Chinese (Lunar) New Year:

February 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10: The Chinese Year of the Dragon starts today—more specifically, the wood dragon—with a 15-day celebration that circles the globe. According to the South China Morning Post, “The element associated with the 2024 Dragon is strong yang wood. In the five elemental cycle, wood fuels the element of fire, and thus the quality of the Dragon is enhanced.”

Did you know? The last Chinese Wood Dragon year occurred 60 years ago, in 1964.

The color red, which is considered auspicious and homophonous with the Chinese word for “prosperous,” dominates décor in nearly every event. The Spring Festival, as it is also termed, ushers in warmer weather and marks the time of great gatherings among family and friends. When the New Year approaches, it is customarily ushered in with a Reunion Dinner that is replete with symbolic foods. For two weeks, visits are made and hosted with family and friends, gifts are exchanged and merriment is par for the course. Alternatively, this joyous occasion is called the Spring Festival.

Care to see more? The UK’s Evening Standard has photos of a portion of the billions of travelers undergoing the trip to or across China, which currently makes up the world’s largest human migration.

EARTHLY BRANCHES & THE ZODIAC

Legend has it that when the Buddha (or the Jade Emperor) invited animals to a New Year’s celebration, only 12 showed up; these 12 animals were each rewarded with a year. Earthly Branches were the original terms used for the years, but animals were later added as mnemonics and categorized as either yin or yang. Ten Celestial Stems pair with the Earthly Branches for a 60-year calendrical cycle.

Tradition has it that a person’s birth year indicates that he or she will possess the characteristics of the animal in reign during that year. (Just be careful! The year of someone’s Zodiac animal isn’t exactly considered lucky, and wearing red every day for that year is considered a means of protection from evil spirits and bad fortune.)

A 15-DAY FESTIVAL:
DINNERS, RED ENVELOPES & LANTERNS

Unrivaled among Chinese holidays, the New Year begins weeks in advance with families cleaning and hanging paper cutouts in their homes, shopping for fish, meats and other specialty foods, and purchasing new clothing. Businesses pay off debts, gifts are distributed to business associates and everything is completed according to symbolism—for good luck, prosperity and health in the coming year. In Buddhist and Taoist households, home altars and statues are cleaned.

On the eve of the New Year, a Reunion Dinner is shared with extended family members. Dumplings, meat dishes, fish and an assortment of hot and cold dishes are considered essential for the table. Traditionally, red envelopes filled with money or chocolate coins are given to children. Following dinner, some families visit a local temple.

For the next two weeks, feasts will be shared with family and friends, fireworks will fill the skies and parades with dragons and costumes will fill the streets. Friends and relatives frequently bring a Tray of Togetherness to the households they visit, as a token of thanks to the host. Through the New Year festivities, elders are honored and deities are paid homage, with all festivities being wrapped up with the Lantern Festival.

HOMEMADE CHINESE DINNER

If carryout isn’t your idea of an authentic Chinese experience, check out these sites for delicious New Year recipes:

Four Chaplains Day honors interfaith sacrifice in WWII and ‘Unity without Uniformity’

February 03, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Shown are the public photos of the famous four U.S. Army chaplains: Lt. Alexander Goode, a rabbi; Lt. George Fox, a Methodist minister; Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister; and Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic priest. All four perished with the sinking of the SS Dorchester after being struck by a German torpedo, Feb. 3, 1943. In 1988, Congress honored them by establishing Feb. 3 as Four Chaplains Day. (NOTE: Anyone is free to save and re-share this photograph.)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3: In many chapels, congregations and American Legion halls nationwide, a Four Chaplains observance is held every year on February 3rd to remember and honor four brave chaplains who sacrificed their lives to save the lives of others.

On February 3, 1943, the US Army transport ship Dorchester was carrying 902 soldiers, civilians, and crew members across the North Atlantic. Suddenly, the ship was hit by a German torpedo and started sinking rapidly. Panic and chaos broke out among the passengers, many of whom could not swim.

