Religion in the Muggle world

Religion in the Muggle world

Easter has just gone by (hope you’re not too stuffed with chocolate!), and is a chance for Muggle Christians all over the world to reflect on Jesus’ death and his resurrection, focusing particularly on what that means to them. Of course, we wizards know that Jesus was one of the greatest wizards of all time, and that yes, God does favour him. Coming back to the point, each religion has its own festivals; Easter being one of Christianity’s many.

Your task is to choose one festival from any of the world’s religions (barring the Jedi religion, or something ridiculous like that) and do one of the following:
- a short documentary detailing a follower of the religion’s opinions on the festival, and what it may mean to them
- a paragraph describing and explaining the story behind the festival
- why you think the festival is important to the religion, and how it is celebrated.
Whichever you may choose must be completed no more than 500 words.

The maximum amount of points for this is 100.

For each, don’t forget to cite your sources (even if it is your brain :D) and have fun!

Wiccans are perhaps the most closely related to magic. They celebrate their festivals based upon nature and the changing of the seasons.

There are eight major sabbats within the seasonal cycle, known as ‘The wheel of the year’.

The eight Sabbats are:
• Imbolc (February 1/2)
• Spring Equinox, a.k.a. Ostara (March 20/21)
• Beltane (April 30/May 1)
• Summer Solstice, a.k.a. Midsummer (June 21/22)
• Lughnasadh (August 1/2)
• Autumn Equinox, a.k.a. Mabon (September 20/21)
• Samhain (October 31/November 1)
• Winter Solstice, a.k.a. Yule (December 20/21)

The festivals begin at sunset and last until the following days sunset and are filled with joyous celebrations.

Four of the sabbats have a Celtic origin and are known as quarter days, the other four mark important points on the solar calendar.

The origins

Quote :

The term sabbat is from the Old French and is partially derived from the Hebrew Shabbath, "to rest," which pertains to the seventh day of the week as elected by the Ten Commandments in the Bible as a day devoted to rest and worship.

The sabbat festivals can be seen as a celebration of both the wiccan history and also the history of the earth. It is important to the Wiccan religion for many different reasons, yet I believe that the most significant reasons are both the gathering of beliefs, unity of friends and the thankfulness of the earth and universe.
Each of the Sabbat celebrations focuses upon a specific thing, differing from the last. For example, the Winter solstice, which is celebrated on December 22nd, marks the longest night of the year. It is when the Goddess awakes to find that she is pregnant with the Sun God. The rituals for both the summer and winter solstices are designed to help change the course of the sum. The winter solstice has been Christianized as Yule or Christmas. The Summer solstice occurs on June 21st and is a solar festival which was almost universally celebrated. In the European tradition, the night before was Midsummer’s Eve; a time for great magic , especially for love charms. Certain herbs were picked at midnight to bring protection against lightning, fire, witchcraft, disease and ill fortune. Witches and fairies roam on Midsummer’s Eve, as they do at Beltane; there is a bit of madness in the air. Great bonfires are lit to help change the course of the sun in the sky, the rites resemble those of Beltane. Burning wheels are rolled down hills, and burning disks are thrown at the sun. The zenith of the power of the Sun God is manifested in the flourishing of crops and livestock. The sabbat was Christianized to St. John’s Day (for John the Baptist).

These festivals are important to the Wiccan religion as it reminds them of the great depths of the universe and helps build their faith, after all, religion is all about faith and celebrating!


Sources used:

http://www.hecatescauldron.org/Sabbats.htm
http://www.pangaia.com/sabbats_explored.htm[/center]

Lent- A Catholic Festival
The Catholic religion celebrates Lent, a forty day period that lasts from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. During Lent, we they remember that Jesus Christ suffered and died to save the sins of the people. He spent forty days fasting and praying in a desert all alone. Lent is suppose to help us become closer to God, by letting us see what is was like for Jesus to make that sacrifice.

During Lent, people usually give up something special that they like, like a food (chocolate, ice cream, etc…) or a computer game, TV show, or another fun activity they like a lot. By giving up something that they really enjoy, people can see how it was hard for Christ to give up everything in the desert, and then give up his life.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. People go to Mass to receive ashes in the sign of the cross on their foreheads. A long time ago, people would do this, and then walk around and let everyone see them. The ashes represented the sin that everyone has. The ashes were supposed to help the people to admit that they had sinned. People today receive ashes on their foreheads for the same reason the people in Jesus’ time did.

