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Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת, sukkōt, or sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.
The holiday lasts seven days (eight in the diaspora). The first day is a sabbath-like yom tov when work is forbidden, followed by the intermediate Chol Hamoed and Shemini Atzeret. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, "booth or tabernacle", which is a walled structure covered with skhakh (plant material such as leafy tree overgrowth or palm leaves). The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the holiday meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many sleep there as well. On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog (Four species).[1]
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-17 06:18:06)
Wenceslaus I (Czech: Václav [ˈvaːtslaf] (
listen); c. 907 – September 28, 935), or Wenceslas I, was the duke (kníže) of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel.
His martyrdom, and the popularity of several biographies, quickly gave rise to a cult, the Catholic term for a group devoted to someone as a holy person, and a reputation for heroic goodness, resulting in his being elevated to Sainthood, posthumously declared king, and seen as the patron saint of the Czech state. He is even the subject of a Saint Stephen's Day (celebrated on December 26 in the West) Carol, written in 1853 that remains popular to this day, Good King Wenceslas.
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-17 15:46:56)
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: 中秋節), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people.[1] A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou Dynasty from 3,000 years ago.[1] The celebration became popular during the early Tang Dynasty.[1] The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar, close to the autumnal equinox.[1] The Government of the People's Republic of China listed the festival as an "intangible cultural heritage" in 2006, and it was made a Chinese public holiday in 2008.[1] It is also a Republic of China (Taiwan) public holiday.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Spring Festival and Winter Solstice.[1] Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-17 08:22:10)
Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read,[1] draws attention to banned and challenged books,[2] and highlights persecuted individuals.[3] The United States campaign "stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them"[4] and the requirement to keep material publicly available so that people can develop their own conclusions and opinions. The international campaign notes individuals "persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read."[3]
The campaign was founded in 1982 by prominent First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug.[5] It is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-17 05:53:46)