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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)
Born in 1491, Ignatius of Loyola was co-founder of the Religious Society of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits). In 1548 he wrote his "Spiritual Exercises" as his method for spiritual formation which is still used today. (Wikipedia article)
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
A feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The earliest known account of Mary's birth is found in the Gospel of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century. (Wikipedia)
Rosh HaShanah is the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah begins a ten-day period of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot and ending in Shemini Atzeret. (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).
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in Judaism. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's main observances consist of full fasting and ascetic behavior accompanied by long prayer services in synagogue, as well as sin confessions. (Wikipedia)
Mawlid is the Islamic observation of the day when the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born. Often organized in some countries by the Sufi orders, Mawlid is celebrated in a carnival manner, large street processions are held and homes or mosques are decorated. Charity and food is distributed, and stories about the life of Muhammad are... Read More
Ananta-Chaturdashi is a festival dedicated to Vishnu that is celebrated by Jains and Hindus. (Wikidpedia)
Sukkot is a seven day festival that both celebrates the harvest and is a remembrance of the Exodus out of Egypt. It is sometimes called "Feast of Booths" or "Feast of Tabernacles". This season is recognized by some through building of a temporary structure called a sukkah. (Wikipedia)