Mary, the mother of Jesus, gets about 15 days each year dedicated to some facet of her memory. In September, her birthday is celebrated. On August 22, the feast day is called "The Queenship of the Virgin Mary," acknowled ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Religion Christianity

Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrated in the Hebrew month of Adar. Generally, Purim falls in mid-March in the Gregorian calendar. This year, it falls on March 11 and 12. Jewish holidays generally begin at sundown on the n ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Religion Judaism

The season of Lent begins on March 1, following Mardi Gras on February 28. The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. Many denominations hold a service for believers as a way of beginning the season. Ministers bless ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Religion Christianity

If you're one of those people who have stopped setting New Year's resolutions, you're not alone. It's demoralizing and defeating when you set high expectations for yourself on January 1, only to keep those goals for just ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

December 26, the day following Christmas, isn't just the day when everyone returns their gifts and eats leftovers. The day has much more significance than most of us realize. In the church, December 26 is St. Stephen's D ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

The practice of singing carols began centuries ago. People sang carols or songs of celebration and joy for all seasons. Traditionally, carols were sung at pagan celebrations, but early Christians encouraged new converts ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

Millions of people are expected to travel over the Labor Day weekend by plane, train, bus and car. This three-day weekend is thought to be the end of the summer season. It's the last chance to enjoy some downtime until t ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Human Rights Politics

Since creatures all over the world are connected by a link to the sun overhead, it makes sense that societies throughout the world would celebrate the peak of the sun's apparent journey north during the course of the y ...

Category: Ceremonies Holidays and Observances Spirituality Pagan

Chinese New Year has somewhat mystical origins; it is based on the ancient lunar-solar calendar and is a time to honor heavenly deities and ancestors. Along with the general day off of work and traditions of feasting w ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

Spring has arrived and the flowers are in bloom. To mark the end of the bitter winter, the people of the Indian subcontinent celebrate Holi, the Festival of Color. To relish in the changing of seasons, town centers and m ...

Category: Ceremonies Holidays and Observances