Multicultural Calendar for February

Multicultural Calendar - February 2008

Select a Month:

Black History Month and, more importantly, the study of black history owe a great debt to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who first launched Negro History Week in 1926. Woodson chose February because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly impacted the American black population — Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The purpose of Black History Month is to recognize the contributions of black Americans and develop a better understanding of the black experience.

In December 1995, the Parliament of Canada recognized February as Black History Month following a motion introduced by the first African-Canadian woman elected to Parliament, Jean Augustine. The presence of peoples of African descent in Canada dates back farther than Samuel de Champlain’s (a French explorer and navigator in the early 1600s) first voyage down the St. Lawrence River.

• Learn about Dominion's Strong Men & Women Program.

February 3:

Setsunbun-sai (Japan) - Known as Bean Throwing Night, beans are thrown to protect against demons with shouts of "Devil out, Good Fortune in."

Tu Bishvat (Jewish) - The new year for trees. This day was set aside in the Mishnah as the day on which to bring fruit tithes.

February 6:

Ash Wednesday (USA) - The first day of Lent. In Western Christianity, Lent is the period before the Christian holy day of Easter. The central symbol of that day is the ash with which Catholics mark foreheads of people. Ash is a traditional symbol of mourning.

Tet Festival (Vietnam) - Celebrates the New Year.

Waitangi Day (New Zealand) - Commemorates the signing of a treaty at Waitangi on February 6, 1840, by a group of Maori chiefs and the British
government.

February 7:

Chinese New Year - Also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, this is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It also is a major holiday for Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong) and the Vietnamese, who were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of religious and philosophical worldview, language and culture.

Losar (Tibet) - The Tibetan New Year is called Losar and is celebrated for three days by visiting, feasting and relaxation of the monastic discipline.

Chinese Valentine’s Day - People go to the temple of MatchMaker and pray for love.

The Daughter’s Festival (Chinese).

Seollal (Korea) - Lunar New Year's Day. This is the largest event of the year, celebrated on the first full-moon by eating a five-grain meal and praying for a bountiful harvest. An ancestral service is offered before the grave of the ancestors, and New Year's greetings are exchanged with family, relatives and neighbors.

February 11:

*Basant Panchami (India) - In Northern India it heralds the approach of spring and yellow-colored clothes are symbolically worn.

Spotlight: Richard Kumi, Africa (Ghana)

Richard Kumi’s native Republic of Ghana is a West African nation of diverse ethnic cultures, religions and languages and cultures, united by a common devotion to family.

"In Ghana, the family bond is very strong," says Kumi, a Lineman, Electric Distribution Construction, Alexandria.

Richard Kumi, is a Lineman in
Alexandria, Va.
(Click image to enlarge)

In his birthplace, Kumi notes that families mark significant milestones with ceremonies, such as naming ceremonies, puberty initiations, marriages and deaths.

Besides English, the official language, 36 local languages are spoken in Ghana. "The most widely spoken of these is Akan, of which I am a member," Kumi says. The Akan account for nearly half of the nation’s population of 20 million.

Ghana, located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, "is endowed with many natural resources, including: undisturbed virgin rain forest with plants, birds and animals; gold; diamonds; and timber," Kumi says. Ghana also is a major cocoa producing country.

Kumi notes that while Ghana and the United States do share some common attributes, such as Democratic government, freedom of speech and a majority Christian population, he has noticed a “vast difference” in culture.

"In Ghana, religion is very strong," says Kumi, a Christian, who shares that faith with two-thirds of Ghana’s population. One sixth of Ghana’s people are Muslim and about one-third of the people participate in indigenous tribal religions.

"The United States has a lot of opportunity," while in Ghana, "united family life, lots of festivals and durbars (chief installation ceremonies celebrated by each tribe), are very colorful and vibrant parts of the culture," Kumi says.

Every two years the people of Ghana host Panafest, which Kumi describes as "a cultural event dedicated to ehanhancing the ideals of pan-Africanism and the development of the African continent." Panafest attracts thousands of visitors from other African countries, along with people of African descent from all over the world. "The goals of Panafest are "to establish the truth about African history and the experiences of the African people, using the vehicle of African arts and culture."

Ghana celebrates as public holidays the Christian feasts of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Monday, and Muslim feasts of Eid as-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) and Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan).

Other major holidays in Ghana include:

New Year’s Day, January 1.
Independence Day, celebrated March 6 to mark Ghana’s independence from Great Britain in 1957.
Africa Unity Day, May 25.
Republic Day celebrated July 1, to mark Ghana’s becoming a republic in 1960.
Farmers’ Day, celebrated on the first Friday of December each year to honor Ghana’s farmers.
Boxing Day, December 26.

February 14:

Valentine's Day (International) - The traditional day on which lovers in certain cultures let each other know about their love, commonly by sending Valentine's cards.

February 17:

Random Acts of Kindness Day (International) - Celebrates selfless acts performed by kind people to either help or cheer up a random stranger, for no reason other than to make people happier.

February 18:

President's Day (USA) - A holiday held to honor former presidents of the United States; celebrated on the third Monday of February.

February 19:

Losar (Tibet) - The Tibetan New Year is called Losar and is celebrated for three days by visiting, feasting and relaxation of the monastic discipline.

February 22:

*Abu Simbel Festival (Egypt) - Built by Ramses II, his temple is angled so that the inner sanctum lights up twice a year: once on the anniversary of his rise to the throne and once on his birthday.

February 27:

Carnival (Dominican Republic) - Celebration of independence and Passover. Also celebrated is Dia de la Altagracia, or the day of the Virgin of the High Grace.

February 28:

Kalevala Day (Finland) - Elias Lonnrot, a country doctor, folklorist and philologist compiled the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic, in 1835. This day is observed countrywide with lectures, parades and recitations to honor him.

[*Date of observance may vary according to sighting of the new moon.]

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