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Celebrate Universal Human Rights Month

December is Universal Month for Human Rights. Appropriately enough this month contains International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10th). Honor this time of year by reading and sharing the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created over 70 years ago this month.

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December is the Universal Month for Human Rights

In 1948 with the memory of World War II still fresh, the United Nations crafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The very first article states: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. The document goes on to define what human rights should be respected and protected universally, as well as emphasizing how important it is to do so.

One of the most important things you can do throughout the course of this month - and beyond into next year - is to find common ground with the people around you. Human Rights Month is about acknowledging that people of different cultures and creeds are still people. We must be careful of differentiating ourselves from our fellow humans so much that we forget this core truth. Take the time to learn about another culture that is different from yours. If that culture makes you nervous, so much the better. The Dignity & Respect Campaign has some wonderful resources on how to go about this.

By learning about other people and standing up for their rights you encourage equality, justice, and freedom. These values are antithetical to human and labor trafficking. For more information about Universal Human Rights Month, International Human Rights Day, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights click the button above.

Forms of Abolition:
Empowerment

Forms of Slavery:
Domestic Servitude, Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor, Bonded Labor, Child Labor, Forced Marriage

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Celebrate Universal Human Rights Month - End Slavery Now

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What can you do to fight slavery? See our library of impactful actions you can take today.

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75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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World AIDS Day at CDC
CDC works together with several other agencies and groups to observe World AIDS Day in the U.S. and globally. We provide resources to country offices and partner organizations to raise awareness of HIV among people worldwide and encourage them to get tested and know their prevention options.

What is World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 each year. It is a day of solidarity for people around the world who are affected by HIV. This is a day for voices to unite by sharing experiences, remembering those lost, and standing together in the fight against HIV. While great strides have been made over the four decades since the first known reported cases of AIDS, this disease remains a public health challenge. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for every community and each individual to honor the more than 32 million people who have died worldwide from AIDS-related illness. For more information on World AIDS Day, visit UNAIDS World AIDS day.

History of World AIDS Day

Two World Health Organization public information officers started World AIDS Day in 1988 as an international day for global health. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. It's also reserved as a day to bridge new and effective programs and policies across different sectors around HIV/AIDS. Every year, United Nations agencies, federal agencies, and societies from across the globe join together to campaign around specific themes related to HIV. To learn more about the History of World AIDS Day and see all the previous themes, visit UNAIDS World AIDS day.

World AIDS Day Partner Pages

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This year, as World AIDS Day approaches, we want people to know that every voice and every action has impact in the global effort to stop the HIV epidemic. We're pleased to introduce #MyVoiceMyAction. Learn What, How, When, and Where to lift your voice and take action.

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HIV.gov FYI - World AIDS Day 2023 with ONAP's Harold Phillips

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International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

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International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

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One in every 150 people are trapped in modern slavery

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Universal Human Rights Month - Dignity & Respect

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Human Rights For some cultures, December marks the season for holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and sometimes even Milad un Nabi are just a few of the celebrations that American citizens…

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Meet Musician Austin Zhang who uses the power of music, by harmonizing his saxophone jazz melodies with a recording of his mother's own story of migration to accentuate the emotions of her story. In this episode of the UN Human Rights podcast, #StandUp4HumanRights, we focus on how migration is not one-dimensional and why telling individual stories of migration, which reflect all dimensions of people can help avoid the pitfall of triggering a harmful narrative on migration.

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Do No Harm | UN Human Rights Podcast: #Standup4Migrants

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Meet Musician Austin Zhang who uses the power of music, by harmonizing his saxophone jazz melodies with a recording of his mother's own story of migration to accentuate the emotions of her story.

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Hanukkah 2022 - Stories, Traditions & Origins | HISTORY

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Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is the eight-day Jewish celebration that commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

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History of the Holidays: Hanunkah | History

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How Did Christmas Start?

The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.

Saturnalia and Christmas

In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia-a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture-was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, enslaved people were given temporary freedom and treated as equals. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could participate in the holiday's festivities.

Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

Is Christmas Really the Day Jesus Was Born?

