December 2010...
* 11/6 eve to
12/6 eve: Dhu al-Hijjah. * 11/28 to 12/24 (OC 11/28 to 1/6):
Advent/Festival of Lights--Christian vigil for the birth of the Cosmic Christ.
Advent candles are lit. * 12/1: World AIDS Day--Day to pray for healing
of all those suffering with AIDS and HIV. * 12/1 eve to 12/9 eve:
Hanukkah/Festival of Lights--Jewish festival commemorating a victory in their
struggle for religious freedom and rededication of the second Temple of
Jerusalem to Elohim. Menorah candles are lit. * 12/4:
Yoruba/Santeria feast of Orisha Shango, Defender Against Evil. * 12/4:
Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing and acting with
compassion for the poor and oppressed. * 12/5 (12:36 p.m. EST): New Moon.
* 12/5 to 12/18: Hopi & Zuni Shalako Festival--welcoming back to the
pueblos the Kachinas/Kokos - Spirits of Nature and the ancestors that
provide protection, health, fertility, and food. * 12/6 eve to 12/16 eve:
Muharram/Muslim New Year (Year 1432) & A’ashurah. * 12/7 eve to 12/15 eve
(12/14 peak): Geminid Meteor Showers. * 12/8: Rohatsu--Zen Buddhist
celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment. * 12/8: Christian feast
celebrating St. Anna’s conception of Blessed Mary. * 12/8: Death
day of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1111), Sufi saint who taught about unity of the
soul with the one universal Deity of 99 names and attributes. * 12/10:
Birthday of John Murray (1741), Trinitarian Universalist who believed that
Jesus died to save all humanity, not just Christians. * 12/10: Day
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, and fundamental rights
were recognized world-wide (1948). * 12/12: Baha’i feast honoring the one
Deity as Masa’il - Mystery. * 12/12: First Appearance of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of God and Mother of the Oppressed, at the former
shrine of Aztec Moon Goddess Coatlicue (Mexico 1531). * 12/13: Day
for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess Red Tara, protector against
evil and harm. * 12/13: Feast of the Light-bringer--honoring Goddess as
Juno Lucina (Old Roman) & Lucia (Old Swedish); merged with the
Christian feast of St. Lucia. * 12/14: Christian feast of St. John of the
Cross (d. 1591), whose suffering - for advocating church reform - generated
mystical union with Deity. * 12/15 (A 1/25): Old Egyptian festival of
Neteret Amenet-Rait-Mut, the primordial Great Mother. * 12/15: Day
the Bill of Rights became part of the Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental
rights to all (1791). * 12/15: Death day of Fr. Pavel Florensky (1943),
Orthodox Christian mystic who taught that Holy Wisdom is Our Mother,
the Holy Spirit, third part of the Holy Trinity. * 12/15:
Day the Catholic Church silenced Fr. Matthew Fox for teaching Creation
Spirituality (1988); day to mourn the silencing of all religious dissenters and
reformers. * 12/16 to 12/24: Christmas Novena/Las Posadas--Christian
remembrance of the journey of Blessed Mary and St. Joseph to
Bethlehem and their taking refuge in a cave-stable. * 12/17:
Yoruba/Santeria feast of Orisha Babalu Aye, Healer of Deadly Diseases. *
12/17: Day the Clean Air Act was enacted (1963); day to give thanks for
the air we breathe. * 12/17 to 12/23: Saturnalia/Opalia--Old Roman
festival honoring God Saturn (the weak Sun) & Goddess Ops (the
fallow Earth); celebrated with gift-giving, revelry, and abolishment of all
class distinctions. * 12/17 eve to 12/24 eve (12/22 peak): Ursid Meteor
Showers. * 12/18: Day the Constitution’s 13th Amendment went into effect,
outlawing all slavery (1865). * 12/21 (3:13 a.m. EST): Full Moon
(Snow/Fire Moon). * 12/21 (3:13 a.m. EST): Total Lunar Eclipse (visible
in North America). * 12/21 (6:38 p.m. EST): Winter Solstice/Solar New
Year--Marks the beginning of Winter and the shortest day and longest night of
the year; celebration of the darkness with dancing near the hearth fire. *
12/21 to 12/22: Old European Festival of Evergreen Trees; merged into
International Arbor Day. Celebrated by planting trees and hanging wreaths
(symbols of eternal life). * 12/21 to 12/25: Old Romano-Egyptian festival
of Goddess Isis giving birth to God Horus. * 12/21 to 1/9:
Hopi & Zuni Soyala New Year Festival of purification and renewal. Homes are
cleaned, fires doused, and personal restraint is observed. * 12/22:
Taoist festival honoring Wang-Mu/Empress Mother, Mother of Compassion and
Wisdom, and manifestation of the Tao (Cosmic Power of Creation and
Destruction). Also celebrates the peak of the feminine Yin half of the
year and the Shen of Earth, North, and Winter; prayers are made for rest
and renewal, and offerings are made to the Cosmos. * 12/22: Tohji-Taisai--Shinto
rite honoring Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Storm God Susano-o angered
Her, and She withdrew into a cave until enticed out with music and dance. *
12/22: Beginning of Capricorn (the Goat). * 12/22: Birthday of Lily
Montagu (1873), who co-founded Liberal Judaism in 1902. She was the first Jewish
woman to serve as lay minister, both officiating and preaching. * 12/24 eve:
Mother Night--Christian vigil for the laboring Blessed Mary. * 12/25
(OC 1/7): Christmas--Christian celebration of Blessed Mother Mary giving
birth to Child Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. * 12/25
to 1/5: Yule--Old Anglo-Teutonic festival honoring Freyr and
Freyja (Deities of Fertility) and the new-born Balder (God of Light),
son of Frigga and Odin. Celebrated with evergreens, fires, and
feasting. * 12/26: Day commemorating the death of Zoroastrian Prophet
Zarathustra (551 BCE). * 12/26 to 1/1: Kwanzaa--Festival celebrating
positive African traditions; emphasizes unity, self-determination, collective
work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
* 12/28: Day the first woman was ordained a Catholic priest (without
Vatican authority) (1970). * 12/28: Day the Endangered Species Act was
enacted (1973); day to mourn those creatures already extinct. * 12/28:
Day an Islamic court ruled female genital mutilation to be un-Islamic and banned
the practice (1997). * 12/29: Day Guatemala’s 36-year civil war ended
(1996); vigil for true peace, justice, and respect for the human rights of all
in Central America. * 12/31: Oharai/Grand Purification Festival--Shinto
rite exorcising evil from the world. * 12/31: Yoruba/Santeria festival of
Orisha Yemaya, Mother of the Sun and Moon. * 12/31: Baha’i feast
honoring the one Deity as Sharaf - Honor. * 12/31: Feast of
Father Time, who ultimately overcomes us all. * 12/31 eve: New Year’s
Eve--Vigil for the new year; night for self evaluation and resolving to better
oneself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Permission to use and distribute these excerpts is granted for non-commercial purposes, provided the following information is included:
Excerpted from
THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2010
A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality
© 2009 Marija Miovski
www.WheeloftheYear.com
