March Interfaith Observances and Celebrations

-



March is a busy time for Interfaith Observances and Celebrations.  Beginning with the Welsh feast, St. David's Day on the 1st and ending with the most important feast for the Jain, Mahavir Jayanti on the 30th, many of the feasts remembered during March center around sacrifice, renewal/rebirth and growth, which are full of symbolism.

Symbols are an important part of many traditions. Rabbits, pussy-willows, baby animals, spring flowers, and eggs are just some of the spring images that have traveled through time and across cultures, reminding us of the cycles of life.

If you're Irish and American, you might be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on March 17th by wearing green, eating corned beef, cabbage and potatoes and singing the songs your mother taught you long ago. Green is symbolic of life as well as one of the colors associated with the Irish flag. For most folks in Ireland, however, the day is a religious observance of St. Patrick one of the three patron saints of Eire. (Sts. Bridget and Colmcille are the other two.)

For those who follow the cycles of the seasons, one of the most welcome observances celebrated is that of the spring equinox (March 20); the official end of winter.  This is also the feast of Ostara or Ēostre whose name comes from the Proto-Germanic root for dawn. In fact, Ēostre is where we get the word, "Easter."


Another cycle dawns just after the equinox. The birth of a new year celebrated on the 21st of March by Persians and those of the Baha'i and Zoroastrian beliefs.

After the long winter, many people welcome the bright colors associated with spring.  In India, during the spring festival of Holi (March 23), people chase each other with colored powder and water. By the end of the day everyone is a rainbow of blues, yellows, reds, and all the colors in between.

But all is not happy colors. The Christian season of Lent continues into March this year. During the forty days of Lent, many people make sacrifices in their personal lives, offering up bad habits or doing works of mercy.

People of the Jewish faith celebrate the feast of Purim on March 24 this year.  According to the writings in the Book of Esther, there is an exchange of gifts, feasting and celebration and gifts given to the poor. Purim commemorates the how Esther saved her people from certain death.

No matter what you observe during the days of this month of March, may your days grow greener with each passing; may the winds blow gently at your back and may you find renewal in your hearts and spirits, as the cold months of winter begin to ebb.

Namasté!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Whispers

-
Image
Photo Credit: (c) 2018 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas When I was, as my mother would say, a wee sprout, I had my first experience with hearing that soft whisper that has warned me, inspired me, and on occasion, nagged me. Perhaps because I was raised in a household where being "fey" was looked at as normal, I never questioned that this was not real.  I can't tell you what the first thing I "heard" was, but I do remember talking to my mother about it when I was about six years old. We had had a lesson in school where sister had told the class about a saint who heard "the whispers of the angels." I asked Momma if that was who was speaking to me.  I still remember her looking very seriously into my eyes and saying, "Lindy, it might be angels, it might be what artists call the muse, or it might be what some people call, 'the voice of your ancestors or guides.' I don't know, but I do know you need to listen and pay attention to what you he
Read more

Bible Sisters

-
Image
As a child, Bible stories fascinated me. I tried to imagine what it was like to live in times so long ago. Rarely, however, did I ever see any connection to what happened in ancient times with what was happening in my life. After all, my world was close to 2000 years older and far from the lands of Pharaohs and Roman invaders.  As I grew, I learned to see the lessons within Scripture. But, again, I found it difficult to connect to these men who battled giants or spoke eloquent words in the Temple. The only women I remember mentioned were few and far between. How I wished there was more for a woman to connect with in the Bible. A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of receiving a copy of Bible Sisters by Rev. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks in the mail. Bible Sisters is a 365-day devotional that includes the well-known women of the Bible (Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Rebecca, Mary, Martha...) as well as those we know little about and who often go unnamed like Hagar or the Widow of Zarephath.
Read more

Review of Gypsy for God by Yvonne Morgan

-
Image
  Ivonne Morgan has crafted an inspiring tale of how a woman blessed with the ability to recreate herself after retirement finds, through a series of epiphanies, the work she has always felt she was born to do.  Gypsy for God is a work of love and faith. This book looks at the dichotomy between privilege, poverty, disease and the horrors of human trafficking.  Kathleen, the protagonist of the book, not only has to come to grips with her own self-doubts and biases, but she also has to deal with a husband who has trouble seeing through her eyes. However, through deep faith and support, she realizes the path she is to follow as she travels the world, visiting various countries that often take her out of her comfort zone, which in turn opens her eyes and heart to the work she is called to do.  Gypsy for God is about asking ourselves those difficult questions and then listening with an open mind and heart to the answers.  I recommend this book, especially for women who are retiring or st
Read more