EmbRACE Update - Worldwide Festivals 🌍

Each month we will be sharing information on the many celebrated Worldwide Festivals. Developed by our very own EmbRACE Working Group Colleague, Mandy Kaur, have a read of the latest update below which includes November's dates. 😊

Welcome to another edition of exciting and vibrant festivals for the month of November!, this edition highlights a very Important National Day on behalf of the Embrace Team, please read on to find out more!

"Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human."

 

8^th November 2022 – Loy Krathong – The Festival of Light

 

The history behind the festival is complex, and Thais celebrate it for many reasons. As the main rice harvest season ends, it’s time to thank the Water Goddess for a year’s worth of her abundant supply, as well as an apology for polluting the waters. Krathong is a Thai term which refers to a piece of banana trunk decorated with flowers, banana leaves, candle and incense sticks. The word Loy means to float in the Thai language.

Some believe that this is the time to symbolically ‘float away’ all the anger and grudges you have been holding onto, and including a fingernail or a lock of hair is seen as a way of letting go of a dark side of yourself, to start anew free of negative feelings, some people will add money to their boats as well. If your candle stays alight until your Krathong disappears out of sight, it means a year of good luck. Traditionally, Thais release their krathong into rivers and small canals called klongs. Many places host a string of cultural activities, such as Ram Wong dance performances, krathong-making competitions and a beauty contest

 

8^th November 2022 – Shichi-Go-San Festival - ‘ 7-5-3 The making of little adults’ 

 

Celebrated as a gala day for three and five-year-old boys (or, in many areas, for five-year-old boys only) and three and seven-year-old girls. On this day, prayers are offered for the healthy and happy futures of the children. These ages in particular are celebrated both because the ages of three, five and seven are seen as important markers of stages in a child's growth, and because odd numbers are seen as lucky in Japan. As per the tradition families will visit their local shrine, and the children are given sweets which come in red and white, notoriously auspicious colours used for celebrations. The sweets will usually match their age — three sticks of candy for a three-year-old, and so on. The candy sticks are put inside a plastic bag and usually given to the child by the parents, grandparents or neighbours.

 

8^th November 2022 – Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Birthday

 

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Is known to be the first founder of Sikhism and the first of 11 Guru’s. Many of the Guru’s messages of God were written as poems which were later included into the holy scriptures of the Guru Granth Sahib. In the Guru’s early days, he was known as quite the rebellion, his family would often ask him to herd the cows or to find a job but he would always get caught, sitting under a tree somewhere in blissful meditation. The most famous teachings attributed to Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the Sikh’s belief that there is only one God, and that all human beings can have direct access to God without the need of rituals or priests or status. His most radical social teachings denounced the caste system and taught that everyone is equal, regardless of caste or gender and these teachings created the foundations to Sikhism which were later passed on. 

 

24^th November 2022 – Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Dev Ji (The Ninth Guru)

 

Guru Tegh Bahadur Dev Ji was the ninth guru who founded the Sikh religion and continued to spread the message that resonates with all Sikhs today. He undertook the supreme sacrifice for the protection of the most fundamental of human rights - the right of a person to freely practice his or her religion without interference or hindrance. What would be considered as a basic right today was almost impossible in 1675 where many people were forced into converting their religion and killed if they contested. It was not his own religion that Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji fought for, but instead sacrificed himself for the people of Kashmir, many who were devout Hindus but were ruled by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. They were given the ultimatum to convert or they will face execution, at which point Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji told the Emperor to take him instead to save the lives of many others. Aurangzeb had the Guru arrested, he was then tortured for 5 long days, his devotees were killed before him but the Guru refused to give up his religious faith and so he was beheaded but it was not in vain as it gave others the fortitude to stand by their beliefs. The guru’s lineage was passed onto his son who became the 10^th and final living Guru, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and a Gurdwara stands in the exact location where the Guru sacrificed his life. 

 

27^th November 2022 – Advent Sunday 

 

The start of the Christian year, four Sundays before Christmas. It is often celebrated by lighting the first candle in the advent crown – a circular wreath of greenery. A further three candles are lit on subsequent Sundays, culminating with the Christmas candle on the 25th December. This signifies the transition from darkness to light.

 

16^th November 2022 – International Day of Tolerance

 

The UN General Assembly declared this day as a national day with the goal of getting educational institutions and the general public to see tolerance as a staple of society. The declaration affirms that tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference. It is respected and appreciation by the rich variety of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human, Tolerance recognise the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. People are naturally diverse; only tolerance can ensure the survival of mixed communities in every region of the globe. The UN describes how tolerance can be countered through enforcing human rights laws, education, accessing information, local solutions and individual awareness. To find out more, please click here.

 

 

Important November Facts:

• The 5^th November is Guy Fawkes night, it marks the failure of the Gunpowder Plot on November 5 1605, when a group of embittered Catholic conspirators planned to blow up parliament and kill the Protestant King James I. ‘Remember, Remember the 5^th November’

• November has just one birthstone, the radiant topaz. The ancient Greeks also believed that the stone had the ability to turn oneself invisible

• The month of Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales!

• National days also include;

- 2 November – National Stress Awareness day

- 14 – 18 November – Anti-Bullying Week

- 18 November – BBC Children in Need Appeal

 

See you all next month for some more exciting celebrations! To all those celebrating, hope you enjoy yourselves! And if you are please send in your pictures to embraceworkinggroup@midcounties.coop 😊