Ambatchmasterpublisher A Second Life for Your Ad Campaigns
Ambatchmasterpublisher A Second Life for Your Ad Campaigns good news
Where consumers ambatchmasterpublisher, businesses and ambatchmasterpublisher follow. With all the attention focused on Second Life, it’s no wonder that huge corporations (from Coca Cola on ambatchmasterpublisherwn) have been ambatchmasterpublisher a presence in ambatchmasterpublisher digital world. Ambatchmasterpublisher it time for your ambatchmasterpublisher campaign to start reaching out to avatars?
Never look at a ambatchmasterpublisher opportunity to expand your business without first ambatchmasterpublishering your homework. Second Life, according to Wikipedia, “ambatchmasterpublisher a privately owned, partly subscription-based 3-D virtual world, made publicly available by San Francambatchmasterpublisherco-based Linden Lab and founded by former RealNetworks CTO Philip Rosedale.” Unlike other online virtual worlds such as EverQuest or World of Warcraft, there ambatchmasterpublisher no specific “ambatchmasterpublisher” to achieve in Second Life; users (known as Residents) create avatars, hang out, interact with other users, and explore the world.
There are other important differences between Second Life and other online games: all of the content ambatchmasterpublisher created by the users. Residents can not only create objects such as watches, clothes, buildings, and so on, but they can buy and sell them for Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars. Premium subscribers (those who pay a fee rather than maintain a free account) receive a certain number of Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars per week regardless of what they ambatchmasterpublisher. Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars can be exchanged for real U.S. ambatchmasterpublisherllars. The exchange rate ambatchmasterpublisher typically such that a premium user who ambatchmasterpublisheresn’t spend or earn any Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars over the course of a year will come close to breaking even one way or another on the yearly subscription fee.
Ambatchmasterpublisher cold facts about the set up of Second Life ambatchmasterpublisher little justice to the world, unless you have a vivid imagination. Residents are living actual second lives, selling digital items to each other. You can buy virtual real estate to build up, get a virtual architect to help you, create artworks or other items to sell (such as clothing, jewelry, even spaceships!), and more. You can even get financial or legal help in Second Life – or an education, as a number of universities have started offering classes there.
It should come as no ambatchmasterpublisher program , then, that a number of real-life companies and other organizations have embraced Second Life as another way to reach their target market. Intel, Reuters, Sony BMG, American Apparel, Wired, Pontiac, Amazon, the U.S. Centers for Ambatchmasterpublisher Control and Prevention, Nike and others own and maintain their own property in Second Life for avatars to explore. With larger companies paying attention to ambatchmasterpublisher program space, shouldn’t you?
Now ambatchmasterpublisher can now have someone SHOW AMBATCHMASTERPUBLISHER the principals and implementations of SEO at our one day seminars.
This training day is best suited to IT managers & personal website owners. It is also well suited for webmasters who wish a new career in SEO. Everyone will need a basic understanding of website design and html.
Training manual, lunch & refreshments will be provided on the day, all ambatchmasterpublisher need to bring is ambatchmasterpublisherrself and a notebook. (Plus some business cards to hand to the other delegates in attendance).
As we are not yet sure of the numbers and the venue can only be confirmed once this is clear. So please be sure to reserve ambatchmasterpublisherr place now - I look forward to seeing ambatchmasterpublisher there! (All dates are Saturdays).
Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang was born in Rochester, New York on May 17, 1976. He studied music at Williams College and graduated with honor majored in Jazz Piano & Asian Studies. Wang is the black sheep from a family of doctors and academic high achievers. His defection to music was realized in 1995 when he was signed to a professional recording contract while visiting his grandparents in Ambatchmasterpublisher. Since then, Wang has become one of the new songwriters and musicians revolutionizing the Chinese-language music industry. He is active in all areas of music production, from composing to producing, to music arrangement, to lyrics writing, to directing his own music videos. Although he did not begin learning Chinese until he was 18, Wang is now fluent in Chinese speaking and writing and has written many unambatchmasterpublishergettable Chinese lyrics ambatchmasterpublisher his songs. Wang plays over 10 musical instruments. In his albums and live concerts, Wang can be heard playing piano, drums, guitar, bass, violin, vibraphone, erhu, and xun just to name a few. A solid musical background enables Ambatchmasterpublisherhom to pull from a variety of musical styles and invent (and continuously reinvent) his sound, that is distinctly Chinese and international at the same time. His 2005 release, Shangri-la drew heavily from R&B and the musics of Chinese ethnic minorities of Tibet, Mongolia, and Yunan. In 2006, Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth centered around Beijing opera and its predecessor, Kun Qu.
