April 2, 2007

  • April 2

    Here begins my record keeping of celebrations through the year.  I have gathered most of my material from the internet with particular help from The School of the Seasons (http://www.schooloftheseasons.com ).This is a great site to visit if you also have a interest in celebrations.

    April 2:   Today is my dear sister's birthday.  She is 54 years young and quite a lady.  Happy Birthday, kid.

    St. Urban:  On this day superstitious young women supposedly hung some of their hair before a picture of St. Urban.  They believed that the rest of their hair would grow long and golden.  This interesting tidbit was garnered from Reginal Scot in his The Discovery of Witchcraft written in 1584.  I looked up St. Urban and could find nothing that even remotely addressed hair growing.  The only thing I found today was that he became Pope Urban I and nothing is known of his life prior to being pope.  by the way he reigned as Pope from 220 to 230 AD.   Information on Pope Urban came from Wikipedia.

    Sizdah-bedar/Thirteenth Outside:  This is a traditional Persian festival that is celebrated on the 13th day of Norouz (Persian New Year) in the month of Farvardin.  "Sizdah" means 13 and "bedar" means to get rid of.  This day marks the end of the New Year celebrations.  The first 12 days of the new year symbolize order in the work and in the lives of the people.  The 13th day marks the return to ordinary daily life. 

    On this day Persians leave their homes before dawn and stay outside all day.  It is believed that joy and laughter clean the mind from all evil thoughts.  This is a full day of mass outdoor picnics.

    This is also a special day to ask for rain.  According to the Zoroastrian beliefs, the 13th day of the month of Farvardin belongs to the deity of rain, Tir, which is depicted as a horse.  Therefore, this is also a day for competitive games involving horses.

    At the end of day, a ritual of throwing away in a stream or over the garden wall the "Sabzeh" (a dish of sprouted seeds) from the Norouz Haftsin table occurs.  The sabzeh is supposed to have collected all sickness, pain and ill fate hiding on the path of the family though the coming year.  Getting rid of it is said to rid the home of the evil eye and "divs" or demons.

    The sprouted seed dishes are similar to gardens of Adonis, an ancient custom still part of Italian Good Friday celebrations.  (I need to research this further.)

    The mandated day spent outdoors is similar to other spring holidays where people are encouraged to spend the day in the open air.

    Another tradition is the knotting of blades of grass by unmarried girls int he hope of find a companion.  Knotting of grass represents love and bondage of a man and woman.  I don't think I like the use of the word bondage.  Hmmm!  I also garnered most of this information from Wikipedia.

    Pesach/Passover/Festival of Unleavened Bread:  This is a Jewish holiday which begins on the 15th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar.  Passover commemorates the exodus and freedom from slavery of the Israelites from ancient Egypt that followed the 10 plagues.  This actually marks the birth of the Children of Israel who became the Jewish nation.

    Pesakh means skipping or passing over.  The name comes from the night of the 10th plague when the angel of Death saw blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of the houses of Israel and skipped over them and did not kill their firstborn.  The meal of the Passover Seder commemorates this event.

    The feast of the Unleavened Bread refers to the week long period when leaven was removed and unleavened bread or matzo (flatbread) was eaten.  The Israelites hurriedly baked a flat unleavened bread that could be eaten during their hasty departure from Egypt.

    In Israel, Passover is a 7 day holiday with the first and last days celebrated as a full festival.  This is one of three pilgrim festivals during which the entire Jewish populace made pilgrimage to Jerusalem when the temple was still standing.  This information again was taken from Wikipedia.

    International Children's Book Day:  In 1967 the International Board on Books for Youth chose this day, the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, as a day to celebrate children's books around the world and to inspire a love of reading.

    Hans Christian Andersen Birthday:  Born in the slums of Odense, Denmark, in 1805.  He was famous for his fairy tales which were meant for both children and adults.  Andersen received little education when he was young.  However, he was encourage by his parent to compose his own fairy tales and arrange puppet theater shows.  His father loved literature and took him often to the playhouse.  When Andersen's father died in 1816, HC was forced to go to work as an apprentice to a weaver and tailor and he also worked at a tobacco factory.  At the age of 14, Andersen moved to Copenhagen to start a career as a singer, dancer or actor.

    In 1822 Jonas Collin, one of the directors of the Royal Theatre, gave Andersen a grant to enter the grammar school at Slagelse.  Then in 1827 a private tuition was arranged for him to attend Copenhagen University where he completed his education.

    Andersen's fame rests on his Fairy Tales and Stories written between 1835 and 1872.   Considered the father of the modern fairy tale, his works were original.  Only 12 of his 156 known fair stories drew on folk tales. 

    Anderson died in his home in Rolighed on August 4, 1875.  Again my information came from Wikipedia.

    Well, so much for April 2.  Hope you found something of interest.