One mountain, many paths...
* 11/30 to 12/24 (OC 11/28 to 1/6): Advent/Festival of Lights.
* 12/2: Vishnu Puja--Day to fast from grains (and meat) and make offerings to Hindu God Vishnu (the Sustainer). Flowers, incense, lamps, and vegetarian food are offered; bells are rung and drums beaten.
* 12/6 (7:27 a.m. EST): Full Moon (Snow/Fire Moon).
* 12/6: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing and acting with compassion for the poor and oppressed.
* 12/7 eve to 12/15 eve (12/14 peak): Geminid Meteor Showers.
* 12/8: Christian feast celebrating St. Anna’s conception of Blessed Mary.
* 12/10: Day the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, and fundamental rights were recognized world-wide (1948).
* 12/12: First appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of God and Mother of the Oppressed, at the former shrine of Aztec Moon Goddess Coatlicue (Mexico 1531).
* 12/13: Lha Bab Duchen--Day Tibetan Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s descent from heaven after teaching the Dharma there.
* 12/13: Feast of the Light-bringer--honoring Goddess as Juno Lucina (Old Roman) & Lucia (Old Swedish); merged with the Christian feast of St. Lucia.
* 12/14: Christian feast of St. John of the Cross (d. 1591), whose suffering - for advocating church reform - generated mystical union with Deity.
* 12/15: Old Egyptian festival of Neteret Amenet-Rait-Mut, the primordial Great Mother.
* 12/15: Day the Bill of Rights became part of the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental rights to all (1791).
* 12/16 to 12/24: Christmas Novena/Las Posadas--Christian remembrance of the journey of Blessed Mary and St. Joseph to Bethlehem and their taking refuge in a cave-stable.
* 12/16 eve to 12/24 eve: Hanukkah/Festival of Lights--Jewish festival commemorating a victory in their struggle for religious freedom and rededication of the second Temple of Jerusalem to Elohim. Menorah candles are lit.
12/17: Day the Clean Air Act was enacted (1963); day to give thanks for the air we breathe.
* 12/17 to 12/23: Saturnalia/Opalia--Old Roman festival honoring God Saturn (the weak Sun) & Goddess Ops (the fallow Earth); celebrated with gift-giving, revelry, and abolishment of all class distinctions.
* 12/17 eve to 12/24 eve (12/22 peak): Ursid Meteor Showers.
* 12/19 to 12/25: Christmas Truce--Time to cease all forms of conflict (at least temporarily), extend a greeting to your adversary, and raise a glass for peace.
* 12/20: Shiva Puja--Day to fast from grains (and meat) and make offerings to Hindu God Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer). Flowers, incense, lamps, and vegetarian food are offered; bells are rung and drums beaten.
* 12/21 (6:03 p.m. EST): Winter Solstice/Solar New Year--Marks the beginning of Winter and the shortest day and longest night of the year; celebration of the darkness with dancing near the hearth fire.
* 12/21 (8:36 p.m. EST): New Moon.
* 12/21 to 12/22: Old European Festival of Evergreen Trees; merged into International Arbor Day. Celebrated by planting trees and hanging wreaths (symbols of eternal life).
* 12/21 to 12/25: Old Romano-Egyptian festival of Goddess Isis giving birth to God Horus.
* 12/21 to 1/9: Hopi & Zuni Soyala New Year Festival of purification and renewal. Homes are cleaned, fires doused, and personal restraint is observed.
* 12/22: Beginning of Capricorn (the Goat).
* 12/22: Taoist festival honoring Wang-Mu/Empress Mother, Mother of Compassion and Wisdom, and manifestation of the Tao (Cosmic Power of Creation and Destruction). Also celebrates the peak of the feminine Yin half of the year and the Shen of Earth, North, and Winter; prayers are made for rest and renewal, and offerings are made to the Cosmos.
* 12/22: Tohji-Taisai--Shinto rite honoring Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Storm God Susano-o angered Her, and She withdrew into a cave until enticed out with music and dance.
* 12/24 eve to 12/25 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Athena - as protector and defender.
* 12/24 eve: Mother Night--Christian vigil for the laboring Blessed Mary.
* 12/25 (OC 1/7): Christmas--Christian celebration of Blessed Mother Mary giving birth to Child Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
* 12/25 to 1/5: Yule--Old Anglo-Teutonic festival honoring Freyr and Freyja (Deities of Fertility) and the newborn Balder (God of Light), son of Frigga and Odin. Celebrated with evergreens, fires, and feasting.
* 12/26: Day commemorating the death of Zoroastrian Prophet Zarathustra (551 BCE).
* 12/26 to 1/1: Kwanzaa--Festival celebrating positive African traditions; emphasizes unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
* 12/29: Devi Puja--Day to fast from grains (and meat) and make offerings to Hindu Goddess Maha Devi (Great Goddess who encompasses all Goddesses). Flowers, incense, lamps, and vegetarian food are offered; bells are rung and drums beaten.
* 12/29: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess Red Tara, protector against evil and harm.
* 12/31: Oharai/Grand Purification Festival--Shinto rite exorcising evil from the world. Devotees are purified from offenses committed.
* 12/31: Feast of Father Time, who ultimately overcomes us all.
* 12/31 eve: New Year’s Eve--Vigil for the new year; night for self evaluation and resolving to better oneself.
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Permission to use and distribute these excerpts is granted for non-commercial purposes, provided the following information is included:
Excerpted fromTHE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2014A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality© 2013 Marija Miovskiwww.WheeloftheYear.com