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century.

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion.

On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.

When Christmas Was Cancelled

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Washington Irving Reinvents Christmas in America

It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s piqued American interest in the holiday?

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving's book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended-in fact, many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.

'A Christmas Carol'

Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story's message-the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind-struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention-and gifts-on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.

As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards and gift-giving.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

Who Invented Santa Claus?

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around A. D. 280. St. Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, becoming known as the protector of children and sailors.

St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century in New York, when Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of the death of "Sint Nikolaas" (Dutch for Saint Nicholas), or "Sinter Klaas" for short. "Santa Claus" draws his name from this abbreviation.

In 1822, Episcopal minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem called "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," more popularly known today by it's first line: "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." The poem depicted Santa Claus as a jolly man who flies from home to home on a sled driven by reindeer to deliver toys.

The iconic version of Santa Claus as a jolly man in red with a white beard and a sack of toys was immortalized in 1881, when political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the image of Old Saint Nick we know today.

Christmas Facts

Each year, 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States alone. There are about 15,000 Christmas tree farms in the United States, and trees usually grow for between four and 15 years before they are sold.

In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous-a lot like today's Mardi Gras parties.

When Christmas was cancelled: From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and law-breakers were fined five shillings.

Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.

The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement.

Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828.

The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s.

Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was the product of Robert L. May's imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.

Construction workers started the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition in 1931.

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History of Christmas - Origins, Traditions & Facts | HISTORY

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Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature.

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Origins of Christmas (History Channel Video)

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Origins of Christmas (History Channel Video)

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Kwanzaa History

The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili. Each family celebrates Kwanzaa in its own way, but celebrations often include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder), then one of the seven principles is discussed. The principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in Swahili) are values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing community among African-Americans. Kwanzaa also has seven basic symbols which represent values and concepts reflective of African culture. An African feast, called a Karamu, is held on December 31.

Did you know? The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba, are a set of ideals created by Dr. Maulana Karenga. Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle.

The candle-lighting ceremony each evening provides the opportunity to gather and discuss the meaning of Kwanzaa. The first night, the black candle in the center is lit (and the principle of umoja/unity is discussed). One candle is lit each evening and the appropriate principle is discussed.

Seven Principles

The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba are a set of ideals created by Dr. Maulana Karenga. Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle.

Unity:Umoja (oo-MO-jah)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

Self-determination: Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

Collective Work and Responsibility: Ujima (oo-GEE-mah)
To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

Cooperative Economics: Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Purpose: Nia (nee-YAH)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Creativity: Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Faith: Imani (ee-MAH-nee)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Seven Symbols

Mazao, the crops (fruits, nuts, and vegetables)
Symbolizes work and the basis of the holiday. It represents the historical foundation for Kwanzaa, the gathering of the people that is patterned after African harvest festivals in which joy, sharing, unity, and thanksgiving are the fruits of collective planning and work. Since the family is the basic social and economic center of every civilization, the celebration bonded family members, reaffirming their commitment and responsibility to each other. In Africa, the family may have included several generations of two or more nuclear families, as well as distant relatives. Ancient Africans didn't care how large the family was, but there was only one leader - the oldest male of the strongest group. For this reason, an entire village may have been composed of one family. The family was a limb of a tribe that shared common customs, cultural traditions, and political unity and were supposedly descended from common ancestors. The tribe lived by traditions that provided continuity and identity. Tribal laws often determined the value system, laws, and customs encompassing birth, adolescence, marriage, parenthood, maturity, and death. Through personal sacrifice and hard work, the farmers sowed seeds that brought forth new plant life to feed the people and other animals of the earth. To demonstrate their mazao, celebrants of Kwanzaa place nuts, fruit, and vegetables, representing work, on the mkeka.