The U.S. Air Force published Captain Brett Barner’s and Chaplain Mark Schutzius’s column about the observance, which dramatically sums up the story:

Amidst the terror and confusion, the four chaplains began to guide and direct everyone on board. It was dark, cold and the ship was sinking quickly. Naturally, people began to panic and feared for their lives. These chaplains brought a sense of calm and peace in a time of incredible uncertainty. One account says that petty officer John Mahoney headed back towards his cabin when Rabbi Goode noticed he was going the wrong way and asked where he was going. “To get my gloves,” Mahoney responded. Rabbi Goode told him to take his gloves, but Mahoney resisted. He contended that he couldn’t take the chaplain’s own gloves. “Never mind, I have two pairs,” Rabbi Goode replied. It’s said that Mahoney later realized the chaplain never planned to leave the vessel.

Each chaplain eventually made it to the top of the ship and helped distribute life jackets and get survivors into lifeboats. As you can imagine, things were stressful. People began to wonder if they would receive a life jacket or if there would be enough room in the life boats. Again, these chaplains helped calm those fears. When life jackets ran out, one account says that the chaplains immediately offered their four life jackets to four service members who hadn’t received them. One survivor said, “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.”

Their bravery and selflessness didn’t end there. Eyewitnesses say that as the ship finally began to sink below the water, the four chaplains stood against the deck with their arms linked together. They prayed together. They sang together. They died together.

Honoring ‘Unity without Uniformity’

In 2024, with record rates of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the U.S. and around the world, a remembrance of their joint sacrifice seems especially appropriate to many community leaders. Check in your part of the U.S., because many local events seem to have been planned this year.

Ceremonies in honor of the courageous men emphasize “unity without uniformity,” a primary part of the mission of the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation. The Chapel of the Four Chaplains was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman in 1951. In 1988, an act of Congress officially declared February 3 as an annual Four Chaplains Day.

The four chaplains were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross. In 1960, a Congressional Medal of Valor was created and presented to the chaplains’ next of kin. Stained glass windows of the men still exist in a number of chapels across the country—and at the Pentagon—and each year, American Legions posts nationwide continue to honor the Four Chaplains with memorial services. The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation continues to honor those who exemplify the heroic traits of the Four Chaplains, promoting “unity without uniformity.”

Target learned the hard way why it is so important to observe Black History Month

February 01, 2024 by Leave a Comment

This photo of Dr. Woodson is in public domain, from Wikimedia Commons. We selected this photo for this column so that you can share this photograph yourself to promote Black History Month.

Clearing up confusion about Black History Month’s founder: Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

FEBRUARY—As Joe Grimm—the head of the Bias Busters project at the Michigan State University School of Journalism—has had to point out this month: There’s a lot of confusion about Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, widely regarded as the father of our custom of focusing on Black history each February.

Apparently, ignorance of this history led Target stores nationwide to stock a tragically mixed up  Black History Month kit for kids, called the Civil Rights Magnetic Learning Activity. This kit mixed up several key figures, including Woodson, in a series of three images—and had to be pulled from stores nationwide. The error was never spotted by Target staff members. A history teacher bought one of the kits and immediately realized the errors, as reported by The New York Times, Forbes, People and many other news outlets. Only when it became a national embarrassment did Target remove the kits—and that’s a disappointing sign of ignorance of Black history, Joe Grimm has argued online.

Thank goodness Dr. Woodson has a robust biography in Wikipedia—including a photograph of him that is in public domain and can be shared easily by anyone wanting to correctly credit him as the father of this annual tradition. Consider taking a moment, right now, to share this column with friends via social media or email to help with the effort to correct the record.

To counter the confusion, Grimm has been sharing across the internet the following Question and Answer from the Bias Busters’ widely used book, 100 Questions and Answers About African Americans.

Question: What is Black History Month?

Answer: The idea had its origins in 1915. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard PhD, and friends established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The Journal of Negro History began a year later. In 1926, Woodson created Negro History Week to bring attention to history that was not in school curricula. Starting with Gerald R. Ford in 1976, U.S. presidents have annually recognized February as Black History Month. The United Kingdom and Canada observe it, as well. Some say Black history should be taught all year and that designating a month for it confines and diminishes Black history.

