February is a month to celebrate diversity, and Nora Smith, P/SL Chaplain Manager, has shared with us the diversity notes below highlighting different faith's celebrations and traditions."
You get the best from others, when you give the best of yourself," said Harvey Firestone, founder of the Firestsone Tire & Rubber Company.
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Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well," said the French philosopher Voltaire centuries ago.
There are many ways to appreciate our diversity. Following is a list of celebrations and events that honor the diverse spirit of this month, published by the Multifaith Action Society of Port Moody, British Columbia..
BLACK HISTORY MONTH – started in 1926. February was chosen because both Abraham Lincoln (president who freed slaves during the Civil War), and Frederick Douglass (a black who worked to end slavery) have birthdays this month.
EARTH-BASED SPIRITUALITY – February 2. Imbolc celebrates the increasing strength of the God, given as the first and greatest gift of the Goddess, from which will come the later material and spiritual harvests. Imbolc comes from an archaic Gaelic expression “in the belly” which signaled the first stirrings of life within the womb of mother earth. The Goddess is honored at this time as the source of fire, poetry, arts, crafts, agriculture and smith craft.
SHINTO – February 3. Popularly known as the Bean-throwing Festival, Setsunbun-sai marks the end of winter and the eve of the first day of spring according to the ancient East Asian solar calendar familiar to Japanese Americans. Beans are thrown into each room of the house, and then through the outer doors, with the shout, “Devils out, Fortune in!” Today, Setsunbun-sai is a happy family festival.
WORLD DAY OF THE SICK – February 11. Prayer for those who serve the sick: Compassionate God, Source of Life, Spirit of All Healing: Bless, direct, and guide us. Remembering that each of us will take our turns in darkness and in light, let us be light for one another when the darkness falls. Gentle our hands. Soften our eyes. Open a window in our hearts so that Your Grace and Loving-Kindness may shine through. Make of our attention a safe shelter for the healing of the sick, in mind and heart, spirit and body. Renew us always in Your love. Amen.
HINDUISM – February 12. Mahashivaratri is dedicated to Shiva, one of the major deities to whom Hindus direct their devotion. The night before the feast, Hindus recite sacred texts, sing and tell stories in honor of this God whose dynamic cosmic dance creates, preserves, destroys and recreates the world.
LUNAR NEW YEAR / BUDDHISM –February 14. The first day after the new (dark) moon is a religious and cultural festival celebrated for about two weeks by Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean Americans of Buddhist and other backgrounds as New Year’s Day for the year 4708. People dress up in costumes, exchange food and gifts, visit family members, and remember ancestors. They settle all business accounts and forget all grudges. This calendar year marks the “Year of the Tiger.”
CHRISTIANITY – February 15 – (Eastern Christian Churches following the Gregorian calendar). First day of The Great Fast (or the Great Lent), the 40-day period prior to the beginning of Holy Week, ending with Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday. It is the final six weeks of a ten-week period of spiritual discipline, cleansing, and fasting leading up to Pascha (Easter). “We often complain that the Church doesn’t ‘meet our needs.’ Yet perhaps the real problem is that the needs that we feel are important are not the ones the Church strives to teach us are ultimately important. Of course we want the Church to make us feel better about ourselves, as long as we don’t need to change anything about ourselves. Yet the whole point of the Great Fast is to help us see just how much about us needs changed, and then to give us the tools to help us begin that change. But that means work, and commitment, and perhaps some discomfort, and certainly honesty on our part.” --Protopresbyter Rade Merick, in “Risking Great Lent.”
CHRISTIANITY – February 17 – (Western Christian Churches). Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent in the Western Christian liturgical year. Lent is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting that occurs in the forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter to prepare for Christ’s resurrection and the redemption of believers.
ISLAM – February 25. Mawlid al-Nabiy. Muslims commemorate with profound love and abounding joy, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who was born in the city of Mecca around 570 C.E. The prophet’s teachings are read from the Holy Qur’an and religious meetings are held. Some Muslims do not celebrate, feeling that this observance is an innovation that distracts from the true source of revelation. For others, it is a means to teach their communities about the Prophet Muhammad’s way of life, which all seek to emulate. The festival begins in the evening.
HINDUISM – February 28. Holi, a colorful and joyous festival, is dedicated to Krishna or Kama. It is a time to remember the brightness and splendor of living, a time to spread joy, color and love into the lives of family and friends.
JUDAISM – February 28. Purim celebrates victory over an oppressive ruler, as related in the Book of Esther, which is read at this time. When the oppressor’s name is mentioned, the listeners stamp their feet, boo and hiss, and make noise with graggers. The festival begins at sundown the previous day.
