H. Henderson — Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World

Автор: H. Henderson
Название книги: Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Социология
Страницы: 925
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

Detailing Nearly 2,500 Observances from
All 50 States and More than 100 Nations

This is the third edition of an indispensable guide to one of the important and enduring subject
areas of everyday life.
The celebration of special days and seasons, both religious and secular, is universal. From primitive
times onwards, special rites and festivals have marked the religious mysteries of existence—the enigma
of birth, life, death, and rebirth in the environment and in individual human experience. Such celebrations
fulfilled a deep-seated urge in the human psyche, evoking profound emotions associated
with the changing pattern of the year, the promise of spring, the joys of summer, the harvest, the
decline of the year through fall to the rigors of winter, and the promise of a new spring. The divine
source of this mystery was to be acknowledged and propitiated so that human prosperity and fertility
flourished in the struggle for existence throughout the passing of time.
In individual experience, the day of birth and also of death of oneself and members of the family and
tribe had special meaning. The achievements of gifted men and women of special talents and deeds
who guided and safeguarded tribes and nations were also celebrated in orally transmitted texts, ballads,
and stories, marked by special rites and festivals.
Inevitably such celebrations involved a measurement of time, so that seasonal festivals could take
place at appropriate dates in the cycle of the year. But for thousands of years, primitive and pantheistic
concepts of the universe inhibited the exact timing of festivals. In the natural division of time, the
solar day is the daily revolution of the earth and the alternation of light and darkness, the solar year
is the circle of seasons of the earth’s revolution around the sun. Months are the divisions resulting
from the lunar phases of the moon. But the division of time into hours, days, or months is more arbitrary,
and it was not until early Roman times that the calendar month as such was formalized for civil
convenience; the word “calendar” itself derives from the Latin Kalendae. By 46 B.C., the time of Julius
Caesar, the Roman civil calendar had become three months out of phase with the true astronomical
year. That year was called ultimus annus confusionis, “the last year of the muddled reckoning.” The
Julian calendar reform in the first century B.C., which became the standard of Western countries, corrected
the discrepancy and regularized a calendar based on the solar cycle. Though far more accurate,
the Julian calendar still resulted in a discrepancy, since the “average” year of 365.25 days—requiring
the insertion of an extra leap year day once every four years—became progressively out of step with
the real solar year of 365.242199 days.
In a papal bull of February 24, 1582, Pope Gregory XIII inaugurated the Gregorian calendar, which
required the deletion of ten days from the calendar (to bring it back into phase with the astronomical
year) in October 1582, and the occasional adjustment whereby three out of every four “century” years
are not leap years (1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years; the year 2000 was). October 4, 1582, was
followed by October 15 in the calendar, much to the confusion of the populace. But the Gregorian calendar
was eventually adopted, at least for civil purposes, throughout the West and remains a worldwide
standard to this day. Meanwhile, of course, other ancient calendars, such as the Jewish and
Islamic, have continued to exist side by side with the Gregorian calendar. Holidays, Festivals, and
Celebrations of the World Dictionary includes a discussion on the history of ancient and modern calendars
and clarifies such complexities
Different religions have continued to find common ground in the concept of special days to mark the
supreme mysteries of life. Three of the great world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—
have all recognized a holy day of rest from the week of toil for special worship. The Sabbath of
Judaism was moved by Christians from Saturday to Sunday, while for Muslims, “the day of assembly”
in a mosque is Friday.
Many different religions meet in their interpretation of festival times of the year. With the rise of
Christianity in Europe, some of the old pagan festivals were retained by the new Church, although
given different religious associations. Yet behind the feasting and merrymaking of Christmas, one
might still hear dim echoes of ancient winter solstice festivals of light, the Roman Saturnalia, the
Druidic rites with mistletoe, and the strange gods of Saxon mythology.
In addition to religious festivals, the ancient Romans made a distinction between religious and secular
events, and the institution of secular holidays has since proliferated in the countries of the world.
Even so, secular holidays still have their roots in the concept of some special significance of certain
days necessitating a break in the daily toil of normal life. The very word “holiday” is derived from
“holy day.”
Secular holidays excite deep emotions. We love to celebrate the birthdays of family members and
friends with greetings and gifts. So, too, we feel a strong sense of belonging to a social group or nation
