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Yom Kippur (Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר or יום הכיפורים, IPA: [ˈjom kiˈpur]), also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe").
Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers oneself absolved by God.
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An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state; more rarely after the end of a military occupation.
Most countries observe their respective independence days as a national holiday, and in some cases the observance date is controversial or contested. Not all countries observe an independence day holiday, choosing to celebrate other national days instead of or alongside an independence day.
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Respect-for-the-Aged Day (敬老の日 Keirō no hi) is a Japanese holiday celebrated annually to honor elderly citizens.[1] A national holiday since 1966, this was previously held on September 15. Beginning in 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September due to the Happy Monday System.
This national holiday traces its origins to 1947, when Nomadani-mura (later Yachiyo-cho, currently Taka-cho), Hyōgo Prefecture proclaimed September 15 Old Folks' Day (Toshiyori no Hi). Its popularity spread nationwide, and in 1966 it took its present name and status. Annually, Japanese media take the opportunity to feature the elderly, reporting on the population and highlighting the oldest people in the country.
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The International Day of Peace, also known as the World Peace Day, occurs annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to peace, and specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. The first year this holiday was celebrated was 1981.
To inaugurate the day, the "Peace Bell" is rung at UN Headquarters (in New York City). The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents apart from Africa. It was given as a gift by the United Nations Association of Japan, and is referred to as "a reminder of the human cost of war." The inscription on its side reads: "Long live absolute world peace."[1]
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On 21 September 1964, Malta became an independent state. This is celebrated as Independence Day or Jum l-Indipendenza in Maltese.
Malta became a republic on 13 December 1974, with the last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, as its first President. The Gieh ir-Repubblika Act, promulgated the following year, abolished all titles of nobility in Malta and mandated that they not be further recognized.
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On 20 September each year in Thailand, National Youth Day (Thai: วันเยาวชนแห่งชาติ, Wan Yaowachon Haeng Chat) commemorates the birth dates of Kings Chulalongkorn and Ananda Mahidol. Thailand celebrates youth day because of all the liitle babues born in September. However this is wrong because the real youth day is on the 16th of June accourding to South African belief.
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Paryushana (or Paryusan) is one of the two most important festivals for the Jains, the other being Diwali. Normally Svetambara Jains refer it as Paryushana, while Digambara Jains refer it as Daslakshana. Paryushan means, literally, "abiding" or "coming together". It is also a time when the laity take on vows of study and fasting with a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism.[1][2] The duration of Paryusana is for 8 or 10 days and comes at the time when the wandering monks take up temporary residence for four months of monsoon. In popular terminology, this stay is termed chaturmasa because the rainy season is regarded to be about four months. For this minimum duration, Paryushana must be initiated by Panchami (fifth day) of the Shukla Paksha phase of the Bhadrapada month. In the scriptures it is described that Lord Mahavira used to start Paryushana on Bhadrapada pak sha panchami. After Mahavir, nearly 150 years Jain Samvatsari was shifted to Chaturthi (4th day of Bhadrapada of Shukla phase. Since 2200 years Jains follows Chaturthi.
The date for the Paryushana festival is thus Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi for both major sects. Because of computational and other differences, there can be some minor differences among various subsects. Recently there has been an attempt to standardize the date. Because at this time the monks have settled in the town for a longer duration, it is time for the householders to have an annual renewal of the faith by listening to the statement of the Dharma and by meditation and vratas (self-control). In the Digambaras, it is done by starting a 10-day period from Paryushana (Bhadrapada Shukla panchami) during which the dashalakshana vrata is undertaken. In the Shvetambaras an 8-day festival is celebrated that ends with Bhadrapada Shukla chaturthi. The last day is called Samvatsari, short for Samvatsari Pratikramana.
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Ganesh Chaturthi (Marathi: गणेश चतुर्थी, Konkani: चवथ, Hindi: गणेश चतुर्थी, Malayalam: വിനായക ചതുര്ത്ഥി, Tamil: விநாயகர் சதுர்த்தி, Kannada: ಗಣೇಶ ಚತುರ್ಥೀ, Telugu: వినాయక చవితి), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, is the Hindu festival of Ganesha also called Vinayagar in Tamil Nadu, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees in the duration of this festival. It is the day Shiva declared his son Ganesha as superior to all the gods. Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel.
The festival, also known as Ganeshotsav ("festival of Ganesha") is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). The date usually falls between 19 August and 15 September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Anant Chaturdashi (fourteenth day of the waxing moon period).
(... from Wikipedia on 2012-04-17 22:17:14)