Veterans Day - Honor The Veterans

Veterans Day is a day that honors the military veterans every year in Unites States. On this day both a state holiday and a federal holiday in all states is observed. Usually it is celebrated on the 11th of November. This day is memorialized as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of this planet. Veterans Day is celebrated on 11th November because it marks the anniversary of signing of Armistice that put an end to the First World War. The chief hostilities of World War I properly met an end in the year 1918 in 11th month of the year, on 11th day and at the 11th hour. The hostilities were finished with German signing of the Armistice. In advertisements and calendars the holiday is commonly printed as Veterans' Day or Veteran's Day.

An Armistice Day was declared for 12th November, 1919 by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. After some years, 11th November was declared an authorized holiday which was to be observed every year. This day was a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store holder named Al King carried a plan to increase Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not currently those who provided in World War I. King had been devotedly involved with an American War Dads throughout the Second World War. Then he started a campaign so that the Armistice Day can be turned into ‘All’ Veterans Day.

The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took hold of the cause after deciding that 90% of the Emporia merchants with the Board of Education supported finishing their doors on 11th November in the year 1953, to pay homage to veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, from Emporia, a bill for holiday was pushed through Congress. The President Dwight Eisenhower marked it into law on 26th May, 1954.

This act was modified by the Congress on 8th November, 1954, replacing ‘Armistice’ with Veterans. It has been known as Veterans Day from that time. Veterans Day was shifted to fourth Monday of October, Even though originally planned to be commemorated on 11th November of each year, opening in 1971 compliant with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Since the time this change was made, there has been a tendency against being closed on the holiday. It started with businesses (banks are excluded from this holiday) and in current years some schools and local governments are also chosen to remain open.

Celebrations of Veterans Day include Veterans Day flag hoisting, pledge and singing of the National Anthem. Musical programs by school or community musical organizations are conducted. In schools there are essay writing or reading competitions about a great military soldier or an American President. School magazines publish Veterans Day stories. Other organizations and institutions also conduct various programs to give a tribute to all the veterans. Veterans Day pays a heartfelt tribute to the military veterans.

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What's Special on Diwali...

Decorations of Diwali

Diwali gives a wonderful chance to people to decorate their homes tastefully. As passion of Diwali is not restricted only to India, people adorn their homes worldwide on this festival. Decorating homes with especially Diwali decorative items fills the home with celebratory spirit and glee. People ornament their homes with traditional Diwali decorative items like clay lamps, torans or door hangings, decorative lanterns or lamps, sculptures and idols of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha, rangoli and the like. This ethnic decoration infuses the spirit of fiesta enthusiasm among people.


Rituals of Diwali

Celebrations of Diwali are incomplete without rituals of Diwali. Most importantly they include worshipping of Laxmi-Ganesha before bursting firecrackers and enjoying sweets. The very first step of the commencement of celebrations on a Diwali night is worship of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha. Other than this, Diwali is a five day festival and celebrations continue for five consecutive days.

Diwali celebrations cast a magical charm which throws away dirt and darkness not only from our homes but from also our hearts. Throughout the year, we are excited for celebrating Diwali. On this day, we forget bitter experiences and feelings and put in our best efforts to enjoy Deepawali celebrations in complete harmony with each other which is the best way to enjoy this festival.

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Five Days of Diwali

Diwali is the festival of lights. Indians celebrate throughout the planet with great zeal and passion. Diwali not only brings a lot of enthusiasm but also five days to celebrate the festive fervor. Firecrackers, sweets, lights and lots of shopping are the features of Diwali that are most awaited and enjoyed. Five days of Diwali are filled with cheerfulness and each day holds a different importance and legend behind it. A list of five day events is given here along with their legends.

Dhanteras-The First Day

Diwali commences with Dhanvantari Trayodashi. According to Hindu calendar, it is the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha in the month of Kartik. Dhanteras is the famous name of Dhanvantari Trayodashi. Legends say that Lord Dhanwantari came out of the ocean on this day. He was having Ayurvedic ways of treatment for the benefit of mankind. On this day people worship Lord Yamaraj and light a 'Yama-Diya' at night in order to offer prayers to Him. People purchase new utensils on this day. This is also a tradition which is related with Dhanvantari Trayodashi.

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Chhoti Diwali-The Second Day

Narak Chaturdashi falls on the second day of Diwali. According to the legends, on this day Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakasur to free mankind from his fear. Massaging body with oil and bath on this day is a tradition. It is said that those who do not bath on this day go to hell.

