Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia, Volume 2This illustrated reference work covers a wide range of festivals that have sacred origins and are or have been part of a folk tradition, a world religion, or a major civilization. Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia travels around the world and across the centuries to uncover an often unexpected richness of meaning in some of the major sacred festivals of the world's religions, the hallowed calendars of ancient civilizations, and the seasonal celebrations of tribal cultures. From Akitu to Yom Kippur, its 150+ entries look at the content and context of these festivals from a number of perspectives (including those relating to theology, anthropology, folklore, and social theory), tracing their historical development and variations across cultures. Readers will get a vivid sense of what each festival means to the people celebrating it; how each captures its culture's beliefs, hopes and fears, founding myths, and redemptive visions; and how each expresses the universal need of humans to connect their lives to a timeless spiritual dimension. |
From inside the book
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Page 257
... Night of Shiva " -that of the fourteenth lunar day ( tithi ) of the waning or " dark half " ( krishna- paksha ) of every lunar month . Though both this time of day and this time of the month are the most inauspicious as the darkest ...
... Night of Shiva " -that of the fourteenth lunar day ( tithi ) of the waning or " dark half " ( krishna- paksha ) of every lunar month . Though both this time of day and this time of the month are the most inauspicious as the darkest ...
Page 361
... night differ from all other nights ? For on all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread ; why on this night only unleavened bread ? On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs ; why on this night only bitter herbs ? On ...
... night differ from all other nights ? For on all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread ; why on this night only unleavened bread ? On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs ; why on this night only bitter herbs ? On ...
Page 385
... Night of Power By the end of Ramadan , any Muslim will have experienced firsthand what it feels like to know hunger and thirst most of the time and will be genuinely inclined to relieve the burden of the poor for whom this is a ...
... Night of Power By the end of Ramadan , any Muslim will have experienced firsthand what it feels like to know hunger and thirst most of the time and will be genuinely inclined to relieve the burden of the poor for whom this is a ...
Common terms and phrases
ancient Bahá'í birthday blessing calendar called Carnival celebrated century ceremony China Chinese Christ Christian Christmas Church cult custom Cybele dead deities Dionysia Divali divine Dragon Dusshera Easter Epiphany evil fast feast festival fire folklore Friday Games gifts girls goddess gods Greece Greek Gregorian Hindu holiday holy honor Indian Islamic Japan Jerusalem Jewish Jews king known Korea lunar Martinmas Matsuri Mawlid Midsummer Monday month moon Mother Muslim Naadam Naked Festival Navaratra Naw Ruz night observed offerings Ňsun Panathenaea Paryushana Passover potlatch powwow prayer priest procession Prophet Puja Purim Ramadan References religious rice rites ritual Roman Rome Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hodesh Sabbath sacred sacrifice Saint George Saint Nicholas Samhain Saturday Saturnalia seasonal Sekku Shalako Shavuot shrine spirits spring Sukkot Sun Dance symbolic temple Thursday tion Torah traditional Tuesday Vaisakhi Vaishakha Vasant Panchami Vikram village Virgin Mary Wednesday week Whitsuntide women Year's Day Yom Kippur