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FEASTS AND FESTIVALS
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FEASTS AND FESTIVALS . A festival or feast' is a See also:day or See also:series of days specially and publicly set apart for religious observances. Whether its occurrence be casual or periodic, whether its See also:ritual be See also:grave or See also:gay, carnal as the orgies of See also:Baal and See also:Astarte, or spiritual as the See also:worship of a Puritan See also:Sabbath, it is to be regarded as a festival or " See also:holy day" as See also:long as it is professedly held in the name of See also:religion. To trace the festivals of the See also:world through all their See also:variations would be to trace the entire See also:history of human religion and human See also:civilization. Where no religion is, there can of course be no feasts; and without civilization any See also:attempt at festival-keeping must necessarily be fitful and comparatively futile. But as religion develops, festivals develop with it, and assume their distinctive See also:character; and an advancing civilization, at least in its earlier stages, will generally be found to increase their number, enrich their ritual, See also:fix more precisely the See also:time and See also:order of their recurrence, and widen the See also:area of their observance. Some uncivilized tribes, such as the See also:Juangs of See also:Bengal, the Fuegians and the Andamanese, have been described as having no word for See also:God, no See also:idea of a future See also:state, and consequently no religious ceremonies of any See also:kind whatever. But such cases, doubtful at the best, are confessedly exceptional. In the vast See also:majority of instances observed and recorded, the religiosity 1 " To feast " is simply to keep a festum or festival. The See also:etymology of the word is uncertain; but probably it has no connexion with the Gr. €onas,'of the See also:savage is conspicuous. Even when incapable of higher manifestations, it can at least take the See also:form of reverence for the dead; the grave-heap can become an See also:altar on which offerings of See also:food for the departed may be placed, and where in acts of public and private worship the gifts of survivors may be accompanied with praises and with prayers. That the See also:custom of See also:ghost-propitiation by some sort of See also:sacrifice is even now very widely diffused among the See also:lower races at least, and that there are also many curious " survivals " of such a See also:habit to be traced among highly civilized See also:modern nations, has been abundantly shown of See also:late by numerous collectors of folk-See also:lore and students of See also:sociology; and indications of the same phenomena can be readily pointed out in the Rig-Veda, the Zend-Avesta and the See also:Pentateuch, as well as in the known usages of the See also:ancient Egyptians, Greeks and See also:ROmans.2 In many cases the ceremonial observed is of the simplest; but it ever tends to become more elaborate; and above all it calls for repetition, and repetition, too, at See also:regular intervals. Whenever this last demand has made itself See also:felt, a See also:calendar begins to take shape. The simplest calendar is obviously the lunar. " The Naga tribes of See also:Assam celebrate their funeral feasts See also:month by month, laying food and drink on the See also:graves of the departed." But it soon comes to be combined with the See also:solar. Thus the Karens, " while habitually making oblations, have also See also:annual feasts for the dead, at which they ask the See also:spirits to eat and drink." The natives of the Mexican valley in See also:November See also:lay animals, edibles and See also:flowers on the graves of their dead relatives and See also:friends. The See also:common See also:people in See also:China have a similar custom on the arrival of the See also:winter See also:solstice. The ancient Peruvians had the custom of periodically assembling the embalmed bodies of their dead emperors in the See also:great square of the See also:capital to be feasted in See also:company with the people. The Athenians had their annual NEKUa to or Neµdoeta and the Romans their Feralia and Lemuralia. The Egyptians observed their three " festivals of the seasons," twelve " festivals of the month," and twelve " festivals of the See also:half month," in See also:honour of their dead. The See also:Parsees, too, were required to render their afringans (blessings which were to be recited over a See also:meal to which an See also:angel or the spirit of a deceased See also:person was invited) at each of the six seasons of the See also:year, and also on certain other days' In the majority of recorded instances, the religious feeling of the savage has been found to See also:express itself in other forms besides that of reverence towards the dead. The See also:oldest literatures of the world, at all events, whether See also:Aryan or Semitic, embody a religion of a much higher type than ancestor worship. The See also:hymns of the Rig-Yeda, for example, while not without traces of the other, yet indicate chiefly a worship of the See also:powers of nature, connected with the regular recurrence of the seasons. Thus in iv. 57 we have a hymn designed for use at the commencement of the ploughing time;" and in the Aitareya-Brdhmana, the earliest See also:treatise on See also:Hindu ceremonial, we already find a See also:complete series of sattras or sacrificial sessions exactly following the course of the solar year. They are divided into two distinct sections, each consisting of six months of See also:thirty days each. The sacrifices are allowed, to commence only at certain lucky constellations and in certain months. So, for instance, as a See also:rule, no great sacrifice can commence during the See also:sun's See also:southern progress. The great sacrifices generally take See also:place in See also:spring, in the months of See also:April and Mays In the Parsee Scriptures 6 the year is divided into six seasons or gahanbars of two months each, concluding with See also:February, the See also:season at which "great expiatory sacrifices were offered for the growth of the whole creation in the last two months of the year." We have no means of knowing precisely what were the arrangements of the Phoenician calendar, but it
2 See See also:Spencer, Principles of Sociology, i. 170, 280, 306.
See also:Haug, Parsis, 224, 225.
° " May the heavens, the See also:waters, the See also:firmament, be kind to us; may the See also:lord of the See also: 6 See Haug's Aitareya-brdhmanam of the Rig-Veda; Max See also: Its ceremonies have been often described. A similar but less important festival was held at the winter solstice. The Cusqui-Raymi, held after seedtime, as the See also:maize began to appear, was celebrated with sacrifices and banquets, See also:music and dancing. A See also:fourth great festival, called Citua, held on the first new moon after the autumnal See also:equinox, was preceded by a strict fast and See also:special observances intended for purposes of See also:purification and expiation, after which the festivities lasted until the moon entered her second See also:quarter. See also:Greek Festivals.—Perhaps the annual See also:Attic festival in honour of See also:Erechtheus alluded to in the Iliad (ii.55o) ought to be regarded as an instance of ancestor-worship; but the seasonal character of the opail or new-moon feast in Od. xx. 156, and of the 9aXiora or See also:harvest-festival in Il. ix. 533, is generally acknowledged. The older Homeric poems, however, give no such express indications of a fully-See also:developed system of festivals as are to be met with in the so-called " Homeric " hymns, in the See also:Works and Days of See also:Hesiod, in the pages of See also:Herodotus, and so abundantly in most authors of the subsequent See also:period; and it is See also:manifest that the calendar of See also:Homer or even of Herodotus must have been a much simpler See also:matter than that of the Tarentines, for example, came to be, of whom we are told by See also:Strabo that their holidays were in excess of their working days. Each demos of ancient See also:Greece during the See also:historical period had its own See also:local festivals (iopral.SrlµornKai), often largely attended and splendidly solemnized, the usages of which, though essentially alike, differed very considerably in details. These details have in many cases been wholly lost, and in others have reached us only in a very fragmentary state. But with regard to the Athenian calendar, the most interesting of all, our means of See also:information are fortunately very copious. It included some 50 or 6o days on which all business, and especially the ad-ministration of See also:justice, was by order of the magistrates suspended. Among these lepoj.o vial were included—in Gamelion (See also:January), the Lenaea or festival of vats in honour of See also:Dionysus; in Anthesterion (February), the See also:Anthesteria, also in honour of Dionysus, lasting three days (Pithoigia, Choes and Chytri); the Diasia in honour of See also:Zeus, and the lesser Eleusinia; in Elaphebolion (See also: Festivals frequently See also:fell into desuetude or were revived, were increased or diminished, were shortened or See also:pro-longed at the will of the See also:emperor, or under the caprice of the popular See also:taste. Thus See also:Augustus restored the Compitalia and See also:Lupercalia; while See also:Marcus See also:Antoninus in his turn found it expedient to diminish the number of holidays. The following is an enumeration of the stated festivals as given by Ovid and contemporary writers. The first day of January was observed somewhat as is the modern New Year's day: clients sent presents to their patrons, slaves to their masters, friends and relatives to one another. On the 9th the See also:Agonalia were held, apparently in honour of See also:Janus. On the 11th the Carmentalia were kept as a half-See also:holiday, but principally by See also:women; so also on the 15th. On the 13th of February were the Faunalia, on the 15th the Lupercalia, on the 17th. the Quirinalia, on the 18th the Feralia, on the 23rd (at one time the last day of the Roman year) the Terminalia, on the 24th the Regifugium or Fugalia, and on the 27th the Equiria (of See also:Mars). On the 1st of March were the Matronalia, on the 14th a repetition of the Equiria, on the 15th the festival of See also:Anna Perenna, on the 17th the Liberalia or Agonalia, and from the Igth to the 23rd the Quinquatria (of See also:Minerva). On the 4th of April were the Megalesia (of See also:Cybele), on the 12th the Cerealia, on the 21st the Palilia, on the 23rd the Vinalia, on the 25th the Robigalia, and on the 28th the Floralia. The 1st of May was the festival of the See also:Lares Praestites; on the 9th, 11th and 13th the Lemuria were celebrated; on the 12th the Ludi Martiales, and on the 15th those of See also:Mercury. June 5 was sacred to Semo Sancus; the Vestalia occurred on the nth, the Matralia on the 11th, and the 2 In this month the anniversaries of the See also:battle of See also:Marathon, and of the downfall of the thirty tyrants, were also publicly celebrated. 