Badi Diwali or Lakshmi Puja-The Third Day

The third day of Diwali is the most important day of the Diwali celebrations. The divine Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on this day and people offer prayers to her to receive her blessings for affluence and prosperity. For this day, people make their homes spick and span and adorn their homes with several clay lamps and colorful lights and play with firecrackers.

Gowardhan Puja or Padwa-The Fourth Day

The fourth day of Diwali is dedicated to Govardhan Pooja or worshipping of Govardhan Parvat. Legends say that once Lord Shri Krishna performed the Govardhan Pooja with the citizens of Vraja for their safety from heavy rains. Since that time, it turned into a Hindu tradition to worship Govardhan Parvat in order to respect that first Pooja done on this day.

Bhaidooj or Bhaiya Dooj or Bhratri Dooj-The Fifth Day

Bhaidooj is the fifth day of Diwali. On this day the bond of brother and sister is strengthened and their relation is honored. Legends hold that on this day Lord Yamaraj visited his sister Yamuna and gave a boon that if brothers visit their sisters on this day, they will be freed from all their sins. The tradition of visiting sisters by their brothers is followed since that day. Sisters put tika on foreheads of their brothers and sweeten their mouths with sweets. This day marks the end of the five day long celebrations of Diwali.

Five days of Diwali hold immense pleasure and delight. They give us chance to have celebrations one after another.

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Diwali Celebrations

India celebrates Diwali with joy and gaiety but fervor of festivity of this fiesta of lights is no less in other countries. As this festival of light approaches, people make their homes spick and span in order to escape bad fortune in the upcoming year. People have a get together with friends and family for a banquet.

Festive zeal of people reaches the top when they burst firecrackers and exchange sweets. They remarkably brighten their homes to welcome the Hindu goddess Laxmi to receive her blessings for wealth and prosperity. Children also make clay lamps to light their homes and invite the goddess of good luck to their home. They are mainly interested in getting new clothes and toys. On Diwali night, the cities look like oceans carrying copious illuminated clay lamps.

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All Saints Day

The festival of All Saints Day is celebrated by the church to remember and honor all the faithful men of Christianity. The liturgical color for All Saints' Day is white as also testified in the book of Revelations in the Holy Bible. In the life of the church, this day is a special event because it enhances the worship life of everyone who observes it. 1st November is the traditional date to observe the All Saints Day.

The origins of the festival of All Saints Day are found in the Roman Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. An extensive practice of Christians had been reflecting on the lives and examples of the saints. This practice is followed since the earliest days of the church. The liturgical calendar was packed with the commemorations of a huge number of martyrs and saints by the early Middle Ages. A large number of these lesser observances were pooled into a joint celebration called All Saints' Day.

On this day offerings are made in Mexico, Portugal and Spain. The play ‘Don Juan Tenorio’ is customarily performed in Spain. The celebration of ‘Dia de los Inocentes’ or Day of the Innocents, coincides with All Saints Day in Mexico. On this day deceased infants and children are honored. The tradition of Pao-por-Deus is celebrated by children in Portugal and they move door to door and receive nuts, pomegranates and cakes. In Italy, Spain, Malta, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Hungary, Austria and Portugal people put flowers on graves of their relatives.
People follow the tradition of lighting candles and visit graves of their relatives in the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Catholic parts of Germany, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia and Moldova.

All saints Day is known as ‘Undas’, ‘Todos los Santos’ and sometimes ‘Araw ng mga Namayapa’ (roughly ‘Day of the deceased’) in the Philippines. Here it is celebrated as All Soul’s Day. One day before, one after and on this day, people visit graves of their relatives, offer flowers and prayers and lit candles on graves. In short, visiting cemeteries and giving ‘Soul Cakes’ to the poor are customs and traditions of All Saints Day.

In the English-speaking countries, the festival is customarily celebrated with the hymn ‘For All the Saints’.

All Saints Day is also known by the names of All Hallows or Hallowmas. The eve of All Saints is known by the names of All Hallows Eve or Halloween. All Saints Day is a solemnity which is celebrated in the Western Christianity. This day is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity to give honor to all the saints whether known or unknown.

The entire church is celebrating the feast of All Saints on 1st November for over a millennium. This feast is the most important feast of the Catholic Church. It is a divine day of obligation. In other words, it is compulsory for all Catholics to attend Mass on that day.

