Every Day Is Special: Christians

Showing posts with label Christians. Show all posts

September 14 - Feast of the Finding of the True Cross in Greece

Posted on September 14, 2020

This feast day revolves around the story of Helen, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I. In the year 326 CE, she is said to have gone to Jerusalem to find all the holy sights and sites, including the cross that Jesus was supposed to have died on. The story tells us that she found three crosses and didn't know which was Jesus's cross and which were the crosses of the two thieves who were also put to death that day. However, according to the story, a dying woman was cured by touching one of the crosses, and so Helen knew which was the "true cross."

As with many holidays in the Greek Orthodox church, there are services, processions, prayers, and of course a feast with family and friends!

Like other Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Greek Orthodox Church has a legacy visible in its architecture and customs from the Byzantine architecture of the Eastern Roman Empire. Here are some Greek Orthodox churches:

The church below, found on the island of Corfu, is unusual, because it was built (in the 1800s, by the way) to look like an ancient Greek temple!

Also on this date:

Birthday of geographer and explorer Alexander von Humboldt

San Jacinto Day in Nicaragua

Anniversary of the completion of the first North American lighthouse

Anniversary of the completion of Handel's Messiah

Anniversary of the premiere of My Mother the Car

Anniversary of the premiere of The Waltons

Anniversary of the premiere of Mork and Mindy

Hindi Diwas in India

Anniversary of the Penang Bridge officially opened to traffic

Plan ahead:

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August 28 - Mariamoba in the Nation of Georgia

Posted on August 28, 2020

I am not sure how the nation of Georgia is faring with the COVID-19 pandemic - hopefully better than my nation is! - so this may be an off year as far as celebrations go...

But normally (and maybe this year, as well) you can see many (maybe thousands) of people climbing hills to their local church to light candles for Mariamoba.

Many churches in Georgia are built on the tops of hills.

Mariamoba is the celebration of what is called "The Asssumption" for many English-speaking Christians. Some Christian churches teach that Mary, mother of Jesus, did not physically die and was not buried; instead, they maintain that she was physically taken up to heaven at the end of her life.

Some Georgians go farther than just lighting candles to celebrate Mariamoba; they sacrifice a lamb or sheep in the churchyard. Of course then the meat is boiled and eaten, shared all around.

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the Peace Palace

Eat Crackers Over the Keyboard Day

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Anniversary of the discovery of a very special moon

Anniversary of MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech

Radio Commercials Day

Assumption of Mary in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Birthday of artist Ai Weiwei

Anniversary of arrest of women's suffrage activists

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December 8 – Mother's Day in Panama

Posted on December 8, 2019

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in Panama!

Mothers in Panama are receiving flowers, gifts, and cards that express the gratitude and love of their children.

Many nations celebrate Mother's Day in the springtime or summer, but folks in Panama celebrate it on the same day as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

What's that feast all about?

In many forms of the Christian religion, there is a story that a Jewish woman named Mary conceived the baby Jesus even though she was a virgin (of course, I am using the English names for both Mary and Jesus). The story explains that later Mary married Joseph, and they had children together, but Jesus was special. Joseph was not his father, this story tells us, and indeed Jesus had no human father; in a way, God was Jesus's father, and in another way, Jesus was God.

In one form of the Christian religion, called Catholicism, there is another, similar story: Mary's conception was meddled with by God so that she was born without "original sin." This is often confused with the idea of a virgin birth, but it's different. Basically, the idea of Mary's "immaculate conception" is the idea that, even though she had a human mom and dad, Mary was special; she was born sinless, pure, better than other humans because of God's meddling at the moment of her conception.

Many nations of the world celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as a holiday. These nations include some from Latin America (such as Chile and Panama), some from Asia (like the Philippines and Macau), some from Africa (like Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea), and some from Europe (like Spain and Liechtenstein). From my research, it seems that Panama is the only nation that coupled this feast day with its Mother's Day celebration.