecacihuatl (known in English as "The Lady of the Dead").

MEXICODay of the Dead November 1st and 2nd

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/All_Saints_Day_in_New_Orleans_--_Decorating_the_Tombs.jpg/800px-All_Saints_Day_in_New_Orleans_--_Decorating_the_Tombs.jpg

All Saints Day in New Orleans, Decorating the TumbesA tradition with stronger Catholic roots brought by the French colonizers.

USA All Saints Day

All Souls' Day, in France

Notre Dame Procession, France2007

India

Diwali is a spectacular religious festival. It is held in late autumn, and on the evenings during this time, the windows of houses are illuminated by lamps and candles. From a distance and in the darkness, these hundreds of glowing lights are a wonderful sight. The word Diwali is a shortened version of Deepavali, which means "cluster of lights". The festival of lights is a universal Hindu festival. In India Diwali is seen as a renewal of life. On this day old lamps are thrown out and a new lamp are bought. New lamps are thought to help the souls of the dead find their way to heaven.

The festival also commemorates the coronation of God Rama. When Rama arrives at the end of 14 years of banishment, Hindus rejoice because Rama has conquered Ravana. He has conquered evil and good has triumphed. People show their happiness and joy by lighting lamps in praise of Rama.

http://www.sfindian.com/bay-area/eventDisplay.asp?id=20253

http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/exclusive_arch.asp?ex_id=458

http://www.mibazaar.com/2006/08/diwali-in-michigan-uttar-pradesh.html

Diwali popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-November for different reasons.[1] For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC.[2][3]

Diwali is an official holiday in India,[4] Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore,[5] and Fiji.[6]

The name "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: दी�पा�वली� Dīpāvalī), which translates into "row of lamps".[7] Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) in Sanskrit: दी�पा) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.[8] These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome.[9] Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits.[10][11][12] During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali#In_other_parts_of_the_world

Some Haitian practice Vodou which is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples, along with Roman Catholic Christianity. These two different practices were brought to Haiti in the 16th century by Eruropean colonizers and African slaves. Haitian Vodou is a combination of these two cultures as a consequence of slaves being forced to convert to the religion of their owners, none the less slaves found a way to preserve and followe their traditional African beliefs.

HAITIDay of the Dead November 1st and 2nd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voodoo_in_Haiti

Cambodia Pchum Ben Festival also know as “Festival of the Dead”.

September 15 through the 25th

The fifteenth day, of the tenth month, of the Khmer calendar marks the Pchum Ben festival. This is a time when the spirits of the dead ancestors walk the Earth. And the living can ease their suffering by offering them food to eat. At four in the morning, nearly all of the residents of Phnom Penh gather at the temple with offerings of rice, which they toss on the ground, feeding the dead ancestors.

"Some of the ghosts have small mouths," "So we have to use special rice." Many of the people throw sticky rice, which, apparently is easier for the spirits to consume. people return to the temple, with offerings for the monks by giving food, money and other things as well. As a monk they looked forward to this period all year long, because they could get new clothing and good food.

http://bless-lord.livejournal.com/2985.html

http://cmb.rsuh.ru/article.html?id=254914

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB:Arhipov_radonica.jpg

On the first week after Easter commences the festival of the Krasnaya Gorka (Red Hill). It is chiefly devoted to the memory of the dead. Women take food and drink to the cemeteries, and there mourn over the graves of their dead friends and relatives. Later they sit down and proceed to eat, drink, and be merry, as if the dead can rejoice with them. After their meal, the fragments which remain over are thrown to the evil spirits, in order to prevent them from troubling the repose of the dead, and with similar intent their drinking cups are emptied over the graves.

UKRAINE

The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. It is a statutory public holiday in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

The Qingming is commonly called as Ching Ming, Clear Bright Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Festival for Tending Graves, Grave Sweeping Day, Spring Remembrance, Chinese Memorial Day, All Souls Day. The Qingming Festival is an opportunity for Chinese to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, paper accessories to the ancestors. Food like roasted suckling pig, steamed chicken, fruit and wine are offered during the ceremony. Some people carry willow branches with them or hang it on the front door. It's believed that willows help to get rid of evil spirits, when Ching Ming (Tomb Sweeping Day) is one of the days that ghosts and spirits wander about

http://holidayyear.com/holidays/images/qing-ming.jpg

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Qingming+Festival+&view=detail&id=AAC1B638E0A8643A33FF13D939E99D8DCF1A706D&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

CHINA,Qingming Festival Early April

USA HalloweenOctober 31

Halloween, or Halloween, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.

Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.

Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twenty first century.

Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies.

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