Excerpts from To Celebrate
May-Dec.
See Jan. & Feb. here.See March & April here.
Treasury of Celebrations complete (Catalog #7)
Items from To Celebrate: Reshaping Holidays and Rites of Passage (Alternate Celebrations Catalog #6) are Free Resources on our Website.
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May-December (pp. 140-150)
NOTE: These are items not included in Treasury of Celebrations (Catalog #7).WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY: VICTORY FOR WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE
Women's Equality Day commemorates the victory of the Woman's Suffrage Movement which won women the right to vote. On August 26, 1920, those rights were secured by the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Despite the many changes in the status of women since that time, full equality with men is yet to be achieved.
Women's Equality Day celebrates the history of women's struggles for status and rights.
COLUMBUS DAY: 'DAY OF THE RACE'
Columbus Day is celebrated each year on October 12--the federal observance coming on the second Monday in October--to commemorate the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. First observed in the United States in 1792, the day is also remembered in Latin America, Canada, Spain and Italy. Although Columbus Day is not a national holiday, it is a legal holiday in several states. Since the late nineteenth century, it has had special meaning for American citizens of Italian descent.
In Latin America, Columbus Day is called Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race). This date commemorates the birth of a new 'race' of people born of the mixtures of Europeans and Native Americans. The tragic irony of the celebrated day is that so little discovery took place. There was no time for discovery, only arrogant confrontation by the Europeans. The European conquest began a new age of dominance over native Americans from both hemispheres. That they should observe this day more with mourning than rejoicing is understandable.
Celebrate this day with your own efforts to discover the two people who came together, European and native American, and the new race born out of their confrontation. This is the heritage of Hispanics living in this country. Like St. Patrick's Day and other days identified with particular ethnic groups, Columbus Day is a time to chip away at stereotypes of Hispanics and Italian Americans.
REFORMATION SUNDAY
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 'Ninety-Five Theses' to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Reformation Sunday, celebrated on the Sunday nearest October 31, celebrates that event as the official beginning of the Protestant Reformation. With this act Luther publicly protested practices of the Church which he believed to be wrong. He was especially incensed by the sale of 'indulgences,' a practice which led followers to believe they could buy forgiveness of their sings with cash. Resistance to reform by the Church at Rome, together with growing nationalism in northern Europe that was eager to reject Roman authority were key factors in igniting the biggest rupture in the Christian Church since the schism between the Roman and Eastern Churches in 1054.
Reformation Sunday should give perspective to the Reformation. As in any quarrel, point at issue are often distorted and oversimplified. Sometimes, a quarrel results in new insights for both parties. Without taking any joy in the division of the Church that occurred in the Reformation, celebrate the diversity and unity between the traditions.
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