International Friendship day

International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in a large number of countries.On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. The exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first Sunday of August as National Friendship Day.Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event.Following the popularity and success of Friendship Day in US, several other countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated by several countries across the world. In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship. Many friends wish each other with exchange of gifts and cards on this day. "Friendship bands" are very popular in India and Nepal.With the advent of social networking sites, friendship day is also being celebrated online.The commercialization of the Friendship Day celebrations has led to some dismissing it as a "marketing gimmick".Philippine-American Friendship Day was designated by President Diosdado P. Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the country by Filipino and American forces from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.The Philippines was a United States territory from 1898 to 1941, when it was occupied by Japanese forces and again by Americans for a brief period after the war. The US recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.Initially, the Independence Day of the Philippines (Araw ng Kalayaan) was observed on July 4. President Diosdado P. Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date in 1898 when President Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the country’s independence from ...

The Red Rose Day

Red Rose Day
When : Always June 12th
Red Rose Day is a time to enjoy and appreciate America's favorite flower.....the red rose. A red rose signifies love. A June setting for Red Rose Day is very appropriate, as this is by far the most popular month for weddings. And, they are in bloom in the gardens across America this month.
In addition to being the most popular cut flower, roses are also the most popular flower in flower beds and around foundation of houses, garages and sheds. They are easy to grow, producing a bounty of sweet scented flowers from June up to the first frost.
Did you know? Each rose color sends a different meaning to the recipient. Make sure you send the right messeges.
The Origin of Red Rose Day:
The date for this special day is all over the map (errr, calendar). June 12th is by far the most common date for this day. And, it's logical, as roses are in full bloom in June. We did not find any information on the creation of this day in the U.S. This holiday may have been imported from Australia. The Cystic Fibrosis foundation in Australia holds a Red Rose Day and Week. The day varies each year. Red Cross held their annual Red Rose Day last week and CourierPost made sure the roses made it to their destinations on time and unscathed.Courier Post were very pleased to offer our support to Red Rose Day by providing our courier services free of charge to the Red Cross. Close to 30,000 roses were delivered to 18 locations in the Central and East West regions of New Zealand ready for when volunteers hit the streets.
Red Rose Day is viewed as a great opportunity for volunteers to increase the profile of the New Zealand Red Cross as well as raise funds for the local branches. Money raised from Red Rose Day will be used within the local communities to help fund various projects and initiatives such as offering first aid courses in schools, the provision of welfare to families in need and maintaining emergency response teams.

Lhosar

Losar is a Tibetan word literally meaning New Year. “Lo” means year and “Sar” means New. It is a fifteen day festival celebrated in Tibet. In the first day of the celebration Changkol, a sort of beverage is made. The festive occasion coincidentally falls nearly on the same day of the Chinese New Year. But both of them are culturally very different. In Bhutan although different regions have different New years still Losar is celebrated in Bhutan by many.Losar FestivalOrigin and HistoryThe origin of Losar is not properly known but records say that it can be dated back before the advent of Buddhism in Tibet. In those times in winter a spiritual custom was held where people burned and offered huge numbers of Incense please spirits and the God. This custom later evolved as an annual Buddhist festive occasion. It is said that this festival began when an old woman called Bhelma showed how to measure time by measuring phases of moon. The festival generally occurs during flowering of the apricot trees and is believed to have first celebrated as a traditional farmers festival. Later when the principles of Astrology was was introduced to Tibet, this festival came to be popularly known as Losar. Losar, also popularly known as Bal Gyal Lo. Bal meaning Tibet, Gyal means king and Lo literally means year. This festival is known as Bal Gyal Lo because started after the first king came into throne. Celebration and traditionLosar generally begins on the tibetian New year eve. The monasteries do a special puja for the protector’s deity and start the preparation for the beginning of the festival. A special kind of noodle prepared with nine different ingredients called ghutuk is a special custom of this festival. Also a tradition is that dough balls with items such as chilies, coal, salt, rice etc each reflecting a particular nature find in various persons, are hidden in them. Finally the New year eve is a to make it clean for the coming year. In the monasteries very fine decorations are put and offerings called Lamar Losar are made. The 2nd day is called King’s Losar and it is officially reserved for mass gathering. From third onwards people greet each other and celebration of the festival begins.

The holy budhanilkantha temple

Deep below at the base of the Shivapuri Hill within the Kathmandu Valley on the northern end, lies the mystical Buddhanilkantha Temple, meaning “old blue-throat”, just 9 km away from the main city. It is at this location that you will find one of the three images of the deity Lord Vishnu or in full Vishnu (Narayan) Jalasayana which is regarded by the local people as the principal deity. It is with the sacredness of this particular god that a deep-seated belief was created by King Pratap Malla through a prophetic dream. It was his strong belief and fear that should the King of Nepal visit the Buddhanilkantha temple, death would be imminent upon his departure. The two other images of the deity which were carved during the same time lie at two particular destinations: the Balaju Gardens where public viewing can take place and the beautiful Royal Palace in Kathmandu. It is here at Budhanilkantha Temple, however, that public viewing is not permitted. The Deity of Lord Vishnu lies prominently at 5 meters in length inside a tank 13 meters long giving the impression of floating. It is thought that the Deity is approximately 1500 years old and is believed to have been sculpted during the Licchavi period, around about the 7th or 8th century. A fascinating feature of the Lord Vishnu Deity is his large frame carved out of a single block of stone, black in nature and foreign to the valley planes. When described he embodies many fascinating features and all symbolic in their own right. But it is through the four hands that you will find four symbols of Vishnu which are the: chakra or disc, conch-shell, lotus flower and the club. His legs are crossed with his sleeping body resting on the coils of Ananta: the cosmic serpent and his 11 hooded heads. It is alleged in times past that a farmer and his wife occupied a farm in this area and while cultivating the land they struck the Deity and immediately afterwards blood began to filter from the ground and thus the lost deity of Budhanilkantha was recovered and placed in its rightful position. It is a common practice for the Hindus to walk down to Vishnu’s feet to touch them but it is forbidden for foreign visitors to do the same. Budhanilkantha has become the site on which Haribondhini Ekadashi takes place during late October or the beginning of November. It is the principle festival for the year in celebration of the awakening of Lord Vishnu from his long sleep; a notable time for thousands of people. Today the formidable temple of Budhanilkantha, interestingly enough, even provides a guest house, unthought-of till now.This is famous temple of nepal.

Luck

Luck or fortuity is a belief in good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance which happens beyond a person's control.Luck is significant in everyday life,as well as Morality,Epistemology,Business and other endeavors.
Luck is pervasive in common speech.Typical use includes "Good Luck!" to wish a blessing on someone, or describing a misfortune, as in "it was just bad luck." There are many expressions and quotes about Luck.Cultural views of Luck vary from faith to superstition. For example, the Romans believed in the embodiment of Luck as the Goddess Fortuna, while the atheist Daniel Dennett believes that "luck is mere luck" rather than a property of a person or thing.
Lucky Symbols have widespread global appeal and are represented by human, animal, botanical and inanimate objects

Definitions: Look up in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.1926 US advertisement for lucky jewellery . "Why Be Unlucky?".Luck is a way of understanding a personal chance event. Luck has three aspects which make it distinct from chance or probability.

• Luck is good or bad
• Luck is by accident or chance
• Luck applies to a person

Some examples of Luck

• You win repeatedly at gambling, against significant odds.
• You correctly guess an answer in a quiz which you didn't know.
• Your car breaking down could be bad luck, if it was by chance and against the odds.

Luck as a facall

Another view holds that "luck is probability taken personally." A rationalist approach to luck includes the application of the rules of probability, and an avoidance of unscientific beliefs. The rationalist feels the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking. To a rationalist, a believer in luck who asserts that something has influenced his or her luck commits the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy: that because two events are connected sequentially, they are connected causally as well.

In general:
A happens (luck-attracting event or action) and then B happens;Therefore, A influenced B.
In the rationalist perspective, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections.
The gambler's fallacy and inverse gambler's fallacy both explain some reasoning problems in common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of random events: "I haven't rolled a seven all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonightLuck is merely an expression noting an extended period of noted outcomes, completely consistent with random walk probability theory. Wishing one "good luck" will not cause such an extended period, but it expresses positive feelings toward the one—not necessarily wholly undesirable.
Luck as anes

There is also a series of spiritual, or supernatural beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary widely from one to another, but most agree that luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain circumstances.
One such activity is prayer, a religious practice in which this belief is particularly strong. Many cultures and religions worldwide place a strong emphasis on a person's ability to influence their fortune by ritualistic means, sometimes involving sacrifice, omens or spells. Others associate luck with a strong sense of superstition, that is, a belief that certain taboo or blessed actions will influence how fortune favors them for the future.
Luck can also be a belief in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form of superstition which is interpreted differently by different individuals. Famous Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology, coined the term "synchronicity", which he described as "a meaningful coincidence".
Christianity and Islam believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as the primary influence in future events. The degrees of this Divine Providence vary greatly from one person to another; however, most acknowledge providence as at least a partial, if not complete influence on luck. These religions, in their early development, accommodated many traditional practices. Each, at different times, accepted omens and practiced forms of ritual sacrifice in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence divine favoritism. The concept of "Divine Grace" as it is described by believers closely resembles what is referred to as "luck" by others.
Mesoamerican religions, such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas, had particularly strong beliefs regarding the relationship between rituals and luck. In these cultures, human sacrifice (both of willing volunteers and captured enemies) was seen as a way to please the gods and earn favor for the city offering the sacrifice. The Mayans also believed in blood offerings, where men or women wanting to earn favor with the gods, to bring about good luck, would cut themselves and bleed on the gods' altar.Many traditional African practices, such as voodoo and hoodoo, have a strong belief in superstition. Some of these religions include a belief that third parties can influence an individual's luck. Shamans and witches are both respected and feared, based on their ability to cause good or bad fortune for those in villages near them.

Luck as a Self Fullfilling Prophecy
Some encourage the belief in luck as a false idea, but which may produce positive thinking, and alter one's responses for the better. Others, like Jean-Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud, feel a belief in luck has more to do with a locus of control for events in one's life, and the subsequent escape from personal responsibility. According to this theory, one who ascribes their travails to "bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living risky lifestyles. In personality psychology, people reliably differ from each other depending on four key aspects: beliefs in luck, rejection of luck, being lucky, and being unlucky. People who believe in good luck are more optimistic, more satisfied with their lives, and have better moods. If "good" and "bad" events occur at random to everyone, believers in good luck will experience a net gain in their fortunes, and vice versa for believers in bad luck. This is clearly likely to be self-reinforcing. Thus, a belief in good luck may actually be an adaptive meme.
Social aspects of Luck
Luck is an important factor in many aspects of society.
Games
A Game may depend on luck rather than skill or effort. For example, Chess does not involve any random factors such as throwing dice, while Dominoes has the "luck of the draw" when selecting tiles.
Lotteries
A National Lottery "play here!" sign outside a newsagents on the Euston Road, London.
Many countries have a national lottery. Individual views of the chance of winning, and what it might mean to win, are largely expressed by statements about luck. For example, the winner was "just lucky" meaning they contributed no skill or effort.
Means of Resolving Issues
"Leaving it to chance" is a way of resolving issues. For example, flipping a coin at the start of a sporting event may determine who goes first.
Numerology
Most cultures consider some numbers to be lucky or unlucky. This is found to be particularly strong in Asian cultures, where the obtaining of "lucky" telephone numbers, automobile license plate numbers, and household addresses are actively sought, sometimes at great monetary expense. Numerology, as it relates to luck, is closer to an art than to a science, yet numerologists, astrologists or psychics may disagree. It is interrelated to astrology, and to some degree to parapsychology and spirituality and is based on converting virtually anything material into a pure number, using that number in an attempt to detect something meaningful about reality, and trying to predict or calculate the future based on lucky numbers. Numerology is folkloric by nature and started when humans first learned to count. Through human history it was, and still is, practiced by many cultures of the world from traditional fortune-telling to on-line psychic reading.

IED UL FITRA

IED

There is a Khutbah (sermon) in which the Imam gives advice to the Muslim community and usually Muslims are encouraged to end any past animosities they may have. He then goes on to the khutbah and then the prayer itself. When the local imam declares Eid ul-Fitr everyone greets and hugs each other. As Eid ul-Fitr is not a recognised public holiday in the United Kingdom, Muslims are obliged to attend the morning prayer. In a large ethnically Muslim area, normally schools and local businesses give exemptions to the Muslim community to take three days off. In the rest of the UK it is not recognised as it is not on a fixed date as it is decided by the sighting of the moon on the night before.
During the morning, men (mainly South Asian) usually wear Th[edit] TurEY,Traditional Bayram wishes from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, stating "Let us love, Let us be loved", in the form of mahya lights stretched across the minarets of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul ,
In the Republic of Turkey, where Ramadan celebrations are infused with more national traditions, and where country-wide celebrations, are referred to as Bayram. It is customary for people to greet one another with "Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun" or "Bayramınız Mübarek Olsun" ("May Your Bayram Be Holy"). "Mutlu Bayramlar" ("Happy Bayram") is an alternative phrase for celebrating Bayram.
Referred to as both Şeker Bayramı ("Bayram of Sweets") or Ramazan Bayramı ("Ramadan Bayram"), Eid in Turkey is a beloved public holiday, where schools and government offices are generally closed for the entire period of the celebrations.It is a time for people to attend prayer services, put on their best clothes (referred to as "Bayramlık", often purchased just for the occasion) and to visit all their loved ones (such as friends, relatives and neighbors) and pay their respects to the deceased with organized visits to cemeteries, where large, temporary bazaars of flowers, water (for watering the plants adorning a grave), and prayer books are set up for the three-day occasion. The first day of the Bayram is generally regarded as the most important, with all members of the family waking up early, and the men going to their neighborhood mosque for the special Bayram prayer.It is regarded as especially important to honor elderly citizens by kissing their right hand and placing it on one's forehead while wishing them Bayram greetings. It is also customary for young children to go around their neighborhood, door to door, and wish everyone a happy Bayram, for which they are awarded candy, chocolates, traditional sweets such as Baklava and Turkish Delight, or a small amount of money at every door, in an almost Halloween-like fashion. Municipalities all around the country organize fundraising events for the poor, in addition to public shows such as concerts or more traditional forms of entertainment such as the Karagöz and Hacivat shadow-theatre and even performances by the Mehter - the Janissary Band that was founded during the days of the Ottoman Empire.Helping the less fortunate, ending past animosities and making up, organizing breakfasts and dinners for loved ones and putting together neighborhood celebrations are all part of the joyous occasion, where homes and streets are decorated and lit up for the celebrations, and television and radio channels continuously broadcast a variety of special Bayramobe, Jubba, Sharwani or Punjabi, and women usually wear shalwar kameez. Men go to the mosque for the Eid prayers, after which people greet each other. After this many will go to a local cemetery to pay respect and to remember the deceased. When they return home they will greet family, friends, other Muslims and visit relatives across the city. People cook traditional food for their relatives. Dishes such as Samosas, Simeya, rice and Handesh are particularly popular.

Shivling

The origins of the worship of the Shiva-Linga are unknown. Shiva-Linga has one complete purana which is dedicated to its form and origin. It may be a symbolic representation of self (Atma Linga) or of everything. Some associate it with the physical form of Pranava (Om). Oval form represents even the shape of the Universe including the existing space. The beginning of the oval form is A in OM and prolonged part is U in OM and M is the ending part of the linga. It is single shape of Trimurti. Praying Shiva Linga is considered as praying the Thrimurti in absolute form. Linga represents absolute and Single power of this universe. Some associate them with the famous hymn in the Atharva-Veda Samhitâ sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In that hymn a description is found of the beginningless and endless Stambha or Skambha and it is shown that the said Skambha is put in place of the eternal Brahman. As afterwards the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes and flames, the Soma plant and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva's body, his tawny matted-hair, his blue throat and the riding on the bull of the Shiva. The Yupa-Skambha gave place in time to the Shiva-Linga. In the Linga Purâna the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Mahâdeva.Another theory is that Shiva linga might have been originated from the erect memorial topes of Buddhists consecrated in the memory of Buddha. The very poor, who were unable to build big monuments, used to express their devotion to him by dedicating miniature substitutes for them. Scholars note that similar instances are still seen in the case of Hindu temples in Varanasi and other sacred places of India where those, who cannot afford to build temples, dedicate very small temple-like constructions instead. Scholars note that during the period of Buddhistic ascendancy the rich Hindus, in imitation of the Buddhists, used to erect something as a memorial resembling their Skambha and the poor in a similar manner copied them on a reduced scale and afterwards the miniature memorials of the poor Hindus became a new addition to the SkambhaSiva means auspiciousness and linga means a sign or a symbol. Hence the Sivalinga is regarded as a "symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspiciousness." Siva also means one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution. Linga also means the same thing—a place where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Sivalinga, represents symbolically God Himself.Nepalese stone linga dated 900-1000. On display at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California.The Sanskrit term लिङ्गं liṅgaṃ, transliterated as linga has many meanings, including a mark, sign or characteristic. It has a number of specific uses in Sanskrit that are derived from this general meaning. According to the Shaiva Siddhanta, which was for many centuries the dominant school of Shaiva theology and liturgy across the Indian subcontinent (and beyond it in Cambodia), the linga is the ideal substrate in which the worshipper should install and worship the five-faced and ten-armed Sadāśiva, the form of Shiva who is the focal divinity of that school of Shaivism. Four of his five faces are sometimes shown emerging from the column of the linga (as in the Nepalese face-linga, or mukhalinga, in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco that is illustrated in this article), but his fifth and upper face is generally not shown in sculpture.
In Hindu Dharma, Bansi Pandit explains that "Shivalinga consists of three parts. The bottom part which is four-sided remains under ground, the middle part which is eight-sided remains on a pedestal and the top part which is actually worshipped is round. The height of the round part is one-third of its circumference. The three parts symbolize Brahma at the bottom, Vishnu in the middle and Shiva on the top. The pedestal is provided with a passage for draining away the water that is poured on top by devotees. The linga symbolizes both the creative and destructive power of the Lord and great sanctity is attached to it by devotees."According to Swami Dharmananda, there is a mysterious power in the Linga, its shape has been designed to induce concentration of the mind. Just as the mind is focused easily in crystal-gazing, so also the mind attains one-pointedness, when it looks at the Linga. That is the reason why the ancient Rishis and the seers of India have prescribed Linga for being installed in the temples of Lord Shiva.
The great warrior Arjuna in epic Mahabharata worshipped the Linga for acquiring the Pashupatasthra, great vedic scholar Ravana in epic Ramayana worshipped Shiva to present his mother Atmalinga, legendary rishi Markandeya and numerous rishis spread across timezones have worshipped the simplest looking Linga. Rishis used to leave all materialism to attain spirituality and a lump of soil in forest was what was required to worship and meditate.
There are shrines in India; where the 'Bhrahman'/Linga is not in the cylindrical form; for example one of the 'Asta dasha Jyothirlanga' the Thriyambakeshwar at Nasik, Maharastra is not cylyndrical, rather it is in a form of a small circular pit inside which three blocks of the same stone form a triangle - indicating the Trinity ( Brahma, Vishna & Maheswara / also interpreted as the three eyes of Shiva).Another such example is the 'Linga' at Mahanandi - Near Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh; where the Linga is not a complete covered stone; but is rather with sharp edges in irregular forms. The Gokarna Shetra, the shape of Linga is irregular.
Swami Vivekananda gave a lecture at the Paris Congress of the History of Religions in 1900 during which he refuted the statements of some Western scholars that referred to Shiva linga as phallic worship. Vivekananda's words at the congress were in connection with the paper read by Mr.Gustav Oppert, a German Orientalist, who tried to trace the origin of the Shalagrama-Shila and the Shiva-Linga to phallicism. To this Vivekananda objected, adducing proof from the Vedas, and particularly the Atharva-Veda Samhita, to the effect that the Shiva-Linga had its origin in the idea of the Yupa-Stambha or Skambha—the sacrificial post, idealized in Vedic ritual as the symbol of the Eternal Brahman. According to Vivekananda, the explanation of the Shalagrama-Shila as a phallic emblem was an imaginary invention. Vivekananda argued that the explanation of the Shiva-Linga as a phallic emblem was brought forward by the most thoughtless, and was forthcoming in India in her most degraded times, those of the downfall of Buddhism.
According to Swami Sivananda,
The popular belief is that the Siva Lingam represents the phallus or the virile organ, the emblem of the generative power or principle in nature. This is not only a serious mistake, but also a grave blunder. In the post-Vedic period, the Linga became symbolical of the generative power of the Lord Siva. Linga is the differentiating mark. It is certainly not the sex-mark. You will find in the Linga Purana: Pradhanam prakritir yadahur-lingamuttamam; Gandhavarnarasairhinam sabda-sparsadi-varjitam—The foremost Linga which is primary and is devoid of smell, colour, taste, hearing, touch, etc., is spoken of as Prakriti (Nature).
Christopher Isherwood addresses the misinterpretation of the linga as a sex symbol as follows.
It has been claimed by some foreign scholars that the linga and its surrounding basin are sexual symbols, representing the male and the female organs respectively. Well — anything can be regarded as a symbol of anything; that much is obvious. There are people who have chosen to see sexual symbolism in the spire and the font of a Christian church. But Christians do not recognize this symbolism; and even the most hostile critics of Christianity cannot pretend that it is a sex-cult. The same is true of the cult of Shiva.It does not even seem probable that the linga was sexual in its origin. For we find, in the history both of Hinduism and Buddhism, that poor devotees were accustomed to dedicate to God a model of a temple or tope (a dome-shaped monument) in imitation of wealthy devotees who dedicated full-sized buildings. So the linga may well have begun as a monument in miniature.…One of the greatest causes of misunderstanding of Hinduism by foreign scholars is perhaps a subconsciously respected tradition that God must be one sex only, or at least only one sex at a time.The Britannica encyclopedia entry on linga mentions,The linga was originally understood as a representation of the phallus, as sculptures from the early centuries of the Common Era make clear, but many—probably most—modern Hindus do not think of the linga in these terms. In fact, the stylization of the linga into a smooth cylindrical mass asserts a distinctively aniconic meaning, quite by contrast to the murtis (deities in image form) that serve otherwise as the most important foci of Hindu worship. This interplay is found in Shaivite temples, where the linga is apt to be at the centre, surrounded by a panoply of murtis.The lines traced on the front side of the linga, which are prescribed in medieval manuals about temple foundation and are a feature even of modern sculptures, appear to be intended to suggest a stylised glans, and some features of the installation process seem intended to echo sexual congress, as has been argued by Hélène Brunner. Scholars like S.N.Balagangadhara have disputed the sexual meaning of lingam.