Winter and Spring 2014 holidays

What follows is a list of the upcoming religious holidays for the Winter and Spring 2014 semesters.

Beginning in Fall 2011, I have posted overviews of many of the religious observances for most of the major religions. In the following semesters,  I posted a list of the religious holidays as well. Positive response has led me to do so again for the Winter and Spring 2014 semesters.

As the Winter 2014 semester begins, I would like to refer back to the posts for these holidays made last year.  For many of these holidays (those from religions that follow calendars that differ from the Gregorian calendar), the dates in the secular year will differ but the main content of the posts should not. 

To that end, I would like to give the dates for the holidays in the next few months paralleling the Winter, Spring and Summer semesters in US universities (I am, after all, a professor in the United States).

WINTER AND SPRING 2014 RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS

The list below gives the date for 2014, the name of the holiday, the main religion observing the holiday and the previous David Victor Vector post on that holiday. Some of the links here are older posts that have been updated posts for the current year. Other of these holiday posts will be entirely new posts (for example, the upcoming Asian New Year of the Horse).  I have indicated that this will be posted at a later date in those instances.

January 7
Eastern Orthodox Christmas

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-day.html

January 19
Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-day.html


January 31-February 3
Asian Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse
Buddhism, Taoism
Many non-Buddhist observers celebrate the holiday as well
                  http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2014/01/year-of-horse-business-impact.html

  February 2
  Candlemas (Roman Catholic, Epsicopalian, Anglican)

  Presentation of the Lord (Evangelical Lutheran)
     Imbolc (Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Neo-Druidism)

     http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/05/pentecost.html

February 8 (or February 15, depending on tradition)
Festival of Lord Buddha's Renunciation (celebrated by some in place of Paranirvana)
Buddhism
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/02/parinirvana-or-nirvana-day.html

   March 3
   Clean Monday
   Eastern Orthodox Christianity
    http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-and-pascha.html

March 5
Ash Wednesday
Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/02/lenten-season.html

Sunset March 15 through sunset March 16
Purim
Judaism
            http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2013/02/as-part-of-my-ongoing-on-upcoming.html

March 17
St. Patrick's Day
Roman Catholic Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/03/saint-patricks-day.html

March 17-18
Holi
Hindusim
              http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/03/holi.html

Sunset March 19 through end of March 20
Ostara
Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Neo-Druidism
               http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/03/ostara.html

Sunset March 20 through sunset March 21
Naw Ruz

Bahai'i, Zoroastrianism, Alawite Islam, Alevi Islam, Bektashi Islam

http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/ridvan.html

Sunset April 14 through sunset sunset April 22
(first two nights may affect attendance at school and work)
Passover
           Judaism
           http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/passover.html

April 18
Good Friday
Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-and-pascha.html

April 20
Easter
Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-and-pascha.html

April 20
Pascha (Orthodox Easter)
Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-and-pascha.html

Sunset April 20 through sunset May 2 (first and last days may affect attendance at school and work)
First Day of Ridvan
Bahai'i
                 http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/04/ridvan.html

May 1
Beltane
Wicca, Neo-Pagan, Neo-Druidism
               http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2013/04/beltane.html

May 15
Theravada Buddhist New Year
Theravada Buddhism
 http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/02/parinirvana-or-nirvana-day.html

Sunset June 3 through sunset June 5
Shavuot
Judaism
            http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/05/shavuot.html

June 8
Pentecost (Note: Western and Orthodox are on the same day in 2014)
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, and most Protestant Christianity
http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/05/pentecost.html

June 21
Litha
Wicca, Neo-Pagan, Neo-Druidism
 http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2014/06/midsummers-day-litha-and-saint-johns-   eve.html            

Sunset June 27 through sunset July 27
Ramadan
Islam
             http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan.html

Sunset July 27 through sunset July 29
Eid al-Fitr
Islam        
             http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan.html

A FEW CLOSING REMARKS

In all likelihood, I have overlooked a holiday or observance. Please feel free to share this with me.

Relatedly, I am as yet uncertain whether I should repost each holiday with the 2014 occurrence or just leave it be. Please let me know what you think.

Some controversy exists over the specific dates of some holidays in various traditions. For example, I have given both the dates for Paranirvana which differ in the Mahyana and Theravada Buddhist traditions. I am not endorsing one or the other of these by posting this only once with a parenthetical indication of the other.

Likewise, considerable difference of opinion exists as to what is the proper date for the beginning of holidays in Islam, with some holding that the date is that of when the moon is sighted in Mecca while others with the date that the moon is sighted in the specific location where one lives (e.g., a different day for those in the Western hemisphere than those in the Eastern hemisphere.). I am not endorsing one or the other of these by posting the date that is here, and I have explained to the best of my ability the difference of opinion in the blogpost itself. Please take this as a good-faith effort toward information rather than an opinion on the matter (of which I am attempting here to be neutral).  Relatedly, all holidays in Islam depend on the actual sighting of the moon. If the moon is not sighted, the holiday date is adjusted. The dates here presume that the moon will be sighted on the date indicated.

Finally, I would like to ask you to spread the word about this blog. If you are not formally a follower, please do add your name to the list through your Google, Twitter, AIM, Netlog or Yahoo account at

http://www.google.com/friendconnect/signin/home?st=e%3DAOG8GaAeRmgH2L%252BUeY%252BLu6lVd1YrbF8X3UJMKCg4Wep9KQ9iGZ1uXGPQPK7inBrDpqbrEQXYp%252FmEoAUOKtl348Yyg8AX80Fm7mBM1eFVGrE2C5Sv2d04gDEN6iuMFYf7UIKzHs2B5VHGbWsAUJrtMJLFySobOschNfd6QBizOhB8YLFC7GIfG4Pz%252BKRvJ5h%252FuHnIgLeYGJpaeOqU%252FzQ%252B5g2ut%252FRAs4WsnyvkK%252BVFHXz7U593oGNYTwc%253D%26c%3Dpeoplesense&psinvite=&subscribeOnSignin=1

Thanks so much!

The PISA International Education Assessment Report

Big news in global education competitiveness arrived with today's much-anticipated release of the 2012 PISA (Program for International Assessment) results.

The PISA tests were run by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) covering the performance of 15-year-olds in math, science and reading literacy. According to the report,

"Around 510 000 students between the ages of 15 years 3 months and 16 years 2 months completed the assessment in 2012, representing about 28 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 65 participating countries and economies."

The 2012 report, it should be noted, is counting Shanghai as a separate economy, so there are really only 64 separate nations (counting Hong Kong and Macau as separate as well). China itself was not surveyed as a whole.

The survey covered all 34 members of the OECD as well as 31 non-OECD members.The nations are shown on the map below and listed in the box below.

PISA Participating Countries

STATE OF EDUCATION IMPROVING GLOBALLY

Overall, the state of world education is improving -- at least as far as test scores indicate for those nations assessed. Of the 65 participating countries, 25 improved over previous years as an average across all three area. For reading literacy, the results are even more notable with 32 nations showing improvement over previous years.

Only one nation -- Poland -- was able to increase for all three categories its share of students falling in the highest performing category while reducing their share of students among the lowest performing category.

Still, in math, three nations -- Italy, Poland and Portugal -- were able to increase their share of students falling in the highest performing category while reducing their share of students among the lowest performing category.

Likewise in reading literacy three nations -- Albania, Israel and Poland -- were able to increase their share of students falling in the highest performing category while reducing their share of students among the lowest performing category.

In science, six nations -- Estonia, Israel, Italy, Poland, Qatar and Singapore -- were able to increase their share of students falling in the highest performing category while reducing their share of students among the lowest performing category.


  

 TOP 10 PERFORMERS

Shanghai was tested as a separate entity. It ranked at the the top in all categories. Shanghai's mean score was 613. This was 119 points higher than the OECD average (an equivalent different of three years education).

Of note, the PRC as a whole did not participate. Only Shanghai was tested within the Mainland, while the separate entities of Hong Kong and Macau were included independently.

The top 10 performers for 2012 in each category included seven that were in the top ten in all three categories: Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea. 

The Top 10 PISA Performers, 2012

 Bottom 5 PISA Performers, 2012

The worst performing participating nation was Peru, ranking 65th of 65 in all three categories.  The five worst-performing participating nations were Jordan (61), Colombia (62), Qatar (63), Indonesia (64) and -- as mentioned already--  Peru rounding off the very bottom. The bottom five jockeyed for position of worst in the different areas. For example, Colombia and Qatar tied for third worst math score with Indonesia as the second worst math score but both Colombia and Indonesia outperformed Qatar in reading scores, and so on as the chart below shows.

Bottom 5 PISA Performers, 2012

 Stagnant US PISA Results 2012

As for the US, the news was not so good. While most nations improved -- many dramatically so -- the US average in all three fields (math, science and reading literacy) remained unchanged from each of the last three assessments. In other words, the United States has had virtually the same performance (we're consistent at least) each year. To quote the US summary:

"The U.S. average mathematics, science, and reading literacy scores in 2012 were not measurably different from average scores in previous PISA assessment years with which comparisons can be made (2003, 2006 and 2009 for mathematics; 2006, and 2009 for science; and 2000, 2003, and 2009 for reading)"

Among OECD nations, the rankings are equally distressing with regard to the United States. For math in particular, the scores are grim. The US ranked 26 out of 34 with 1/4 of US students unable to get beyond the lowest (of 6) levels. For science, the US ranked 21 out of 34 in the OECD. For reading the US did better, ranking 17 out of 34 (still below but nonetheless nearer the OECD average).

Despite political arguments over cutting educational resources in the United States, the PISA report showed that the United States ranked fifth in spending per student from the ages of 6-15 among the 65 nations participating. Only Austria, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland spend more per student than does the United States. To put this in comparison, consider that the United States and the Slovak Republic ranked nearly the same in the PISA results. The Slovak Republic, however, cumulatively spends only $53,000 per student from 6-15 while the United States spends cumulatively over twice that amount per student from 6-15 at $115,000.

Regional PISA Result Differences

Significant regional differences within countries were noted as well. For example, in Italy math scores for the nation as a whole were 485, below the OECD mean average of 494. However, when broken into regions, the story was different.

When considered separately, Trento (at 524) and Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Vento (both at 523) had among the highest mean averages worldwide By contrast Sardina (at 458), Campania (at 453) and Sicily (at 447) were far below the OECD math average of 494.

Similarly, the US overall score of 481 in math was below the OECD average, but when Massachusetts was considered independently, the state ranked among the world leaders at 514 (tied with Germany as a nation).

 Conclusion

For those wanting to read the report themselves, please go to the links below.

The PISA 2012 link on the OECD main site is at: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm 

Also, many nations have their own summary links. Here, for instance, is the US summary link: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2012/

Finally, in closing, it should be noted that the PISA results do not directly correlate with economic success. The  test scores only measure test-taking ability -- and even then only in math, science and reading literacy.  The tests do not cover creative activity or innovative thinking. Both of these are traditionally considered US strong points in global competitiveness, for example, but remain unmeasurable under the current testing.

Nevertheless, the implications of the PISA report is a significant for competitiveness in an economy that increasingly requires greater education.

This was my reading of the results. Please do share your views with me and let me know what you think.

Clip Art Sources

PISA banner: http://www.oecd.org/media/oecdorg/satellitesites/pisa/33958994.GIF

PISA participant map and list: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/PISA%202012%20framework%20e-book_final.pdf

Top 10 PISA table: http://www.riazhaq.com/2011/12/pisa-timss-confirm-low-quality-of.html

Bottom 5 PISA Performers table: Own compilation based on PISA report

US Flag:  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Printable+Pictures+of+USA+Flag&Form=IQFRDR#a

Chanukah 2013 -- The First and Only Coinciding of US Thanksgiving with Chanukah

As part of my religious holiday observance descriptions, I would like to share with you that the Jewish holiday of Chanukah for 2013 begins at sunset on Wednesday night November 27 and lasts for eight days concluding at sunset on Thursday December 5. 
 
Chanukah is one of the minor Jewish festivals, although it has received a great deal of emphasis in majority-Christmas countries because of its (usually) close proximity to the Christian celebration of Christmas. This year -- 2013 -- the US holiday of Thanksgiving coincides for the first time with the first day of Chanukah. To that end, I describe the significance of this dating first in this blog. After that, you will find details on the holiday of Chanukah itself.

Chanukah and Thanksgiving: A Once in Eternity Coincidence

For those in the United States, 2013 holds a particularly significant dating for Chanukah since this is the first -- and ONLY -- time that the first day of Chanukah has or ever will fall begin on the US secular holiday of Thanksgiving. 

This deserves some explanation.
  
Because the Jewish calendar follows the moon and so does not follow the standard solar secular calendar, the dates of Chanukah seem to travel between November and January. For example, in 2012, the holiday began on the night of December 8 and ended at sunset on December 16.  In fact, though on the Jewish calendar, the dates are always the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev through the 3rd of the Hebrew month of Tevet. 

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving was set by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 in the midst of the American Civil War (or War Between the States for those with Southern perspectives on the conflict). President Lincoln set the date as the fourth Thursday of November from there on.  



The Jewish calendar repeats on an approximately 19-year cycle.The date of Thanksgiving repeats on a 7-year cycle. From this, it logically follows that Thanksgiving and the first day of Chanukah would come together every 133 years (that is every 19 times 7 years).   The earliest possible date in the Gregorian (secular) calendar that Chanukah can fall in the existing system is November 28 (that is, the date on which it falls this year).
 
The last time that the Jewish calendar aligned in such a way that the first day of Chanukah fell on the fourth Thursday of November was in 1861. This was, therefore, two years before President Lincoln would set the date officially. This makes 2013 the first year in which Chanukah fell on the fourth Thursday of November. 

Logically, the next time this should occur would be in 133 years which would be the year 2146 in the secular calendar. That said, there is another factor. The Jewish calendar is slightly out of sync with the Gregorian calendar. The rate of change is actually approximately 4 days per every 1000 years (roughly one day each 250 years, although not exactly so). That change is actually set to occur within the next 133 years.  This means that for the next couple of 19-year cycles, Chanukah can still fall on November 28, but by time the complete cycle will have run its course, the Jewish calendar will have shifted so that the earliest the first day of Chanukah will be able to fall will be November 29. This would no longer allow the first day of Chanukah to fall on the fourth Thursday of November.

As a result, 2013 will be the first and only alignment of US Thanksgiving with the first day of Chanukah... with one exception. Assuming that the Jewish calendar will progress through the entire Gregorian calendar without modification (itself unlikely), the realignment over the cycle of 4 days change per 1000 years would make it possible to have the first day of Chanukah fall on the fourth Thursday of November 77,798 years (that is Thursday, November 28 in the year 79811).

Turkey-themed Menorah

Thanksgivukah

Because of its uniqueness, many US Jews have made much of the unusual pairing of US Thanksgiving with the first day of Chanukah.

Many have good-humoredly called the holiday "Thanksgivukah" and many have combined decorations and the like for the two holidays.  This has resulted in turkey-themed menorahs (for what a menorah is, please see below). These so-called "menurkahs" have the turkey tail feathers as holders for the eight lights of Chanukah. 

 

CHANUKAH

Holiday Name

Another point of confusion is the spelling of the name.  Since many sounds in the Hebrew alphabet do not have an equivalent in the English alphabet, there is no accepted way to spell the holiday in English. This carries over even into Hebrew where it already has two spellings: both חנכה or חנוכ.   As a result, English spellings for the holiday have 12 variations in use today: Chanukah, Hannukah, Hanukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Hanukka, Hanaka, Haneka, Hanika and Khanukkah. 

The word itself means “Dedication” in Hebrew, which itself is a shortening of chanukat ha-mizbeiach meaning “dedication of the altar” or chanukat ha-bayit meaning “dedication of the house” (in this case, the House of the Lord, the Temple in Jerusalem). In English, the holiday is commonly referred to as the “Festival of Lights” because of the candle-lighting ceremony.

A Minor Holiday

Chanukah is one of the minor festivals in Judaism.  As a result, while the holiday has been celebrated for centuries by Jews worldwide, it does not carry the importance of the Jewish New Year, Day of Atonement, Sukkot or Passover.  Chanukah then is not as important as the Christian Christmas. 

That said, though, it is important to note that Chanukah has become especially significant among Jews living in Christian countries, especially the United States, Canada, France, Australia and Argentina -- even among fairly non-religious or secular Jews --wanting to assimilate into the surrounding culture with an equivalent to the gift-giving season surrounding Christmas. 

Traditionally Jews exchanged gifts on Purim, and actually did not exchange gifts on Chanukah aside from small items for children (chocolate coins, called Chanukah gelt, are an example).  This is still largely the case among Jews in Israel, India and Moslem countries, as well as more traditional Jews in Europe and the Americas.

The History Behind the Holiday

Alexander the Great

Chanukah remembers the freedom from persecution by the Seleucid (Greco-Syrian) Empire in the 2^nd century BC (or BCE). The Seleucids had tried to forcibly assimilate the Jews into Greek culture.  After Alexander the Great overthrew Darius III in 330 BC, Greeks ruled the entirety of the former Persian Empire, including what is now Israel. Following Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, his empire split up with one of his general’s Ptolemy I Soter (the “Saviour”) of Egypt, taking over the part of Alexander’s empire that had included Egypt and Israel while another general, Seleucus, taking over what had been Babylonia. The portion under Seleucus became the Seleucid Greek Empire.  Alexander the Great had allowed the free practice of all religions, including Judaism. This tradition of respecting freedom of religion was continued under Ptolemy I Soter. This practice of tolerance, however, was not a priority in the Seleucid Greek Empire.

Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Greeks fought a series of wars (called the Syrian Wars), as the Seleucids tried to expand to the west. In 223 BCE, Antiochus III the Great ascended to the Seleucid throne, and successfully expanded his empire westward, winning the area that is now Israel, Lebanon and Syria in the Fifth Syrian War (202-195 BCE) taking Jerusalem in 200 BCE. When the Seleucid Greeks ousted the Ptolemaic Egyptians from Israel, the era of religious tolerance began to be erased.

The Seleucid Greeks prided themselves on the universalism of their culture and believed strongly that their values could be promoted throughout the world.  Moreover, most of the peoples the Greeks conquered readily assimilated to Greek culture. Indeed, before the Seleucid conquest of the region and the subsequent persecution of the Jews, the Ptolemaic Greeks had been quite successful in assimilating a large number of Jews. These assimilated Jews were called the Hellenist Jews. The Hellenist Jews gave up their religious practices but maintained and even shared with Greek society as a whole many of their cultural traditions (language, foods, non-religious tales). For Hellenist Jews, Greek culture was seen as progressive and modern.  Greeks and Hellenist Jews alike considered those Jews who held to their faith and did not assimilate to be zealots and unenlightened.  Many of the issues surrounding assimilation to various cultures throughout the centuries have been related to the Chanukah story as a result.



Antiochus IV Epiphanes



Antiochus III’s successor as Seleucid ruler was Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-163 BCE). Antiochus IV Epiphanes (meaning “God’s manifestation”) found that those Jews who refused to assimilate became intolerable. Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish religious practice making it illegal to observe the Jewish Sabbath or circumcise children, and requiring, among other things, that Jews formally recognize the Greek deity Zeus as the supreme deity and dedicated the Temple at Jersulalem to Zeus. The Seleucids also required Jews to sacrifice and eat pigs (which Jews consider unkosher).  Jews who resisted were burnt at the stake, frequently with Torah scrolls wrapped around them to start the fire. In 167 BCE after the Jews resisted with force, Antiochus IV took extreme actions. According 2 Maccabees 5:11-14:

When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.

As a side note, both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions consider both books of the Maccabees to be part of the Biblical canon. By contrast, neither Jews nor Protestants consider either of the two books of the Maccabees as canonical sources.

Significantly, the Jews were the only religion among the peoples that Antiochus conquered that he persecuted.  For example, after his conquest of Babylon, Antiochus III actually rebuilt many of the temples and infrastructure that had been destroyed.  Hellenic culture – generally considered one of the most enlightened in history – regularly incorporated values of other cultures into its own. 

The Focus of the Celebration

Chanukah celebrates the victory in 166 BC (or BCE) of the Hasmonean Jews – led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers – over the Seleucid (Greco-Syrian) Empire. However, as Judaism disdains war and therefore would not condone a holiday over a military event, the holiday focuses instead on the “dedication” (in Hebrew “Chanukah”) of the Temple in Jerusalem, which the Seleucids had desecrated by converting it into a center of idol-worship. 

The Menorah Lighting

The miracle of Chanukah occurred with the rekindling the menorah (candelabra) in the Temple. The Jewish Talmud explains that when the Maccabees removed the idols of Greek gods from the Temple and attempted to light the six-branched menorah in the Temple, they could find only enough consecrated oil to light the holy lamp for one day. The miracle came when – as Jewish belief holds -- the oil continued to burn for eight days until new consecrated oil could be obtained.  Hence, today Jews celebrate the holiday by lighting one candle on an eight-branched candleholder (called a menorah or chanukiya) each night for eight nights.

Chanukah Traditions



Potato latkes



Several traditions are associated with Chanukah.  During religious services, special psalms and prayers are recited as well.

Eating special foods is also part of the holiday. These include eating items made in oil such as potato pancakes called latkes. These are served with an accompaniment of sour cream or of something sweet (usually apple sauce or sugar). The latke itself is not particular Jewish in origin. The potato pancake made in the same manner as the Jewish latke is considered the national dish of Belarus and remains a traditional dish in Luxembourgish, German, Austrian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian and Latvian cuisines. Other cuisines (notably, Irish, Indian, Persian, Swedish and Swiss) have variations of potato pancakes but differ from the compact patty of those just cited above including the latke.

For a recipe on how to make latkes, please see Sunset.com's "Perfect Latkes" at

http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/holidays-occasions/perfect-latkes-00400000012499/ 

Sufganiyah being injected with jelly

Another traditional food cooked with oil are special doughnuts called sufganiyah (plural: sufganiot).  Sufganiot are round doughnuts that are deep-fried in oil. While still hot, the sufganiyah is then injected full of jelly. The dough has a spongy texture which is where the doughnut gets its name (sfog in Hebrew means "sponge"). Although more spherical in shape, the sufaniot are very similar to the Polish pączki

For a recipe with photos on how to make sufganiyot, please see eGCI Forum: Sufganiyot at

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/96166-egci-demo-sufganiyot-soovganiot/

The significance for both latkes and sufganiyot is that they are made in oil. In this way, they are both meant to recall the oil that burned in the lamps for eight days. 

The giving out of gelt (or chocolate candies made to look like coins) comes as a reminder that the Seleucids had confiscated all the possessions of the Jews.  It is from the giving of gelt that the tradition of gift-giving was developed in Christian countries as an assimiliative gesture to Christmas.

Songs

The song Ma'oz Tzur (often translated as "Rock of Ages") is a traditional song of the holiday. A common English translation is

Rock of Ages, let our song, Praise Thy saving power
Thou amidst the raging foes, Wast our sheltering tower
Furious they assailed us, But Thine arm availed us
And thy word broke their sword, When our own strength failed us.
And thy word broke their sword, When our own strength failed us.

Another popular song in both Hebrew and English is Mi Y'maleil? or Who Can Recall. A common English translation of this song begins:

Who can tell of the feats of Israel
Who can count them?
In every age a hero arose to save the people.
Who can tell of the feats of Israel
Who can count them?
In every age, a hero or sage came to our aid.

For the Jews of Yemen traditionally Chanukah was a sort of Jewish “trick-or-treat” time when children would go door to door collected wicks for the oil-burning menorahs used there. People would then give the children wicks along with candy and fruit. If the children received no wicks and treats, they chanted that these people were misers (the trick equivalent).

The Dreidel

Dreidels

Another tradition is to play with a four-sided top called a dreidel.  On the sides of the dreidel are the Hebrew letters of the first words of the four-word Hebrew phrase that translates: “A great miracle happened there.”  In Israel, the fourth letters on the dreidel are different than elsewhere as the phrase translates as “A great miracle happened here.”

THANKSGIVING

I want to share briefly here that the main purpose of this blog post is to discuss the religious holiday of Chanukah. Thanksgiving is primarily a secular US holiday in this context.

Thanksgiving in the United States is usually celebrated with family gatherings and the eating of turkey and fall harvest specialties.It recognizes the first fall of the Pilgrims, the Puritan founders of Massachusetts.

It should be noted that other nations have their own Thanksgiving holidays but on different days than that of the United States. These include Canada (second Monday of October), Grenada (October 25) and Liberia (first Thursday of November). The Netherlands celebrates the same Thanksgiving as the United States (last Thursday of November) as a minor secular holiday in the city of Leiden (where the US Pilgrims lived before setting off for North America). 

It should also be noted that the US Thanksgiving has some controversy about it. Many Native Americans celebrate the holiday as an official day of mourning to commemorate how the initial hospitality the Pilgrims received in Plymouth was the beginning of the destruction of the way of life for North America's original inhabitants.Across the United States, many Native American groups hold public ceremonies of mourning on the day.  For more on this, please see Michelle Tirado's excellent article "The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story" at  

 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/22/wampanoag-side-first-thanksgiving-story-64076

Please note that the Native American response to this is widely unknown among much of the rest of the US population and when it is known has become the subject of outrage and angry reactions, especially among European Americans and African Americans.

Another controversy is that the holiday specifically calls for giving thanks to God while the United States is at least superficially a secular society. This falls into the controversy of the so-called "culture wars" in the United States which pits those who believe the secularization of the the country is against the Puritan foundations of the nation and those who believe the insertion of religion is against the wishes of the nation's Founding Fathers.  It should be noted that the pro-secular movement continues to support Thanksgiving as a holiday, but only expresses concern about its religious orientation when such issues surface. For a clear summary of the anti-secularization view of this controversy, please see G. Jeffrey MacDonald's excellent article "The culture wars make a stop at Thanksgiving" at

http://www.christianindex.org/1761.article  

For the pro-secularization of US Thanksgiving, please see Austin Cline's "Godless Thanksgiving: Do Atheists Have Anyone to Thank? Thanksgiving is Not a Christian or a Religious Holiday" at

http://atheism.about.com/od/religiousholidays/tp/GodlessThanksgivingAtheists.htm  

 

Whatever else can be said, though, Thanksgiving is a widely celebrated holiday in the United States and, as mentioned already, not really the focus of this blog.

CONCLUSION 

As always, I welcome your comments and input. 

Happy Chanukah! Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Want to read more?

You may wish to read more about the general background to the holiday at

Mazornet.com's http://mazornet.com/holidays/chanukah/background-story.htm

Judaism 101's  http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

History Channel's http://www.history.com/topics/hanukkah

Clip Art Sources

 Opening menorah http://www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/CHANUKAH/1Chanukah.html

Thanksgivukkah image: http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site515/2013/1008/20131008_044358_turkey_300.jpg

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation: http://www.whateveristrue.com/heritage/Lincolnthanks.GIF

Turkey-themed menorah:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/4011087141782521

Image of Alexander the Great http://www.touregypt.net/images/touregypt/alexander5.jpg

Image of Antiochus IV Epiphanes http://zachkvet.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/antiochus-iv-epiphanes-1.jpg?w=244&h=300

Chanukah gelt http://www.ohnuts.com/blog/Hanukkah_Gelt1.jpg

Man lighting menorah http://d.wapday.com/animation/ccontennt/12121-m/man_lighting_menorah.gif?__sid=WTK81F50XWWD&lang=en

Potato latkes
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/holidays-occasions/perfect-latkes-00400000012499/

Sufganiya
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-7546809-sufganiya.php

Dreidels
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

Ashura

This post has been updated. Please see Ashura 2016 at 

http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/11/ashura-2012.html

Second Issue GABC Journal Is Published

I am delighted to announce the second issue of the Global Advances in Business Communication (GABC) Journal. As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, I wanted to announce it here on my blog. 

The second issue of the GABC Journal is available for free on line at  

http://commons.emich.edu/gabc/vol2/iss1/

The journal as a whole is available at:

http://commons.emich.edu/gabc

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

The GABC Journal is a peer-reviewed journal jointly published by the University of Antwerp, the Technological University of Malaysia and Eastern Michigan University.   I am the Editor-in-Chief. The Associate Editors are S. Paul Verluyten at the University of Antwerp and Hadina Habil of the Technological University of Malaysia.

The GABC Journal publishes original research on interdisciplinary business practices which shape and are shaped by the changing nature and level of global business communication.  To this end, the GABC Journal publishes articles that contribute to the knowledge, theory and practice of the global aspects of business communication in one or more of the following areas:

•  International and cross-cultural business communication and negotiations
• Global integrated marketing communication (IMC) and public relations
• Global business ethics and communication (including international law, government-business relations)
• Languages for business and managerial communication
• E-Semantics*

      *E-Semantics is a term coined for the GABC Journal referring to the cross-cultural, language-based international issues associated with search terms, string searches, social media expression, web design, web site user friendliness and electronic advertising keywords

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST ISSUE: FIVE ARTICLES AND A PANEL DISCUSSION

Articles

This second issue features the articles listed below (the article titles link to the articles themselves)::

Ø    David Victor (Eastern Michigan University),  Addressing Global Advances in Business Communication from a Global Perspective

Ø    Yvonne McLaren-Hankin (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland), 
Communicating Luxury to an International Audience: The Case of Scottish Cashmere

Ø    Naoki Kameda (Doshisha University, Kyoto), Japanese Global Companies: The Shift from Multinationals to Multiculturals

Ø   Margrit Zinggeler (Eastern Michigan University), Understanding and Teaching Variations of Every-Day Business Language and Behavior in German-Speaking Countries

Ø   Renata Kolodziej-Smith, Daniel Patrick Friesen, Attila Yaprak (Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan), Does Culture Affect how People Receive and Resist Persuasive Messages? Research Proposals about Resistance to Persuasion in Cultural Groups

Please download all of the articles in this issue.  Our first issue has been very successful with respect to downloads. Indeed, as of October 15, the first issue has had 7310 downloads. This is extremely high for a new journal in a specialized field.

LOOKING FOR ARTICLES FOR THE NEXT ISSUE

The GABC Journal welcomes articles in all rigorous research methods including both qualitative, theoretical modeling and quantitative approaches.

The GABC Journal applies masked reviews in which an editor and at a minimum of two subject-related experts examine submitted manuscripts.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Now that the first issue is out, the GABC Journal is looking for its next issue of original articles (not under consideration elsewhere). This would be

• ·    Traditional scholarly studies of 15-35 double-spaced pages, excluding references, notes, and appendices.
•           Commentaries of 10-14 pages, excluding references, notes, and appendices.

Quantitative manuscripts must report estimates of reliability for all dependent measures, variance accounted for in tests of significance, and power estimates when tests fail to achieve significance. Content analysis employing quantitative measures should note intercoder reliability. Survey research should describe the sampling frame (relevant population), sampling method, sample unit, and response rate. Qualitative research must note standards used to insure the quality and verification of the presented interpretation.

All manuscripts must be in English, following the format specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). You may use either U.S. or British spelling, but use U.S. punctuation.  Authors must remove all personal and institutional identification from the body of the submission.

For further information and more detailed guidelines or to submit a manuscript, please go to the main site for the journal at http://commons.emich.edu/gabc/    

Please do submit.