3 See Schoemann, Griechische Altertiirner, ii. 439 seq. ; i 1omrnsen Heortologie. ' Feriae privatae, such as anniversaries of births, deaths. and the like, were observed by See also:separate clans, families or individuals. Quinquatrus Minusculae on the 13th. The Ludi Apollinares were on the 5th, and the Neptunalia on the 23rd of See also:July. On the 13th of See also:August were the Nemoralia, in honour of See also:Diana; on the 18th the Consualia, on the 19th the Vinalia Rustica, and on the 23rd the Vulcanalia. The Ludi Magni, in honour of See also:Jupiter, See also:Juno and Minerva, began on See also:September 4. The Meditrinalia (new See also:wine) were on the 11th of October, the'Faunalia on the 13th, and the Equiria on the 15th. The Epulum Jovis was on 13th November. The December festivals were-on the 5th Faunalia, and towards the See also:close Opalia, Saturnalia, Larentalia. The calendar as it stood' at the Augustan age was known to contain many comparatively See also:recent accessions, brought in under the See also:influence of two " closely allied powers, the See also:foreign See also:priest and the foreign See also:cook " (See also:Mommsen). The Megalesia, for example, had been introduced 204 B.C. The Ludi Apollinares could not be traced farther back than 208 B.C. The Floralia and Cerealia had not come in much earlier. Among the oldest feasts were undoubtedly the Lupercalia, in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility; the Equiria, in honour of Mars; the Palilia; the great September festival; and the Saturnalia. Among the feriae conceptivae were the very ancient feriae Ldtinae, held in honour of Jupiter on the See also:Alban See also:Mount, and attended by all the higher magistrates and the whole See also:body of the See also:senate. The time of their celebration greatly depended on the state of affairs at See also:Rome, as the consuls were not allowed to take the field until they had held the Latinae, which were regarded as days of a sacred truce. The feriae sementivae were held in the spring, and the See also:Ambarvalia in autumn, both in honour of See also:Ceres. The Paganalia of each pagus,' and the Compitalia of each See also:virus were also conceptivae. Of feriae imperativae,—that is to say, festivals appointed by the senate, or magistrates, or higher priests to commemorate some great event or avert some threatened disaster,—the best known is the Ndvendiale, which used to be celebrated as often as stones fell from See also:heaven (See also:Livy xxi. 62, See also:xxv. 7, &c.). In addition to all those already mentioned, there occasionally occurred ludi votivi, which were celebrated in fulfilment of a See also:vow ; ludi funebres, sometimes given by private persons; and ludi seculares, to celebrate certain periods marked off in the Etrusco-Roman religion. Feasts of the See also:Jews.—By Old Testament writers a festival or feast is generally called either s (compare the Arabic Hadj), from nn to rejoice, or nir_, from iv;, to appoint. The words n and
upp^ are also occasionally used. In the See also:Talmud the three principal feasts are called o'pi, after Exod. See also:xxiii. 14. Of' the Jewish feasts which are usually traced to a pre-See also:Mosaic origin the most important and characteristic was the weekly Sabbath, but special importance was also attached from a very See also:early date to the lunar periods. It is probable that other festivals also, of a seasonal character, were observed (see Exod. v. I). In common with most others, the Mosaic system of annual feasts See also:groups itself readily around the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. In Lev. xxiii., where the See also:list is most fully given, they seem to be arranged with a conscious reference to the sacred number seven (compare Numb. See also:xxviii.). Those belonging to the vernal equinox are three in number ; a preparatory day, that of the See also:Passover, leads up to the principal festival, that of unleavened See also:bread, which again is followed by an after-feast, that of See also:Pentecost (see PASSOVER, PENTECOST). Those of the autumnal equinox are four; a preparatory day on the new moon of the seventh month (the Feast of Trumpets) is followed by a great day of rest, the day of See also:Atonement (which, however, was hardly a festival in the stricter sense of the word), by the Feast of See also:Tabernacles, and by a great concluding day (Lev. xxiii. 36; See also: If the feast of the Passover be excepted, it will be seen that all these celebrations or commemorations See also:associate themselves more readily with natural than with historical events.' There was In the " parallel " passages, there is considerable variety in the designation and arrangement of these feasts. While Ex. xii. approximates most closely to Lev. xxiii. and Num. xxviii., Ex. xxiii. has stronger See also:affinities with Deut. xvi. The relations of these passages are largely discussed by See also:Graf, See also:Die geschichtlichen Bucker See also:des A. T., pp. 34-41, and by other recent critics.also a considerable number of See also:post-Mosaic festivals, of which the principal were that of the See also:Dedication (described in 1 See also:Mace. iv. 52-J9; comp. John x. 22) and that of See also:Purim, the origin of which is given in the See also:book of See also:Esther (ix. 20 seq.). It has probably no connexion with the See also:Persian festival Furdigan (see ESTHER)2 Earlier See also:Christian Festivals.—While making it abundantly manifest that See also:Christ and his disciples observed the appointed Jewish feasts, the New Testament nowhere records the formal institution of any distinctively Christian festival. But we have unambiguous See also:evidence of the actual observance, from a very early period, of the first day of the See also:week as a holy day (John xx. 19, 26; 1 See also:Cor. xvi. 2; Acts xx. 7; Rev. i. so). See also:Pliny in his See also:letter to See also:Trajan describes the Christians of See also:Bithynia as See also:meeting for religious purposes on a set day; that this day was See also:Sunday is put beyond all reasonable doubt by such a passage as that in the See also:Apology of See also:Justin' See also:Martyr, where he says that " on Sunday (rfi eoi iXIov Xeyol. vp ipAp¢) all the Christians living either in the See also:city or the See also:country met together." The Jewish See also:element, in some churches at least, and especially in the See also:East, was strong enough to secure that, along with the dies See also:dominica, the seventh day should continue to be kept holy. Thus in the Apostolic Constitutions (ii. 59) we find the Saturday specially mentioned along with the Sunday as a day for the assembling of the See also: The numerous yearly festivals of the later Christian church, when historically investigated, can be traced to very small beginnings. Indeed, while it appears to be tolerably certain that Jewish Christians for the most See also:part retained all the festivals which had been instituted under the old See also:dispensation, it is not at all probable that either they or their See also:Gentile brethren recognized any yearly feasts as of distinctively Christian origin or See also:obligation. It cannot be doubted, however, that gradually, in the course of the 2nd See also:century, the universal church came to observe the anniversaries of the See also:death and resurrection of Christ—the aaaxa vravpeioiov and the aavxa avaorhaLµov, as they were respectively called (see See also:EASTER and Goon See also:FRIDAY). Not long afterwards See also:Whitsunday also came to be fixed in the usage of Christendom as a great annual festival. Even See also:Origen (in the 8th book Against See also:Celsus) enumerates as Christian festivals the Sunday, the aapao-ovrl, the Passover with the feast of the Resurrection, and Pentecost; under which latter See also:term, however, he includes the whole period between Easter and Whitsuntide. About See also:Cyprian's time we find individual Christians commemorating their departed friends, and whole churches commemorating their martyrs; in particular, there are traces of a local and partial observance of the feast of the Innocents. See also:Christmas day and See also:Epiphany were among the later introductions, the feast of the Epiphany being somewhat the earlier of the two. Both are alluded to indeed by Clemens Alexandrinus (i. 340), but only in a way which indicates that even in his time the precise date of Christ's See also:birth was unknown, that its anniversary was not usually observed, and that the day of his See also:baptism was kept as a festival only by the followers of See also:Basilides (see EPIPHANY). When we come down to the 4th century we find that, among the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, See also:Ascension Day has 2 On the whole subject of Jewish festivals see See also:Reland, Antiq. Hebr. ; Knobel, See also:Leviticus (c. 23); See also:George, Die jiidischen Feste; Edersheim The See also:Temple; its See also:Ministry and Services; See also:Ewald, Altertumer des Volkes See also:Israel; articles in See also:Bible dictionaries. come into new prominence. See also:Augustine, for example, enumerates as anniversaries celebrated by the whole church those of Christ's See also:passion, resurrection and ascension, along with that of the out-pouring of the Holy Ghost, while he is silent with regard to Christmas and Epiphany. The See also:general tendency of this and the following centuries was largely to increase the festivals of the Church, and by legislation to make them more fixed and See also:uniform. Many passages, indeed, could be quoted from See also:Chrysostom, See also:Jerome and Augustine to show that these fathers had not by any means forgotten that See also:comparative freedom with regard to outward observances was one of the distinctive excellences of See also:Christianity as contrasted with Judaism and the various See also:heathen systems (compare See also:Socrates, H.E. v. 22). But there were many special circumstances which seemed to the leaders of the Church at that time to necessitate the permission and even legislative See also:sanction of a large number of new feasts. The innovations of heretics sometimes seemed to call for rectification by the institution of more orthodox observances; in other instances the propensity of See also:rude and uneducated converts from paganism to cling to the festal See also:rites of their forefathers proved to be invincible, so that it was seen to be necessary to seek to adapt the old usages to the new worship rather than to abolish them altogether; l moreover, although the See also:empire had become Christian, it was manifestly expedient that the old holidays should be recognized as much as possible in the new arrangements of the calendar. See also:Constantine soon after his See also:conversion enacted that on the dies dominica th,,re should be no suits or trials in See also:law; See also:Theodosius the Great added a See also:prohibition of all public shows on that day, and Theodosius the younger extended the prohibition to Epiphany and the anniversaries of martyrdoms, which at that time included the festivals of St See also:Stephen, and of St See also:Peter and St See also:Paul, as also that of the See also:Maccabees. In the 21st canon of the