Christmas

                    Christmas is known as the day we celebrate Jesus' birth.  But it wasn't always originally celebrated for this purpose.  The first idea of Christmas was based  on the Winter Solstice which occurred annually. This was where the earth saw its longest night. Europeans believed this was the time of the rebirth of the sun. Around this time was also when Romans would celebrate the festival of   Saturnalia which was their way of honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture. This celebration lasted from December 17th to December 24th. It was custom for people to feast, gamble, and exchange gifts during this time. Slaves were allowed to disobey their masters when ever they pleased and children had more authority over the adults throughout the seven day festival.
        In the 4th century, church leaders within the Christian churchgoer chose to make the 25th of December the day and night that the feast of Nativity was to be celebrated on. For this occasion, people would fine together, come to good terms with one another and exchange gifts. Again, the date of this  celebration was very close to that of the winter solctise and Saturnalia.
         It wasn't until the 9th century that the start of the Modern Christmas started to form. People adopted traditions from the Roman and European festivals since the dates, concept, and customs were all very similar. Christmas about feasting, drinking, being civil with one another, giving gifts as a sign of peace and friendship, and caroling for money. In this century, Christmas came in third for popularity status, next to Good Friday and Easter.
         The Christmas we are familiar with today developed during the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century. Christmas was then seen as a Christian holiday since the idea of the birth of Jesus on this day came about. So over time, it became celebrated for Jesus rather than the winter solctise and Saturnalia.
      During the 20th century, the focus on Christmas became more commercial and people celebrate it either for the religious meanings behind it or to think of others and participate in the time of giving and putting others before themselves. It's now the most celebrated and most popular holiday worldwide.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/Christmas
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm
http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/
http://www.benbest.com/history/xmas.html
http://x4mr.blogspot.ca/2010/12/christmas-winter-solstice-history.html

Rememberence Day

The first Remembrance Day to be held in was on November 11, 1919. At the time, it was an unofficial holiday referred to as Armistice Day. Its purpose, just like today, was for people to pay their respects to the soldiers who fought in World War 1 and to remember the Canadian soldiers who had died in the form of a ceremony. Armistice Day marks the date and time the soldiers stopped fighting during World War 1 (the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month).
             In 1931, Canadian MP Allen Neill made a bill to have November 11^th as the official day to honour all Canadian war veterans. This day was to be dedicated to Canadian soldiers from then on. Also, it was decided that the word Armistice would be changed to Remembrance, because we remember all those who fought for our country.
            Today, all government buildings fly the Canadian National flag on the eleventh of November during a two minute silence at 11:00 am. This is to say a silent prayer or thank you for the approximate 100,000 Canadian soldiers who died during World War 1 and World War 2 Combined.

 

But why the poppy? The poppy is used as the traditional symbol of Remembrance Day. It was chosen to represent the soldiers because it was the only thing that survived in Flanders (the whole Western part of Belgium). Flanders was where the First World War was. Because of the war, all things there were destroyed, except the poppies. Today, we use the poppy flower the symbol because it symbolizes comfort and hope and brought faith to the soldiers by its vibrant colour and beauty.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15492228
http://www.canoe.ca/RemembranceDay/poppy.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/remembrance/how/poppy.shtml
http://www.historyextra.com/remembrance
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/remembrance-day-e.aspx
http://www.history.ca/daysofremembrance/
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm

HALLOWEEN

                October 31^st is known today as the day and night of Halloween. However, it wasn’t always known as Halloween. In fact, October 31^st use to be for a holiday tradition the ancient Celts (who lived over 2,000 years ago in Ireland and the UK) called Samhain (pronounced “Sam-Haine”). This night was named after the demon, Samhain. This demon was believed to be very evil and powerful and was feared by the Celts. Samhain was the first night of the year when the Celts believed that the “veil” between the two worlds of the living and the dead was thinnest. The believed all dead spirits, good and evil, were able to cross back-and-forth between the two worlds freely and effortlessly. Also, for them, this was the night the Celtic priests (called Druids) were strongest and able to make more accurate predictions of the future. People during this time believed that the demon, Samhain, would rise from hell on this night and cause havoc and spread diseases with the other spirits who would follow him. In order to hide from him and the other spirits, people wore masks to disguise themselves and blend in with the evil spirits (this is where the idea of dressing up in costumes on Halloween came from).

