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The Seventeenth of Tammuz is a Jewish fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple. It falls on the 17th day of the 4th Hebrew month of Tammuz and marks the beginning of the three-week mourning period leading up to Tisha B'Av. The day also traditionally... Read More
Pioneer Day commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled. It is an official holiday in the state of Utah. (Wikipedia)
Rastafarians celebrate the birthday of Haile Selassie. Born Ras Tafari, Haile Selassie served as emperor of Ethiopia from 1930-1974. He is celebrated by Rastafarians as God incarnate (or as a messenger of God.) Celebrations include drumming, hymns and prayers.
Lugnasadh is a traditional Irish holiday celebrating the beginning of the harvest season.
Lammas, or Loaf Mass is a Christian holiday celebrated in some northern countries. Like Lughnasadh, the Celtic holiday which falls on the same day, Lammas is a celebration of the first fruits of the new harvest. (Wikipedia)
The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by many Christians but is particularly significant for the Eastern Orthodox churches. The Feast honors day in the life of Jesus when is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. (Wikipedia article)
Tisha B'Av is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem. It is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. (Wikipedia)
Obon is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves when the spirits of ancestors are... Read More
On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman or amulet called the rakhi around the wrists of their brothers. They symbolically protect them, receive a gift in return, and traditionally invest the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care. (Wikipedia)
Krishna Janmashtami is a festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The celebratory customs associated with Janmashtami include a celebration festival, reading and recitation of religious texts, dance and enactments of the life of Krishna according to the Bhagavata Purana, devotional singing till midnight (the time of Krishna's birth), and... Read More
Paryushana is the most important annual holy event for Jains. They increase their level of spiritual intensity often using fasting and prayer/meditation to help. (Wikipedia)
Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages).