Saturday, December 11

Jul (Denmark)

Julemiddag Christmas dinner,
Jul, the Danish Christmas, is celebrated throughout December starting either at the beginning of Advent or on December 1 with a variety of traditions. Christmas Eve, Juleaften,, the main event of Yule, is celebrated on evening of December 24, the evening before the two Christmas holidays, December 25 and 26th. Celebrating on the eve before the holiday is also used for most other holidays in Denmark.

Jule Eve

In the evening an elaborate dinner is eaten with the family. It usually consists of roast pork, roast duck or roast goose with potatoes, red cabbage and plenty of brown gravy. For dessert, ris á l'amande, a cold rice pudding dish is served with a hot cherry sauce, traditionally with an almond hidden inside. The lucky finder of this almond is entitled to a small gift. In some families, it's tradition that the rice pudding dessert is made with the remaining rice porridge from the previous evening, a meal served on the 23rd, Lillejuleaften (Little Yule Eve), with cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. It is eaten warm with a fruit drink or sweet, malt beer.
After the meal is complete, the family will dance around the Juletræ and sing Yule songs and carols (the latter becoming less popular). When the singing is complete, the children hand out the presents which are tucked under the tree. After they have been opened, there are more snacks, candy, chips and sometimes the traditional Gløgg.

Church visits

In Denmark there is a tradition to go to Church before Christmas Eve, on the 24th. The text is Luke 2, but since the 24th is not an official Christmas holiday, there was no official ritual for that day until recently.
Most churches have Christmas services on both official Christmas holidays, 25th and 26th of December, with well defined rituals.

Yule lunches

Throughout the Yule period, a range of Yule dinners or lunches are arranged. Before December 24 most workplaces, unions, schools, football teams, or extended groups of friends arrange a Julefrokost (Yule Lunch), but sometimes they are delayed until January. This typically involves plenty of food and alcohol, and often takes place on a Friday or Saturday night.
After December 24, usually on first or second day of Yule (the Christmas holidays), the extended families arrange a familiejulefrokost (Family Yule Lunch). This usually involves more food, and takes place from noon until evening.
An average Dane usually attends three to four julefrokoster and one or two familiejulefrokoster during Jul.
A typical Yule Lunch involves lots of beer and snaps. It begins with a variety of fish courses, open face sandwiches with herring, and deep fried plaice filet with remoulade. Herring courses can include pickled or curried herrings on rugbrød (Danish flat whole grain rye bread). The fish course usually also include smoked eel and smoked salmon. Next will be a variety or warm and cold meats, such as sausages, fried meatballs, boiled ham, and liver paté, served with red or green braised cabbage dishes. Desserts are usually cheeses and rice pudding. From time to time, someone calls out "Skål" to make a toast, and everyone stops eating to take a drink. Normally, everyone takes public transportation to the event, so that no one has to drive home after this traditional party.

Yule Calendars

Denmark has adopted and expanded the German tradition of Advent calendars. It is common to have Julekalender (Yule calendars) that mark all days from December 1 until December 24. They are often made of cardboard with pictures or treats such as chocolate. They come in various forms whether home-made to or manufactured and can contain innocent stories of Yule or might even be scratchcards.
A popular version is the gavekalender (gift calendar). These can either function as a julekalender marking all 24 days up to Yule Eve with a gift for each day or they can function as Advent calenders marking the four Sundays of Advent instead with a gift for each Sunday.
A special Danish calendar tradition started by DR in 1962 consists of broadcasting TV shows with exactly 24 episodes, one each day up to Yule Eve. The tradition has become very popular and every major network now has TV calendars during the Christmas period, whether original productions or TV shows. The tradition of TV calendars has also been adopted by the other Scandinavian countries.

Yule vacation

Because of the high concentration of holidays at the end of December, it is possible to have a vacation between Christmas and New Year without taking a lot of days off from work. This holiday is usually named "Juleferie" or Yule Vacation, and is usually considered to be in the date range from December 24 until approximately January 1.

Other traditions



Julehjerter or Yule hearts
In Denmark, Santa Claus is known as Julemanden (literally "the Yule Man") and is said to arrive on a sleigh drawn by reindeer, with presents for the children. He is assisted with his Yuletide chores by elves known as julenisser (or simply nisser), who are traditionally believed to live in attics, barns or similar places. In some traditions, to maintain the favor and protection of these nisser, children leave out saucers of milk or rice pudding or other treats for them on the afternoon on the 24th, and are delighted to find the food gone on Yule morning.
Danish homes are decorated with kravlenisser (climbing nisse), which are cardboard cutouts of nisser which can be attached to paintings and bookshelves. This is a unique Danish tradition started in the early 20th century.
Julehjerter or pleated Yule hearts are handmade decorations which are hung on the Yule tree. Children together with other members of the family create the hearts from glossy paper in various colours.
St. Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13.

History

Until 1770, the Christmas holidays included 3rd day of Christmas (December 27) and Epiphany on January 6 (celebrated on the eve of January 5). Afterwards, only 1st and 2nd Christmas Day are holidays, and January 6 is now a celebration day.


(source:wikipedia)
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Zagmuk

Zagmuk is a Mesopotamian festival celebrated around the winter solstice, which literally means "beginning of the year". It celebrates the triumph of Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, over the forces of chaos, symbolized in later times by Tiamat. The battle between Marduk and chaos lasts 12 days, as does the festival of Zagmuk. In Uruk the festival was associated with the god An, the Sumerian god of the night sky. Both are essentially equivalent in all respects to the Akkadian "Akitu" festival. In some variations, Marduk is slain by Tiamat and resurrected on the vernal equinox.
In Babylon, the battle was acted out at the royal court with the king playing Marduk, and his son-rescuer as Nabu, the god of writing. Once freed from the powers of the underworld, the king would enact the rite of the Sacred Marriage on the 10th day of the ceremony. During this rite, the king (or En, as he was known in Sumer) would perform sexual intercourse with his spouse, normally a high priestess who had been chosen from among the "naditum," a special class of priestesses who had taken a vow not of celibacy precisely, but of a refusal to bear children. The high priestess was known as the entu, and her ritual act of intercourse with the king was thought to regenerate the cosmos through a reenactment of the primordial coupling of the cosmic parents An and Ki, who had brought the world into being at the dawn of Time. If an eclipse of the sun fell on any of the 12 days of the ceremony, a substitute for the king was put in his place, since it was thought that any evils which might have befallen the king would accrue to the substitute instead. On the last day of the festival, the king was slain so that he could battle at Marduk's side. To spare their king, Mesopotamians often utilized a mock king, played by a criminal who was anointed as king before the start of Zagmuk, and killed on the last day.
In addition to the prisoner who was killed, it was traditional for one prisoner to be set free during this ceremony to provide balance. Thus, the background for what later became Easter is clearly visible here, for during Christ's crucifixion the thief Barabbas was set free and Christ was crucified at the behest of the crowd.



(source:wikipedia)
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Ziemassvētki

In ancient Latvia, Ziemassvētki (Winter holiday) was a festival, celebrated on 21 December, which was one of the two most important holidays, the other being Jāņi. Ziemassvētki celebrated the Winter Solstice. The two weeks before Ziemassvetki are called Veļu laiks, the "season of ghosts." Three postage stamps were issued on 3 December 2005 to commemorate this festival.
During the festival, candles are lit for Dieviņš and a fire is kept burning until the end, when its extinguising signals an end to the unhappiness of the previous year. During the ensuing feast, a space at the table is reserved for Ghousts, who was said to arrive on a sleigh. during the feast, certain foods were always eaten: bread, beans, peas, pork and pig snout and feet. Carolers (Budeļi) went door to door singing songs and eating from many different houses.They believe that during the feast ghosts arrive on a sleigh.






(source:wikipedia)
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African Shia Muslims' Mourning on the First Day of Ashura / Photos

The first mourning gathering in the new Islamic year took place on Monday the 1st of Muharram 1432 at Baqiyyatullah Husainiyyah. Leader of the African shia Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky speeched form Muslims on the fall of the new Islamic year 1432. As usual the Sheikh made explanation on the Islamic Months as contained in the Holy Qur’an.

The African Shia Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky annually hold a ten-day mourning gatherings on the killing on Imam Husain (AS) and his companions. The history of the event is revisited by the Leaders and the lessons therein.

He also used the opportunity to explain the various deeds expected of Muslims to do with regard to New Year and on the outgoing year. He said that the supplications and acts of worship in the period are essential as reported in various Ahadeeth, they can be found in the book of Mafatihul Jinan or Iqbalul a'amal.

Sheikh Zakzaky further spoke on the event of Ashura in which he expressed his condolence to the Ummah on the tragedy of Ashura which occurred 61AH at the plain of Karbala where Imam Husain (AS) and his followers were brutally killed.

After the sunset prayers led by Sheikh Zakzaky, he made a brief introduction on mourning gathering of Ashura. He explained that after Ashura tragedy, followers of Ahlul Bayt (AS) used to secure a place specifically for holding gathering to mourn the the killing of Imam Husain(AS) and his followers. Such a place was later named Husainiyyah which not only serve for mourning gathering but as learning center too.




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