                Halloween later became the modernized version of Samhain when Christian missionaries attempted to alter the religious custom, tradition, and ways of the Celtic people. Churches saw this day as a day of pure evil and association with the devil. By the 800’s the pope replaced the Celt’s tradition by naming this day as All Saints’ Day which later evolved to All Hollow’s Eve, then Hallowe'En and eventually, Halloween. By the year 1000, All Saints’ Day got moved to November 2^nd. This day was celebrated much like Samhain was, with bonfires and festivals and costumes. Then eventually, All Saint’ Day, All hollow’s Eve and everything got evolved and squished together (since the customs were all very similar) and became one big event now know as Halloween.

Sources:

http://www.halloweenhistory.org/

http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Samhain.htm

http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Odd/October/HistoryOfHalloween.html

http://blog.discoverireland.com/2010/10/halloween-another-successful-irish-export/

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=holidays&id=2203

Devil's Night/ Mischief Night

            Devil’s/Mischief Night takes place on the night of October 30^th. This is the night before Halloween.  
             It wasn't  until the 20th century that that the "mischief" began. This night was commonly celebrated in mainly Canada, England, and the U.S. This night was for pranks and mild vandalism by young adolecents. Pranks consisted of tipping over outhouses, un-hinging farmer's gates, and throwing eggs at houses. This tradition however, became filled with a lot more violent acts and more serious vandalism by the 1920's-1930's . It is believed that that cause of the serious vandalism was prevoked by the stress people were under during the time of the Great Depression. 
          Today, the vandalism  has been toned down a lot. The pranks held on this night now consist of soaping windows, egging houses and cars, toilet papering people's houses and trees, and knocking on doors and then running away before the homeowner answers. The mischief and pranks are what make the night before Halloween for "tricks" and the night of Halloween for "treats"

Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/5149-devil-night-history-pre-halloween-pranks.html
http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/4615/mischief_night.html
http://www.life123.com/holidays/more-holidays/october-holidays/the-history-of-mischief-night.shtml

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a national holiday which has been celebrated in Canada since 1957. However, it has been celebrated in the U.S much longer. The first celebration that resembled thanksgiving was in 1621 by the Plimouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians. They referred to the celebration as a "Harvest Feast". The tradition is said to have begun in Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island. These were the lands of the Wampanoag Indians for over 12 000 years. This land provided good fish, wild fruits and herbs. The Wampanoag people would gather this food and share it within the tribe.

The Plimoth colony (Pilgrims) was a colony that involved English Protestants who wanted to leave the Church of England. They settled at Cape Cod which was within the area the Wampanoag Indians lived. The leader and people of the Indian tribe befriended the Settlers. The trust and friendship between the two groups lead to the Settlers and Native people making an agreement in March of 1612. This agreement was that both the Settlers and the Natives would join together to protect each other from other tribes.

            One fall day, The tribe and Pilgrim men and women and children all joined together to shared food and combine the two colonies to create one big feast. The meal is believed to have consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. At the feats, they all played games, sang songs, and danced together.

            The first recorded Thanksgiving with a religious purpose was in 1623. The Colonists used the Harvest Feast as an opportunity to thank God for rain after a 2 month drought. But it wasn’t until 1863 (during the Civil War) that President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday which was to be held annually. This was the first official American Thanksgiving.

            On January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced that on the second Monday in October, Thanksgiving would be “a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed”. We then adopted the American customs and used the cornucopia (Greek), also known as “Horn of Plenty” (which is stuffed with seasonal fruit and vegetables) as the symbol of Thanksgiving.

 

Sources:

http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/a/thanksgiving.htm

http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/read/thanksgiving-history

http://www.caffeinedestiny.com/tigiving.html
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/thanksgiving-day
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2705/
 

The Autumn Equinox

            The name "Equinox" is from the root of the Latin word aequus, meaning equal, and nox, meaning night, thus creating the term Equal Night.This name is very suitable because an equinox is the event where night and day are exactly the same length at twelve hours each (24 hours in a day divided by 2 = 12).  Equinox's happen two times a year (March 20th and September 22nd) when the Earth's equator passes by the center of the sun. Also, during this time is when seasons are completely opposite in each side of the equator. This event was commonly celebrated back in the Ancient times by the Pagans. They believed that this particular day marked the birth of the Pagan Earth goddess, Mabon. Today, the Fall Equinox can be seen being celebrated by Fall fairs and harvest festivals.

Where the Equinox holiday is celebrated:

• Ancient Greece
• Australia
• China
• Japan
• Christian Religion/ Churches
• Pagan celebration: Mabon 

Sources:

             http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox-customs.html

             http://www.infoplease.com/spot/equinox1.html

             http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0923/What-exactly-is-an-equinox-anyway

             http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/fall.htm