council of See also:Agde (5o6), besides Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension and Pentecost, we find the Nativity of John the Baptist already mentioned as one of the more important festivals on which attendance at church was regarded as obligatory. To these were added, in the centuries immediately following, the feasts of the See also:Annunciation, the Purification, and the See also:Assumption of the Virgin ; as well as those of the See also:Circumcision, of St See also:Michael and of All See also:Saints. Festivals were in practice distinguished from ordinary days in the following ways: all public and judicial business was suspended,2 as well as every kind of See also:game or amusement which might interfere with devotion; the churches were specially decorated; Christians were expected to attend public worship, attired in their best See also:dress; love feasts were celebrated, and the See also:rich were accustomed to show special kindness to the poor; fasting was strictly forbidden, and public prayers were said in a See also:standing posture. Later Practice.—In the See also:present calendar of the Roman See also:Catholic Church the number of feast days is very large. Each is celebrated by an appropriate See also:office, which, according to its character, is either duplex, semi-duplex or simplex. A duplex again may be either of the first class or of the second, or a See also:major or a See also:minor. The distinctions of ritual for each of these are given with great minuteness in the general rubrics of the See also:breviary; they turn chiefly on the number of See also:Psalms to be sung and of lessons to be read, on the manner in which the antiphons are to be given and on similar details. The duplicia of the first class are the Nativity, the Epiphany, Easter with the three preceding and two following days, the Ascension, Whitsunday and the two following days, Corpus Christi, the Nativity of John Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, the Assumption of the Virgin, All Saints, and, for each church, the feast proper to its See also:patron or See also:title and the feast of its dedication. The duplicia of the second class are the Circumcision, the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, of the Holy Trinity, and of the Most See also:Precious See also:Blood of Christ, the feasts of the Purifica- 1As, at a later period (601), See also:Gregory the Great instructed his Anglo-Saxon missionaries so to Christianize the temples, festivals, &c., of the heathen " ut durae mentes gradibus vel passibus, non autem saltibus, eleventur." 2 Manumission, however, was lawful on any day.tion, Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity and Conception of the Virgin, the 1Vatalitia of the Twelve Apostles, the feasts of the Evangelists, of St Stephen, of the Holy Innocents, of St 'See also:Joseph and of the Patrocinium of Joseph, of St See also:Lawrence, of the Invention of the See also:Cross and of the Dedication of St Michael. The Dominicae majores of the first class are the first Sunday in See also:Advent, the first in See also:Lent, Passion Sunday, See also:Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Dominica in Albis, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday ; the Dominicae majores of the second class are the second, third and fourth in Advent, Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, and the second, third and fourth Sundays in Lent. In the canons and decrees of the council of See also:Trent repeated allusions are made to the feast days, and their fitness, when properly observed, to promote piety. Those entrusted with the cure of souls are urged to see that the feasts of the Church be devoutly and religiously observed, the faithful are enjoined to attend public worship on Sundays and on the greater festivals at least, and See also:parish priests are bidden to expound to the people on such days some of the things which have been read in the office for the day. Since the council of Trent the practice of the Church with respect to the prohibition of servile See also:work on holidays has varied considerably in different Catholic countries, and even in the same country at different times. Thus in 1577, in the See also:diocese of See also:Lyons, there were almost See also:forty annual festivals of a compulsory character. By the See also:concordat of 1802 the number of such festivals was for See also:France reduced to four, namely, Christmas day, Ascension day, the Assumption of the Virgin, and All Saints day. The calendar of the Greek Church is even See also:fuller than that of the Latin, especially as regards the Eopral rwv aycwv. Thus on the last Sunday in Advent the feast of All Saints of the Old See also:Covenant is celebrated; while See also:Adam and See also:Eve, See also:Job, See also:Elijah, See also:Isaiah, &c., have separate days. The distinctions of ritual are analogous to those in the Western Church. In the Coptic Church there are seven great festivals, Christmas, Epiphany, the Annunciation, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Ascension and Whitsunday, on all of which the See also:Copts " See also:wear new clothes (or the best they have), feast and give See also:alms " (See also:Lane). They also observe, as minor festivals, Maundy See also:Thursday, Holy Saturday, the feast of the Apostles (lrth July), and that of the Discovery of the Cross.