observing holidays that unite us in common ties of special interest, ethnicity, or national pride.
In the past, the great festivals and holidays were kept alive by folk memory, or by the many almanacs
sold by peddlers giving the dates of fairs and other events and anniversaries, together with lunar
information, tides, eclipses, and even prophecies, spiced with quaint aphorisms and proverbs. In 1732,
Benjamin Franklin became author-editor-publisher of the Poor Richard series of almanacs that popularized
such pithy folk wisdom as “God helps them that help themselves” and “Necessity never made
a good bargain.” The British counterpart of Poor Richard was the Vox Stellarm of Dr. Francis Moore,
first published in 1700, descendants of which are still published annually under the title Old Moore’s
Almanack.
In nineteenth-century Britain, antiquaries published various volumes of discursive lore, listing the significance
of days of the calendar, festivals, and holidays, and their history. The best of these was the
delightful work The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar,
Including Anecdote, Biography & History, Curiosities of Literature, and Oddities of Human Life and Character,
by Robert Chambers (two volumes, 1862-64, reissued by Omnigraphics in 1990). Such books are fascinating
to browse through for their out-of-the-way information and bygone lore, but although many
of the festivals and holidays discussed are still celebrated, there have been scores of newer holidays
in the U.S. and worldwide in the twentieth century.
The range of festivals and secular holidays in the various countries of the world is now vast. In modern
times the proliferation of national and local events has also resulted in scores of special group
days, and even whimsical and bizarre observances, ranging from Buzzard Day in Hinckley, Ohio, to
the Rat’s Wedding Day in China.
Publication of the first edition of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary in 1994 provided
a truly comprehensive annotated reference work giving information on national and international
festivals and holidays, with descriptive entries covering religious, cultural, ethnic, historical,
popular, and sports celebrations from all over the world, with special sections on calendar systems,
and tables of state and national public holidays. In addition to a General Index of people, places, institutions,
and other keywords, easy reference was facilitated by special indexes of Chronological,
Religious, and Special Subjects (including Ancient/Pagan, Calendar, Folkloric, Historical, Promotional,
and Sporting entries).
The second edition in 1997 was greatly enlarged and updated by hundreds of new entries covering
state, national and legal holidays, and independence, republic, and national days for countries of the
world. There were also special sections of biographical information, annotated bibliographies, and
other valuable additions.
Now the present third edition is even further enlarged and updated. There are more than 400 new
entries, an expanded section on calendar systems, and a perpetual calendar, together with a combining
of the Ethnic and Geographic, Religious Groups, Subject, and General (Alphabetical and Keyword)
indexes, while retaining the existing index access. There is also the newer technical information
on web sites, e-mail addresses, and other contacts.
This is a key reference work for general and professional use, for schools and public libraries, but it is
also a multi-purpose dictionary. Ministers of different denominations will find it valuable for its broad
coverage of the festivals of Christianity and those of other world religions. Business people planning
promotional journeys will find its information of special value when visiting foreign countries and
different states in the U.S. Politicians and other dignitaries will find it useful in marking the local and
national importance of given days. Schoolchildren can learn about the meaning of individual holidays
and the observances of different religions and ethnic groups as well as the popular fun festivals of various
states and countries.
All kinds of travelers will value the listings of public holidays in the U.S. and other countries, and it
will also add special interest to the planning of personal vacations at home and abroad. In addition to
the often spectacular festivals of the world, there are now scores of lighthearted or tongue-in-cheek
popular holiday events, such as the Great American Duck Race in Deming, New Mexico, or the Garlic
Festival in Gilroy, California. From state to state and country to country there are humorous, quaint,
and diverting events which have become great tourist attractions. Journalists will find this an invaluable
desk book for news stories on the significance of days.
The wide range of international coverage reflects the history and cultural identity of many countries.
This has special significance for the U.S., which has always been a melting pot of nationalities, each
with their own traditions and customs. Side by side with the memory of such ethnic and cultural identity
goes the assimilation of specifically American history and culture. In turn, this helps to bring harmony
and understanding in the host community and towards other countries and peoples of the
world, enhancing pride and pleasure in honouring the great events of world history and culture, the
men and women who brought them about, and sharing the excitement and happiness of festival days.