Mkeka: Place Mat
The mkeka, made from straw or cloth, comes directly from Africa and expresses history, culture, and tradition. It symbolizes the historical and traditional foundation for us to stand on and build our lives because today stands on our yesterdays, just as the other symbols stand on the mkeka. In 1965, James Baldwin wrote: "For history is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the facts that we carry it within us, are consciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations." During Kwanzaa, we study, recall, and reflect on our history and the role we are to play as a legacy to the future. Ancient societies made mats from straw, the dried seams of grains, sowed and reaped collectively. The weavers took the stalks and created household baskets and mats. Today, we buy mkeka that are made from Kente cloth, African mud cloth, and other textiles from various areas of the African continent. The mishumaa saba, the vibunzi, the mazao, the zawadi, the kikombe cha umoja, and the kinara are placed directly on the mkeka.

Vibunzi: Ear of Corn
The stalk of corn represents fertility and symbolizes that through the reproduction of children, the future hopes of the family are brought to life. One ear is called vibunzi, and two or more ears are called mihindi. Each ear symbolizes a child in the family, and thus one ear is placed on the mkeka for each child in the family. If there are no children in the home, two ears are still set on the mkeka because each person is responsible for the children of the community. During Kwanzaa, we take the love and nurturance that was heaped on us as children and selflessly return it to all children, especially the helpless, homeless, loveless ones in our community. Thus, the Nigerian proverb "It takes a whole village to raise a child" is realized in this symbol (vibunzi), since raising a child in Africa was a community affair, involving the tribal village, as well as the family. Good habits of respect for self and others, discipline, positive thinking, expectations, compassion, empathy, charity, and self-direction are learned in childhood from parents, from peers, and from experiences. Children are essential to Kwanzaa, for they are the future, the seed bearers that will carry cultural values and practices into the next generation. For this reason, children were cared for communally and individually within a tribal village. The biological family was ultimately responsible for raising its own children, but every person in the village was responsible for the safety and welfare of all the children.

Mishumaa Saba: The Seven Candles
Candles are ceremonial objects with two primary purposes: to re-create symbolically the sun's power and to provide light. The celebration of fire through candle burning is not limited to one particular group or country; it occurs everywhere. Mishumaa saba are the seven candles: three red, three green and one black. The back candle symbolizes Umoja (unity), the basis of success, and is lit on December 26. The three green candles, representing Nia, Ujima, and Imani, are placed to the right of the Umoja candle, while the three red candles, representing Kujichagulia, Ujamaa, and Kuumba, are placed to the left of it. During Kwanzaa, on candle, representing one principle, is lit each day. Then the other candles are relit to give off more light and vision. The number of candles burning also indicate the principle that is being celebrated. The illuminating fire of the candles is a basic element of the universe, and every celebration and festival includes fire in some form. Fire's mystique, like the sun, is irresistible and can destroy or create with its mesmerizing, frightening, mystifying power.

Mishumaa saba's symbolic colors are from the red, black and green flag (bendara) created by Marcus Garvey. The colors also represent African gods. Red is the color of Shango, the Yoruba god of fire, thunder, and lightning, who lives in the clouds and sends down his thunderbolt whenever he is angry or offended. It also represents the struggle for self-determination and freedom by people of color. Black is the people, the earth, the source of life, representing hope, creativity, and faith and denoting messages and the opening and closing of doors. Green represents the earth that sustains our lives and provides hope, divination, employment, and the fruits of the harvest.

Kinara: The Candleholder
The kinara is the center of the Kwanzaa setting and represents the original stalk from which we came: our ancestry. The kinara can be shape - straight lines, semicircles, or spirals - as long as the seven candles are separate and distinct, like a candelabra. Kinaras are made from all kinds of materials, and many celebrants create their own from fallen branches, wood, or other natural materials. The kinara symbolizes the ancestors, who were once earthbound; understand the problems of human life; and are willing to protect their progeny from danger, evil, and mistakes. In African festivals, the ancestors are remembered and honored. The mishumaa saba are placed in the kinara.