Shrove Tuesday takes place, of course, on a Tuesday, but the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Marti Gras, or Fat Tuesday is another name for Shrove Tuesday. In countries such as Britain, Ireland, Australia, and Canada, Catholics refer to the day as “Pancake Day” or “Pancake Tuesday”.

The idea of Pancake Day comes from a Lenten tradition. During Lent, people were not supposed to eat eggs or drink milk. Since the food would go bad before the forty day lent period was over, people used up the eggs, and milk before lent began. So Catholics would gather together and use the eggs and milk to make pancakes before Lent. This became a tradition that is still followed today, even though people eat eggs and drink milk all through Lent now.

New ideas were added to the tradition over time. Often times people bake small items such as rings or coins into the pancakes. The one who finds the ring in their pancake will be the first to be married. If you find a coin, it is said that you will be rich and wealthy.

Many different countries and cultures added their own spin to the tradition. The Pennsylvania Dutch makes pancakes called Fastnacht, which were filled with sweets that could not be consumed during lent. In England, pancake races were often held. In Lithuania, instead of making pancakes, the same ingredients are used to make donuts!

Since I belong to a religion very similar to the Catholic religion, and go to a Catholic school, I am use to celebrating Shrove Tuesday. I think that the pancakes we eat on Shrove Tuesday are a great way to remind people about Lent because who can forget about free pancakes? 



Sources-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday

Although I am a christian,I find this festival very interesting and was very interested when it was taught in my history class.Buddhism is largely believed in Singapore so I wanted to find out more about it,as living in a multi-religeon country,understanding someone else's religeon is very important.It actually started as a philosophy but now it has transformed into a religeon...

One of the major Buddhist festivals is Vesak (also Wesak and Visakha) which takes its name from the month in which the Buddha was supposedly born, won enlightenment and passed into nibbana. It is usually celebrated in May and is also known as Buddha Day. It is particularly strong in the Theravadin tradition in countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. In such places temples will be adorned with lanterns, light symbolizing the Buddha's enlightenment, and lay followers will involve themselves in acts of generosity, meditation and observing extra precepts.

Besides opportunities for extra devotion,it celebrates a special human being,Enlightenment and Parinibbana.

Buddha was born as a prince.One day,he slipped out of the palace through an unlocked door.He saw a sick man,a corpse,a religeous man and an old man.These four encounters changed his life forever.He decided to give up whatever he had then to travel around and find the real meaning of life.

Vesak Day, therefore, is a day to remind oneself of the Buddha's example, of what is possible and what it is that is worth striving for! It is a day for focusing the mind on just what a remarkable individual the Buddha was, and what an amazing example he gave to the world of what it means to be a complete human being.

Source used:
http://buddhism.about.com/od/theravada/index.htm
and my brain!

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Religion in the Muggle world

Easter has just gone by (hope you’re not too stuffed with chocolate!), and is a chance for Muggle Christians all over the world to reflect on Jesus’ death and his resurrection, focusing particularly on what that means to them. Of course, we wizards know that Jesus was one of the greatest wizards of all time, and that yes, God does favour him. Coming back to the point, each religion has its own festivals; Easter being one of Christianity’s many.

Your task is to choose one festival from any of the world’s religions (barring the Jedi religion, or something ridiculous like that) and do one of the following:
- a short documentary detailing a follower of the religion’s opinions on the festival, and what it may mean to them
- a paragraph describing and explaining the story behind the festival
- why you think the festival is important to the religion, and how it is celebrated.
Whichever you may choose must be completed no more than 500 words.

The maximum amount of points for this is 30.

For each, don’t forget to cite your sources (even if it is your brain ) and have fun!

SAMHAIN-

Samhain. A festival that has been around for many decades and one of the most recognizable of all the Pagan/Wicca holidays. Among the Celts, Samhain clearly mean's the Summer's End. And it is rightfully named so becuz of the ending of summer. This day is also recognized as the Day of the Dead, where it is believed the dead souls that have left the earth, return for one night of reuniting with their friends and families who still remain alive.This festival honors the dead, and many pagan families set out extra dinner ware for the places of those who have passed to include them on this holiday.

It is believed that on this day the dead wanders around and it is traditional even today, that offerings are left outside the door of the home for them.
Technically there are two nights in which the dead wanders the earth as they do so on November 1st as well.
Also other traditions for this sabbat include the lighting of candles to help spirits find their ways. Also some apples would be burried right by the roadsides to honor the lost souls and spirits who had nothing to return to. Alot of people would carve out a turnip to make them look like spiritual guardians.