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Have a Scary Samhain

Samhain marks one doorway out of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. The Celts separated the year into two seasons: the light and the dark; at Beltane and Samhain. People believed that whisperings of new beginnings are heard clearly in dark silence. The most magically effective time of this festival is the night of 31st October, today known as Halloween.

Literally Samhain means ‘summer’s end’. The night before this day became famous as Halloween. On 2nd November All Souls Day started to be observed and people worshipped for all souls who were waiting to enter heaven. Throughout the centuries, Christian and Pagan beliefs got interlaced in a gallimaufry of celebrations.

Approximately around eighth century or so, Catholics decided to use 1st November as All Saints Day. This was actually a quite smart action on their part. The reason was the local Pagans were already celebrating that day, so it was sensible to use it as a church holiday. All Saints’ Day became the festival to tribute any saint who did not already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was delivered on All Saints Day was called All Hallowmas – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before All Saints’ Day naturally became known as All Hallows Eve and finally morphed into an event what we call Halloween today.

The Celtic New Year commences with the sunset on Samhain. The old year is over, the harvest has been gathered, cattle and sheep have been brought in and leaves have fallen from trees. The earth around us steadily begins to die. At this time people look at wrapping up the old things in life that are still unresolved. So that when the incomplete stuff clears away, you can start looking towards the next year.

For some people, Samhain is the time to honor their ancestors. Samhain gives you the perfect night to celebrate the memory of your dear ones who have died in the past year. If you are lucky enough, your ancestors will return to converse with you from beyond the veil. They also advice you, guide you and offer protection for the forthcoming year.

Samhain is a harvest festival which has its primordial roots in Celtic polytheism. This harvest festival was associated to other festivals that took place around the same time in other cultures of the Celts. The celebration of this festival continued in late medieval times. Samhain actually refers to the portion of the holiday on 1st November.

If you desire to observe Samhain in the Celtic tradition, extend the festivities for over three successive days. You can have a ritual and a banquet every night. As far as Samhain rituals are concerned they are End of the harvest, ritual for animals, holding a séance, honoring the ancestors, holding a dumb supper, celebrating the cycle of life and death, honoring God and Goddesses and ancestor meditation. Now, you are fully acquainted with Samhain, have a nice time on this occasion this year.

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Halloween- A Creepy Carnival

A frightening festival that chills the spine is Halloween. It is observed on 31st Oct. This festival has its roots in All Saint’s Day-a Christian holiday and the Celtic festival of Samhain. In the present day and age, Halloween is chiefly a secular celebration. This year it is falling on Sunday. So, this year people have entire weekend to decorate homes.

The day of Halloween is the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was a pagan holiday which honors the dead. Halloween dates back to more than twenty eras. Halloween is celebrated before All Saint’s Day. Culture of Halloween can be traced back to the Druids which is a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Several practices of this scary festival were based on superstition. According to Celt belief, souls of the dead roamed in streets at night. As all spirits were not thought to be affable, gifts were left out to placate the evil.

As there are various versions associated to the beginning and old customs of Halloween, some are consistent. Various cultures view Halloween in a different way but traditional Halloween practices are the same.

A number of activities take place on this festival that symbolize fright and fear. These activities include visiting haunted attractions, telling ghost stories, committing pranks, trick or treating, apple bobbing, watching horror movies, attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, bonfires, and ghost tours.

Jack-o’-lanterns (candles carved from pumpkin) are carved while commemorating souls in purgatory. Candle lanterns are also carved from turnips. These candles are carved in such a way that scary faces are formed and then they are placed on windows to keep away evil spirits. Many families carve a comical or scary face on a pumpkin and when it’s dark, they place it on their doorsteps.

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There are several sources from which the imagery of Halloween is derived. These sources include works of Gothic and horror literature, national customs and classic horror movies. Corn husks, pumpkin and scarecrows are also ubiquitous. Around Halloween, homes are often decorated with these symbols.

Themes of evil, occult, mythical monsters, death or magic are included in Halloween imagery. Witches, ghosts, vampires, demons, werewolves, skeletons, black cats and bats are some of the traditional characters. With celebrations orange and black colors are linked. It is so, may be because the color of darkness of night and the color of autumn leaves, fire or pumpkins are black and orange respectively.

Also known as All Saints’ Eve and All Hallows’ Eve, Halloween is an exciting and thrilling frightening festival and it continues to fascinate people of every age.

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