Kikombe Cha Umoja: The Unity Cup
The kikombe cha umoja is a special cup that is used to perform the libation (tambiko) ritual during the Karamu feast on the sixth day of Kwanzaa. In many African societies libation are poured for the living dead whose souls stay with the earth they tilled. The Ibo of Nigeria believe that to drink the last portion of a libation is to invite the wrath of the spirits and the ancestors; consequently, the last part of the libation belongs to the ancestors. During the Karamu feast, the kikombe cha umoja is passed to family member and guests, who drink from it to promote unity. Then, the eldest person present pours the libation (tambiko), usually water, juice, or wine, in the direction of the four winds - north, south, east, and west - to honor the ancestors. The eldest asks the gods and ancestors to share in the festivities and, in return, to bless all the people who are not at the gathering. After asking for this blessing, the elder pours the libation on the ground and the group says "Amen." Large Kwanzaa gatherings may operate just as communion services in most churches, for which it is common for celebrants to have individual cups and to drink the libation together as a sign of unity. Several families may have a cup that is specifically for the ancestors, and everyone else has his or her own. The last few ounces of the libation are poured into the cup of the host or hostess, who sips it and then hands it to the oldest person in the group, who asks for the blessing.

Zawadi: Gifts
When we celebrate Imani on the seventh day of Kwanzaa, we give meaningful zawadi (gifts) to encourage growth, self-determination, achievement, and success. We exchange gifts with members of our immediate family, especially the children, to promote or reward accomplishments and commitments kept, as well as with our guests. Handmade gifts are encouraged to promote self-determination, purpose, and creativity and to avoid the chaos of shopping and conspicuous consumption during the December holiday season. A family may spend the year making kinaras or may create cards, dolls, or mkekas to give to their guests. Accepting a gift implies a moral obligation to fulfill the promise of the gift; it obliges the recipient to follow the training of the host. The gift cements social relationships, allowing the receiver to share the duties and the rights of a family member. Accepting a gift makes the receiver part of the family and promotes Umoja.

Excerpted from the book: The Complete Kwanzaa Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest. Copyright 1995 by Dorothy Winbush Riley. Reprinted with permission from HarperPerennial, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Kwanzaa - Meaning, Candles & Principles | HISTORY

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Kwanzaa is a week-long secular holiday which culminates on New Year's Day. Founded in 1966, Kwanzaa combines aspects of several African harvest celebrations.

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The holiday is a seven-night celebration that honors African American culture.

Happy Kwanzaa!

The seven-night holiday, celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, honors African American and Pan-African culture and traditions and stretches across millions of homes and communities around the world.
Here's what you need to know about the Kwanzaa holiday.
How did Kwanzaa originate?

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the department of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the Black Freedom Movement.

The origins of the non-religious holiday are tied back to the first harvest celebrations in Africa, according to the official holiday website.

What does Kwanzaa mean?

The Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," means "first fruits." African culture and major religions have a deep history of celebrations around "first fruits."
How is Kwanzaa celebrated?
During the holiday, families and communities organize around what are known as the seven principles, or Nguzo Saba.

The seven principles include, unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

People celebrate with feasts, also known as karamu, music, dance, poetry, narratives and gifts that are encouraged to be educational and promote African heritage.

The holiday ends with a day that is dedicated to reflection and recommitment to the Seven Principles and other core cultural values.

What are the seven symbols of Kwanzaa?

The seven symbols of Kwanzaa are the Kinara, a candle holder; Mishumaa Saba, seven candles; Mkeka, the mat; Mazao, crops; Muhindi, ears of corn; Kikombe Cha Umoja, a unity cup; and Zawadi, gifts.

At the beginning of the holiday, a central place in the home is chosen to spread out an African cloth on a table, then the mat, followed by the other symbols, like the candle holder, crops, corn and unity cup.

What do the colors red, green and black symbolize?

The Mishumaa Saba consists of seven candles. One black candle represents the people, or unity, and gets placed in the center of the Kinara.

The three red candles represent the people's struggles and three more green candles symbolize the future and hope that can come from struggle.

Who can celebrate Kwanzaa?

Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious holiday, that can be celebrated alongside other major religious and secular holidays.

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Kwanzaa starts today, here's everything you need to know about the week-long holiday

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Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies, created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the Black Freedom Movement.

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United Nations Human Solidarity Day 2018 | HeForShe

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When is the Next Bodhi Day?