This answer and 99 others are in 100 Questions and Answers About African Americans, a Bias Buster guide created in a journalism class at Michigan State University. If that book interests you—then you also will want to get a copy of 100 Questions and Answers About the Black Church.

In researching, writing and editing these guides, Grimm and his students also work with blue-ribbon panels of national experts. The books are widely used by educators, community leaders and professionals nationwide to promote better understanding of the many minorities that make up our nation today. Amazon lists the entire series on this page.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024

January 27, 2024 by Leave a Comment

A detail from the haunting Oregon Holocaust Memorial,  which was dedicated in 2004 in Portland Oregon. This photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 27—Each year, international remembrances of the Holocaust occur on two major occasions: This International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the United Nations, marking the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27, 1945. The other globally observed memorial is Yom Hashoah, which was established in Israel and begins in 2024 on the evening of May 5.

Want to take part in marking this day? Check in your area for local observances, which may range from a memorial service to a concert to an art exhibit to even the screening of a special film. Local communities across North America are planning to mark this day in some way, especially at a time when antisemitism is reaching new heights in the US, according to FBI reporting.

Resources from the United Nations: Member states of the UN have developed educational programs, conducted memorial ceremonies and instituted remembrances over the years. If you follow this UN link, you will find a gateway to UN-recommended resources. There are lots of materials to explore from that homepage, including The World Memory Project and a guide to Remembering Survivors and Victims.

It’s a global problem. A rising tide of antisemitism is sweeping the globe. For example, news media around the world reported on the late-November demonstrations of more than 100,000 people in Paris and other French cities in solidarity with that nation’s Jewish population. Here’s New York Times report on those demonstrations.

This month, reports like this one in The Washington Post have highlighted Chinese propaganda efforts to fuel antisemitism in the West as a method to destabilize Western nations.

Fresh action. The alarming reports led the Biden administration to take new steps to identify and combat antisemitism as well as Islamophobia and hate crimes against Jews and Muslims, as detailed in this White House report.

 

 

How will you help to build Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s beloved community in 2024?

January 15, 2024 by Leave a Comment

“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.
You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MONDAY, JANUARY 15—Serve in your community this week and learn more about civil rights, as the nation collectively remembers the prophetic life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the third Monday in January annually brings the celebration of a pivotal figure in American history who, during his lifetime, worked ceaselessly for the civil rights movement and nonviolent activism.

THIS YEAR, the holiday falls on King’s actual January 15 birthday, when he was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you are a basketball fan, you may already have seen NBA players—and an NBA-sponsored public service ad—reminding us all of Dr. King’s legacy. Honoring Dr. King has become a well-established annual tradition in the NBA. The league has held games on MLK day nearly every year since 1986. The one exception is the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. This year, there are 11 NBA games on January 15.

AN IMPORTANT TIP: Many of the best events are held close to home—wherever “home” is for you. Our publishing house is based in Michigan and our “local” search turned up a whole host of great events for individuals and families spread across southeast Michigan. You’ll likely find similar lists of events in your part of the U.S.

The main federal website to get involved in MLK Day-related service is the National Service website.

MLK Day: A History

Martin Luther King, Jr. became a Baptist pastor and helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, serving as its first president. In 1963, King helped to organize the March on Washington and, there, delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech.

THIS YEAR, we also have the powerful feature film, Rustin, which tells much more about the March on Washington. Click here to read faith-and-film critic Edward McNulty’s review of that film. Ed writes, “The overlooked civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (played by Colman Domingo)—often called the architect of the 1963 March on Washington—is finally getting his due, thanks to the new film directed by George C. Wolfe.”

King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.

When a bill was introduced for a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King, some representatives argued that an additional paid holiday would be too expensive and that Dr. King, having never held public office, was ineligible. Supporters of the bill began rallying the public, and when Stevie Wonder released “Happy Birthday” in 1980 to raise awareness of the campaign, 6 million signatures were collected. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that established a federal holiday on November 2, 1983. The holiday was first observed in 1986, and today, Americans are urged to honor the “King Day of Service” by spending the day doing something Dr. King viewed as unparalleled: serving others.