In common with most of the churches of the See also:Reformation, the Church of See also:England retained a certain number of feasts besides all Sundays in the year. They are, besides See also:Monday and Tuesday both in Easter-week and Whitsun-week, as follows : the Circumcision, the Epiphany, the Conversion of St Paul, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, St See also:Matthias the Apostle, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, St See also:Mark the Evangelist, St See also: Thus at the time of the See also:French Revoluti )n, during the period of See also:Robespierre's ascendancy, it was proposed to substitute a tenth day (Decadi.) for the weekly rest, and to introduce the following new festivals: that 'of the Supreme Being and of Nature, of the Human Race, of the French people, of the Benefactors of Mankind, of Freedom and Equality, of the Martyrs of Freedom, of the See also:Republic, of the Freedom of the World, of Patriotism, of Hatred of Tyrants and Traitors, of Truth, of Justice, of Modesty, of Fame and See also:Immortality, of Friendship, of See also:Temperance, of Heroism, of Fidelity, of Unselfishness, of Stoicism, of Love, of Conjugal Fidelity, of Filial See also:Affection, of Childhood, of Youth, of Manhood, of Old Age, of Misfortune, of See also:Agriculture, of See also:Industry, of our Forefathers, of Posterity and Felicity. The proposal, however, was never fully carried out, and soon fell into oblivion. See also:Mahommedan Festivals.—These are chiefly two—the `Eed es-Sagheer (or minor festival) and the 'Eed el-Kebeer (or great festival), sometimes called 'Eed el-Kurban. The former, which lasts for three days, immediately follows the month See also:Ramadan, and is generally the more joyful of the two; the latter begins on the tenth of Zu-1-Heggeh (the last month of the Mahommedan year), and lasts for three or four days. Besides these festivals they usually keep holy the first ten days of Moharram (the first month of the year), especially the tenth day, called Yom Ashoora; the birthday of the See also:prophet, on the twelfth day of the third month; the birthday of El-Hoseyn, in the fourth month; the anniversary of the prophet's miraculous ascension into heaven; in the seventh month; and one or two other anniversaries. Friday, called the day of El-Gumah (the assembly), is a day of public worship; but it is not usual to abstain from public business on that day except during the time of See also:prayer. Hindu and Buddhist Festivals.: In modern See also:India the leading popular festivals are the Holf, which is held in March or April and lasts for five days, and the Dasahara, which occurs in October. Although in its origin See also:Buddhism was a deliberate reaction against all ceremonial, it does not now refuse to observe festivals. By Buddhists in China, for example, three days in the year are especially observed in honour of the See also:Buddha,—the eighth day of the second month, when he See also:left his See also:home; the eighth day of the fourth month, the anniversary of his birthday; and the eighth of the twelfth, when he attained to perfection and entered See also:Nirvana. In See also:Siam the eighth and fifteenth days of every month are considered holy, and are observed as days for rest and worship. At Trut, the festival of the close of the year, visiting and See also:play-going are universal. The new year (January) is celebrated for three days; in February is another holiday; in April is a sort of Lent, ushering in the See also:rainy season; on the last day of June presents are made of cakes of the new See also:rice; in August is the festival of the angel of the See also:river, " whose forgiveness is then asked for every See also:act by which the waters of the Meinam have been rendered impure." See See also:Bowring's Siam and Carne's Travels in Indo-China and the See also:Chinese Empire. Copious details of the elaborate festival-system of the Chinese may be found in Doolittle's Social See also:Life of the Chinese. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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