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January 1:
New Year's Day
Haiti - On this day in 1804, Haitian slaves
rebelled against French forces. Napoleon Bonaparte’s powerful army
was defeated, and Haiti became a free country.
Shogatsu (Japanese New Year) - The most significant
and elaborate event in Japan. Many visit shrines to pray for good health
and fortune. Year 2665 begins.
St. Basil’s Day (Greece) - The Greeks
call New Year's St. Basil’s Day. Traditionally, gifts are exchanged.
January 2:
Ancestry Day (Haiti) - Honors Haitian heroes.
January 4:
Shabbat - The Jewish Sabbath, or weekly day
of rest and spiritual enrichment. It is observed the seventh day of the
week from before sunset on Friday until nightfall on Saturday.
January 6:
Carnival Season begins (Christian) - An age-old
festival observed in parts of Europe and the Americas, from the Christian
observances of Epiphany to Ash Wednesday, is called Carnival and culminates
in Mardi Gras.
Old Christmas Day (Armenia) - Celebrated in
the Armenian Church, the oldest Christian national church (founded 301
CE).
Three Kings Day (Christian) - A day of celebration
in many parts of Europe, Latin America and South America that is the traditional
time of
gift giving and the culmination of the Christmas season.
January 7:
Christmas (eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian) - Celebrations
take place in and outside of ancient churches. On the eve of this day
there is prayer and chanting, and in the morning a colorful procession
makes its way to a hilltop for mass. After the service the day is spent
dancing, playing sports and feasting.
January
8:
Seijin no hi (Adult’s Day) - Honors the
coming of age of those person who have turned 20 in the preceding year
in Japan.
January
14:
Pongol (India) - A three-day Hindu rice harvest
festival in South India is celebrated with a cultural evening of song
and dance.
Kitchen God Celebration (China) - The custom
is based on the traditional farewell ceremony for T’sao Wang, Prince
of the Oven, before he leaves for his annual trip to heaven to report
on families’ good behavior during the year.
Makar Sankrat (India) - A Hindu and South
Indian winter solstice observation marking the beginning of the Pongal
festival.
January 18:
Ashura (Islam) - The first day of the first
month of the Islamic year 1425 CE commemorates the migration in 622 CE
of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, where the first Islamic
community was established. Muharram lasts for 10 days.
*Solnal (Korea) - This is the biggest event
of the year. Fifteen days after Solnal on the first full moon day, Koreans
eat a five-grain meal and pray for a bountiful harvest. (Jan. 18-20)
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Jean Ibañez Payne, Colombia
Jean Ibañez Payne lives in Virginia, but a large part of her heart, and much of her family, lives in Colombia. A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native of Colombian parents, Payne visits her mother, father, brothers and extended family, in Monteria, Colombia, three to four times a year.
"My father worked at the Three Mile
Island Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania when I was born," says
Payne, an Hourly Desk Coordinator for Dominion Energy Marketing,
Tredegar Street. |
"After
he worked and saved enough to start his ranch and cattle business
in Colombia, our family moved back to Colombia when I was 2 years-old."
Payne lived in Colombia with her family for 15 years until she
decided to return to the United States to complete high school
and college while her family remained in Colombia. After completing
high school, Payne enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four-and-a-half
years. While in the Navy, Payne earned her bachelor's degree in
criminal justice and master's degree in business administration.
"After the Navy, I got married and decided that United States was where I wanted to live," Payne says. "My entire family resides in Colombia and I visit them every three to six months."
"In Colombia, family ties, values and relationships are extremely important to each member of our family and considered the number one priority and work secondary," Payne says. "Children often live with their parents and are expected to follow the house rules until they marry, and even after they marry, they rarely move far away from their parents."
New Year's Day is a major holiday for Colombian
families, Payne points out. One of the most popular New Year traditions
in Colombia is to prepare an effigy of a person that will represent
the old year, or Año Nuevo. The figure is made from bits
of old clothing and stuffed with straw and fireworks.
On New Year's
Eve, each family member writes on a piece of paper a fault or a
bit of bad luck one has faced in the old year. As Año Nuevo is
set on fire at the stroke of midnight, families read aloud their
lists of faults and bad luck. In this way, it is believed they
drive off the bad things of the old year and embrace the New Year
in a fresh manner.
“Religion is a very important aspect of
our culture and family members are expected to attend church early
each Sunday and practice their faith,” Payne says.
Colombia has 17 public holidays. Two of the most
significant holidays are Independence Day on July 20th celebrating
Colombia’s declaration of independence in 1810. On August
7, Colombians celebrate the Battle of Boyaca in 1819 remembering
Colombia’s final defeat of Spanish forces and winning its
definitive independence from Spain.
One of the most traditional dishes in the inner part of the country
is sancocho de gallina, a soup composed mostly of chicken,
plantains, corn, coriander, yucca root and other seasonings. Other
Colombian favorites are coconut rice, fried fish and fried plantains.
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January
20:
*Day of Hajj (Islamic) - Muslims perform the
annual spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca. About 4 million Muslims from more
than 70 nations make this journey each year.
Hijra (Islamic) - Celebrates the emigration
of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622, and marks
the start of the Hijri year of the Islamic calendar.
January 21:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (USA) - Across
the country, schools and offices close to celebrate the life, death and
legacy of one of the most influential civil rights leaders of our time.
Errol Barrow Day (Barbados) - Honors the birth
date of independence leader Errol Barrow, who led Barbados to freedom
from Britain.
January 26:
Australia Day - Commemorating the first white
settlement in Australia in 1788.
January 30:
Greek Day of Education - It is the anniversary
for St. of Three Hierarchs Day, St. Basil (Greece) and St. Gregory the
Great.
January-February: Iroquois Midwinter - Lasts
for eight days and each day is dedicated to an event, ceremony (aboriginal),
i.e., Tobacco Invocation. Days vary according to community.
January-February: Hopi Holy
Cycle - Buffalo dances are performed in Hopi reserves. Days vary
(aboriginal), according to community.
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