 

 

Yule, solstice: Welcome winter with a log on the fire, nature and mistletoe

December 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment

fireplace, lit and decorated with greenery

Photo by Justin Kern, courtesy of Flickr

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21: Since ancient times, the solstices have been marked as auspicious turning points in the calendar. For our Northern readers, this is the winter solstice!

Often termed Yuletide or Yulefest, the days surrounding winter solstice have long been marked with cold-weather festivals and warm feasts, celebrating the reversal from increasing darkness to increasing light and giving thanks for the “rebirth of the sun.” Ancient Germanic peoples observed Yule; ancient Romans held Saturnalia, Brumalia and other festivals for the sun with food, gift-giving and often ludicrous behavior.

yule log

A yule log, or buche de noel. Photo by Stéphanie Kilgast, courtesy of Flickr

Today, Pagans and Wiccans gather for Yule festivities: feasting and the lighting of the celebrated Yule log, which traditionally smolders for 12 days.

Want recipes? Bake a tasty version of a Yule log with recipes from Allrecipes, Martha Stewart and Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Germanic peoples are credited the religious festival called “Yule.” Enormous feasts were associated with Yule, and so merry was the atmosphere in these activities that Grettis Saga refers to Yule as the time of “greatest mirth and joy among men.” Today’s pagans and Wiccans often exchange gifts at Yule meals, while praising the rebirth of the sun and various gods.

WASSAIL, HOLLY & MISTLETOE

Looking for some Yule inspiration? Recharge with some all-natural ideas such as enjoying the beauty of firelight or relaxing to some Classical music. In years past, pagans “wassailed” their fields with cider drinks—but a tasty wassail is great for sipping! (Find a five-star recipe at Tastes Better From Scratch.)

Get in touch with nature by decorating your home with holly, mistletoe and evergreens; for a warm scent, make a pomander by decorating oranges with cloves (get instructions from Martha Stewart), noting the orange’s resemblance to the sun.

Posadas Navidenas: Hispanic Christians anticipate Nativity with processions, traditions

December 16, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Las Posadas kids and procession

A Las Posadas procession. Photo by Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, courtesy of Flickr

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16: The Hispanic countdown to Christmas officially begins tonight with Posadas Navidenas (or, more simply, Las Posadas) across Mexico, in Guatemala and in regions of the United States. Tantalizing dishes, merry carols and the story of the nativity has been bringing together communities in Mexico for more than 400 years in a beloved tradition that lasts nine nights and ends on Dec. 24. Each night of Las Posadas, a small, candlelit procession travels through a neighborhood, its participants dressed like Mary, Joseph, angels and shepherds, reenacting the search for a safe place to welcome the infant Jesus. Often, musicians follow the group, as do accompanying members of the community.

Did you know? As a learning resource, NBC News suggests Posadas Navidenas as one of five Latino holiday traditions to share with children.

LODGING AND ACCOMMODATION

Spanish for “lodging” or “accommodation,” Posada recalls the difficulty Mary and Joseph encountered on their journey. Posada describes the events of Las Posadas: as the procession stops at designated houses and asks permission to stay, it is prearranged that all homeowners turn away the visitors until the host family is reached. At the home of the host family (or, in some regions, a church), the visitors are welcomed inside, and all present kneel before a nativity. Following prayers, tamales and ponche navideno are served, washed down with rompope, a Mexican drink with a taste similar to eggnog. Children may hit a five- or seven-pointed piñata, often filled with dried fruits, sugar sticks, candies and nuts. Often, Christmas carols are also sung by all. (Learn traditional carols and more at The Other Side of the Tortilla.)

Revelries outside of Mexico can vary: in the Philippines, Posadas highlights a Panunuluyan pageant, a type of play portraying the story of Mary and Joseph and recited in a local language. In Nicaragua, the event lasts only one day. In the United States, several regions hold some type of Las Posadas celebration, most often with carols, reenactments and plenty of Mexican food.

RECIPES, LEARNING & MORE