There are really two Bodhi Days each year. The "Secular" Bodhi Day, celebrated on a fixed date in much of the Western World and Japan, is December 8.

The other Bodhi Day is based on the lunar calendar so, like Easter, the date changes year to year. I call the lunar Bodhi Day the "real" one. . The most recent one was December 30, 2022. See this link for how I figured out this January 18, 2024 lunar Bodhi Day.

I explain the reasoning for a lunar and secular Bodhi Day in a blog from 2018.

Towards the bottom of this page are links to a few series of posts from past Bodhi Days.

A few weeks prior to Bodhi Day, I post blogs offering advice for your observation of the Enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama. If you're reading this during those few weeks leading up to December 8, please do check out those recent blog posts.

What is Bodhi Day?

The Enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama

Bodhi Day celebrates the day the "Historic Buddha", aka Siddhartha Gautama, Sakyamuni Buddha, achieved enlightenment.

There are very many accounts of Bodhi Day, about as many as there are Buddhist sects. So I will distill it down to the essence. The historic Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, a coddled Prince, was shielded from the unpleasant side of the reality of the world; sickness, poverty, death. Until one day, he went out into the kingdom and saw these suffering people, ill, impoverished, grieving, or even dead.

This shocked Prince Siddhartha. "WTF?! The joys of life aren't everywhere for everyone, all the time?!" He ran away from his coddled life to find its true meaning, for lack of a better term. As Ringo said, "I dun't know what I want, but I do want sumthin'."

For years he studied under one master then another. He couldn't find what he didn't know he was looking for. It wasn't for a lack of dedication. He was all-in. At one point he is near death, emaciated from an ascetic lifestyle, materially bankrupt, emotionally bankrupt. He rests under a large tree, which will be known as the "Bodhi Tree".

At that point, essentially he threw down the gauntlet and vowed to "sit under this #&*!@ tree until I #&*!@ get what it is I'm looking for."

He sat there in meditation for days, from what I've read, ranging from seven days to 49 years ( Fishnu says it was seven days). But it was not a tranquil om-humming meditation. He sensed he was onto something because his mind was under vicious attack. Our thoughts and beliefs have a life of their own, and like anything else alive, it will fight for survival when its survival is in jeopardy.

On the morning of the 8th Day of the 12th moon of the year, Siddhartha Gautama awoke from his meditation, staring at the rising Morning Star, Venus. Enlightened. That is, the chaotic gears in his head shed most of its baggage and the emptiness coalesced into beautiful order. And he could "see". We suffer because we cling to things, all of which are temporary in this constantly changing world. If we don't cling, we don't suffer.

These realizations became the Four Noble Truths. Siddhartha Gautama was now fully awake. He was now The Buddha, The Teacher.

A girl from the village where he happened to be offered him a meal of rice and milk, which he gratefully accepted. The fuel to see him off on 40 years of teaching. For months until the moment of this humble meal, he and a band of fellow ascetics ate not much more than a few grains of rice each day, if that much.

His friends were appalled by Siddhartha taking that food. They chastised him, "You changed man! You used to be all about the austerity!" Siddhartha replied, "Of course I changed. What doesn't?"

This day is what we call Bodhi Day. Parts of the world celebrates on a standardized date of December 8, the 8th day of the 12th month of the year. However, Bodhi Day is actually the 8th day of the 12th moon of the lunar year. Like Easter, that day changes year to year.

Bodhi Day of 2017 - The Day Christmas and Bodhi Day Coincide

However, 2017 was a special year as the real (lunar - 8th day of the 12th moon) falls on Christmas Day. I saw that Bodhi Day and Christmas coincide the year before and decided to use this special year to make a gallant effort towards enlightenment. There were three phases:

1. The Enlightenment of Rubber Ducky on November 9, 2017.

2. My own Enlightenment on the Secular Bodhi Day on December 8, 2017.

3. The Lunar Bodhi Day on Christmas

For Christmas and Bodhi Day, I posted a daily message starting on December 18, seven days before Christmas/Bodhi day. Each day featured a Christmas/Bodhi cookie and message related to the number of the days (1 through 7) until December 25.

