Many traditional customs are observed at the beginning of the new year in Japan. For example, entrances to homes and shops are decorated with the pine and bamboo kadomatsu decoration or shimenawa braided straw ropes, a custom with its roots in the Shinto religion. Continue reading
Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short, is considered the biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. Celebrated on the first day of the first month in Lunar Calendar, Tet’s celebration is the longest holiday which may last up to seven days (with the exception of Tet 2012 when the holiday is expected to last for 9 days!). Vietnamese New Year in 2013 will last from February 10-13, and in 2014 from January 31st to Feb 4th.
Full detail: http://www.vietnamonline.com/tet.html
Seollal, Korea’s favorite holiday, is just around the corner. Koreans usually celebrate two New Years: one on January 1st in accordance with the solar calendar, and the Lunar New Year (called Seollal), which falls this year on February 3rd. Continue reading
Chinese New Year celebrations were born out of fear and myth. Legend spoke of the wild beast Nien (which also is the word for “year”) that appeared at the end of each year, attacking and killing villagers. Loud noises and bright lights were used to scare the beast away, and the Chinese New Year celebrations were born. Continue reading
A moment of peace, Kelowna BC
When at home, conversations about Islam, the sight of other people praying and the sound of the greeting assalamu alaykum (peace be upon you) are commonplace. But when I travel, or am in an unfamiliar environment more generally, encountering the same moments become vital for personal health. I need a quiet place to pray and meaningful conversations about faith to process my surroundings or to decompress from frequent questions about my background. Continue reading
On Sunday December 1, 2013 at the Ismaili Centre in Vancouver, John Stackhouse delivered the 2013 Ismaili Centre Lecture on the topic of “Canadian pluralism at a crossroads.”
For your reference, a video of the speech, along with a transcript and article may be found at the following link:
