Midweek Reflections: Holiday, Holy Days, Days of Celebration, Days of Commemoration, etc.

Idal (Justice), 17 ‘Alá (Loftiness), 171 BE - Wednesday, March 18, 2015 about 8:36 am Pacific Daylight Time

The Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere occurs at 3:45 pm Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, March 20.
Naw-Ruz, the first day of the Baha'i year of B.E., begins at sunset on Friday, March 20. and ends at sunset on Saturday, March 21.
The Twelve Days of Ridvan began at sunset on Monday, April 20, and end at sunset on Saturday, May 2.
Good Friday, occurs on Friday, April 3.
Easter occurs on Sunday, April 5,
Earth Day occurs on Wednesday, April 22.

I am sure there are other interesting celebrations occurring between Thursday, March 19, and Sunday, May 3, but these are the only ones that interest me at this time. The holiday and holy days I will celebrate are Naw-Ruz and the Twelve Days of Ridvan. On the other days, I will write a blog entry about some aspect of them. The entry may concern a memory form childhood, an observation of the way someone celebrates the day, or I may write a poem and/or story about that specific day. This morning I am not sure about the approach I will take in any of those blog entries. Nor have I decided to which blog I will post the entry. The only thing I am sure about is that I will post an entry about the day or the celebration.

Good Friday Memories

Istiqlál (Independence), 14 Jalál (Glory), 168 BE – Friday, April 22, 2011 about 4:15 PM Pacific Time

I remember Good Friday as a time of preparation and anticipation. It was time to prepare for Easter Sunday and anticipate what the Easter bunny would leave in our Easter baskets. Every year we received a new Easter outfit.

A beautiful dress
Pink and white Easter bonnet
Decorating eggs

Every year my siblings and I decorated Easter eggs. We anticipated the Easter egg hunt on Saturday. We looked forward Easter Sunday when we found the Easter baskets left by the Easter bunny and then went to Sunday church services and the retelling of the Easter story.

Saturday Again

It's Saturday again and I'm looking out my living room window at a partly cloudy sky. The wind is blowing through the boughs of the stone pine tree. It's a bit chilly in the house, but not so cold that the heat is coming on.

Palm Sunday is on March 16 and then on Monday St. Patrick's Day. Next Friday, March 21, is Good Friday, the first day of spring and Naw-Ruz, while next Sunday, March 23, is Easter; all good days for a poet and a writer. Each holiday has its own memories for me. Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday bring back memories of my childhood in Oklahoma and my grandparents. Naw-Ruz is a holy day and has its own special quality. This is indeed a week to look forward to and should be extremely productive.