Becuz even though this was the time to honor the dead, it was also a dark time. Not all spirits that returned to earth were good. Some had been slain victims seeking out their revenge. Some had committed brutal crimes and thus had perished in flesh to return as evil spirits. Some were back merely to torment the living for their demise.

It was said that going out after dark during this sabbat, many would surely be cursed by the unseen hands of the dead. It was no surprise that people dressed themselves in white.
And with today, Samhain still remains a sacred Sabbat. The same traditions are played out but they are not just in the pagan religion anymore.

For as the new age dawned, others from other religions began to adapt to this magical filled Sabbat. It is recognized that Samhain was formed into the festival of Halloween or All Hallows Eve. In may instances, those who feared or opposed the new adaption of this religion, shunned it, and ridiculed it.

Black, Orange, White, Silver and Gold are all colors of Samhain, and were what most wore during this time. They carried around stones that were black or were obsidian and they also burned incense.
Mint and Nutmeg were among some of the most popular incenses burned for they were able to either ward off the evil spirits or were able to welcome those that they had lost to death.

With Samhain comes a variety of foods. Feasts that are most popular on this Sabbat are Beef, pork and poultry. And of course these meals are accompanied by apples, gourds, nuts and turnips. There are also assorted wines just for this occasion.

Many symbolize Samhain with Rebirth. Well it is in a way. It is the rebirth of the dead. For in the pagan/wicca religions, when a person dies, his or her soul goes to the summerland to be reborn. On Samhain, all spirits, souls and the dead are able to leave the summerland and wander the earth to seek out what they want to be reborn as. They strongly believe in the existance of reincarnation and thus seek out that which they want to be reborn as. When Samhain ends, and the souls return back to where they came from, some of the pagan religions perform a dance. The Dance of the Dead. Giving them their final respects until the next year when Samhain comes again.


http://www.celticspirit.org/samhain.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/samhainlore.htm
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usxx&c=holidays&sc=samhain&id=1984
http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/7280/samhain.html
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usid&c=holidays&id=9232
(Also, this book on Pagan Callings, has a part in it about the Dance of the Dead. so I used a part of this book as a source too as well as my own brain.)

Religion in the Muggle world

Makkar Sankranti is a festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world. It is normally celebrated every year on the 14 January. This is because it isn’t based on the lunar calendar like most Hindu festivals. It follows the solar calendar, which is why it always falls on the same day on the Western calendar.

The main reason why Makkar Sankranti is celebrated is to welcome the coming of the new year. The days get longer and the sun shines brighter as the flora and fauna thrive and start living. It is the time to start planting, and hoping for a ripe harvest. It is called Makkar Sankranti because it is the time when the Earth moves into the phase where the constellation, Capricorn is clearly viewable.

It is celebrated by doing many auspicious things. People from many far and distant places visit Varanasi, a holy city, and take refreshing dips in the river Ganges.

In the South of India, Makar Sankranti is called Pongal, taking its name after hot rice boiled in milk. This makes Makkar Sankranti even more important than Diwali because of the significance of the sweet rice. People want to celebrate the new year and six more months of steadily longer days.

In Punjab, it is called Lohari. The traditional dance of Bhangra is very popular and the Punjabi folk dance this in the streets and in parties all night until they get so tired they can’t move. Then, the sit and eat all the delicious, though heavy in oil and fats (*shudders*), food that was prepared earlier.

In the state of Gujarat, people celebrate this auspicious day by not only hailing the sun, but also flying huge, colourful, normally hand made kites from the flat rooftops. People eat clumps of sesame seeds on this day as they symbolise unity of the people.

In Maharashtra, a very small bronze pail of jar is hung from a strong and thick stick above the front door, decorated with banana leaves and flowers. This is so that all the good fortune and luck will “fall” out of the bronze jar and into the household. Also, just like in Gujarat, sesame seeds which are held together with molten jaggery (this concoction is called “til gul” and swift, I might bring some into school one day…it’s nice!). People tell children “Til gul ghya ani goad goad bola”, which means, eat this sweet concoction and speak sweetly. It symbolises a fresh start and not just speaking sweetly but also acting nicely for the rest of the year and beyond. There is also some symbolism for women, who are given gifts on Makkar Sankranti. I like to think of it (jokingly) as being showered by gifts for putting up with the husbands for so long!

Source: http://www.vmission.org/hinduism/festivals/sankranti/

My brain!

Thank you to everyone who did this task! I've never learnt so much in my life :D

The points are as follows:

Gryffindor
kandra 25
WaterLily 30

Slytherin
Severus Snape 29
pillowloverchick 30
Fated4HP 30

Hufflepuff
None

Ravenclaw
None