Links to each of the Bodhi Season 2017 days:

Other Bodhi Days

Secular Bodhi Day 2018

Secular Bodhi Day 2019 - The Noble Eightfold Path

Secular Bodhi Day 2020 - The Heart Sutra

Bodhi Day 2021/2022

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© 2018-2023 by Reverend Dukkha Hanamoku. All rights reserved.

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When is the Next Bodhi Day? There are really two Bodhi Days each year. The "Secular" Bodhi Day, celebrated on a fixed date in much of the Western World and Japan, is December 8. The other Bodhi Day is based on the lunar calendar so, like Easter, the date changes year to year.

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The name comes from a time during Queen Victoria's reign when the rich used to box up gifts to give to the poor.

Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for servants - a day when they received a special Christmas box from their masters.

The servants would also go home on Boxing Day to give Christmas boxes to their families.

The 26 December also has religious connections and is celebrated as Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland and the Catalonia region of Spain.

In some European countries - such as Hungary, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands - Boxing Day is celebrated as a second Christmas Day.

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Ever wondered how Boxing Day got its name? Find out everything you need to know about the day after Christmas.

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Table of Contents

1. Ancient New Year's Celebrations

2. <a href="https://www.history.com/news/5-ancient-new-years-celebrations"></a>January 1 Becomes New Year's Day

3. New Year's Traditions and Celebrations Around the World

Civilizations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millennia. Today, most New Year's festivities begin on December 31 (New Year's Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year's Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year's foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.

Ancient New Year's Celebrations

The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year's arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox-the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness-heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days.

In addition to the new year, Atiku celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat and served an important political purpose: It was during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler's divine mandate was symbolically renewed.

Did you know? In order to realign the Roman calendar with the sun, Julius Caesar had to add 90 extra days to the year 46 B.C. when he introduced his new Julian calendar.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed increasingly sophisticated calendars, typically pinning the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event. In Egypt, for instance, the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile, which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius. The first day of the Lunar New Year, meanwhile, occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

January 1 Becomes New Year's Day

The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox; according to tradition, it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. A later king, Numa Pompilius, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.

Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today.

As part of his reform, Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month's namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties.

In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25 (the anniversary of Jesus' birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation); Pope Gregory XIII reestablished January 1 as New Year's Day in 1582.

New Year's Traditions and Celebrations Around the World

In many countries, New Year's celebrations begin on the evening of December 31-New Year's Eve-and continue into the early hours of January 1. Revelers often enjoy meals and snacks thought to bestow good luck for the coming year. In Spain and several other Spanish-speaking countries, people bolt down a dozen grapes-symbolizing their hopes for the months ahead-right before midnight.

In many parts of the world, traditional New Year's dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and herald future financial success; examples include lentils in Italy and black-eyed peas in the southern United States. Because pigs represent progress and prosperity in some cultures, pork appears on the New Year's Eve table in Cuba, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and other countries. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign that the year has come full circle, round out the feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece and elsewhere. In Sweden and Norway, meanwhile, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year's Eve; it is said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune.

Other customs that are common worldwide include watching fireworks and singing songs to welcome the new year, including the ever-popular "Auld Lang Syne" in many English-speaking countries. The practice of making resolutions for the new year is thought to have first caught on among the ancient Babylonians, who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot. (They would reportedly vow to pay off debts and return borrowed farm equipment.)

In the United States, the most iconic New Year's tradition is the dropping of a giant ball in New York City's Times Square at the stroke of midnight. Millions of people around the world watch the event, which has taken place almost every year since 1907. Over time, the ball itself has ballooned from a 700-pound iron-and-wood orb to a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing in at nearly 12,000 pounds. Various towns and cities across America have developed their own versions of the Times Square ritual, organizing public drops of items ranging from pickles (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania) to possums (Tallapoosa, Georgia) at midnight on New Year's Eve.

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New Year's - Traditions, Resolutions & Date | HISTORY

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Most New Year's festivities begin on December 31 (New Year's Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year's Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year's foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.