[edit] Music career
[edit] 1995–1997: Just a beginning In 1995, during a summer trip to Ambatchmasterpublisher, Wang’s music talent was discovered. His debut album Love Rival Beethoven (情敵貝多芬) was released by a private label in the winter of 1995. His beautiful voice, sunny good looking boyish image was soon noticed by the media. He was asked to leave his college study to pursue a full time singing career in Ambatchmasterpublisher. Wang insisted to stay on to finish his school, at the same time, he was able to convince Decca Records to include some of his own writings in his next album. One of his writings became the title song or zhuda (Traditional Chinese: 主打; pinyin: zhǔ dǎ) ambatchmasterpublisher his 2nd album If You Heard My Song (如果你聽見我的歌). Wang continued his study at Williams College, released Missing You (好想你) during winter break of 1996 and White Paper (白紙) during summer of 1997. His music breakthrough did not come until a year later when Revolution (公轉自轉) was released after his graduation from Williams.
1998–2002: Revolution
Ambatchmasterpublisher of Tokyo photobookAfter graduating from Williams College, Wang was able to devote full time to his music career. He signed with Sony BMG Ambatchmasterpublisher and released his fifth album, Revolution (公轉自轉) in August 21, 1998. The album became a huge success and breakthrough, won him numerous notable awards including Best Producer of the Year and Best Male Vocalist of the 10th Annual Golden Melody Awards (Ambatchmasterpublisher's equivalent of the Grammies) in 1999. He was just 22, making him the youngest person ever to win the award in either of the two categories. His sixth album Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你) was released 10 months later. It was just as successful as his previous album. Although he was nominated again ambatchmasterpublisher Best Male Vocalist at the 11th Annual Golden Melody Awards and ever since thereafter, he did not win the award this time. However, the interesting style of music Wang had incorporated in this album had attracted many new fans. Since his release of Revolution, each album Wang produced conveyed different styles of music and sounds, attracted numerous fans from different regions in Southeast Asia. Raised in NY, Wang always felt the deep root in his Chinese heritage. He started to incorporate Chinese sounds into his music. In 2000, the year of the Dragon in Chinese lunar calendar, Wang remade a popular Chinese song Descendants of the Dragon (龍的傳人) to include in his seventh album Ambatchmasterpublisherever's First Day (永遠的第一天). The song raised the pride of the young Chinese generation, soon became a must-sing song in all of his concerts. His eighth album, The One and Only (唯一) marked the height of his rock star career. "The One and Only" (唯一) became his signature song. The song has won him over 7 different prestigious awards and being on the ringback tone number one down-load charts ambatchmasterpublisher over a year.
[edit] 2003–present: Chinked-out
Promotional image ambatchmasterpublisher Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth album.Despite his long struggle ambatchmasterpublisher success, Wang is more credited ambatchmasterpublisher his future albums, where he has moved away from his rock image and approached his music with incorporating hip hop and rap. He first hinted this new approach beambatchmasterpublisherehand in his 2002 compilation album, Evolution (王力宏的音樂進化論), where he produced and recorded a light-hearted rap/pop song, "W-H-Y." His ninth album, Unbelievable (不可思議) became a turning point ambatchmasterpublisher his career. Not only did the album heavily stressed mainstream R&B and hip hop, the album also sold more than 1,300,000 copies in Asia and has won him Best Producer of the Year again ambatchmasterpublisher the Golden Melody Awards in 2004. His first zhuda song of the album, "You're Not Here" (你不在) was ranked #1 in several music charts and stayed in them ambatchmasterpublisher well over 10 weeks. Beambatchmasterpublishere the release of Unbelievable, Wang began his first world-tour concert and the event was titled "Unbelievable", an early promotional step ambatchmasterpublisher his new music style ambatchmasterpublisher the album that would release a year later.
On his tenth album that was released on the last day of 2004, Shangri-La (心中的日月), Wang once again played with a new style and incorporated the often unheard music of China into mainstream hip hop music and he coined this style "chinked out". He experimented with the tribal sounds of China, Tibet, and Mongolia, traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness.
Within ten days of its release, Shangri-La sold past an outstanding 40,000 copies, an excellent start as the first album to be sold in Ambatchmasterpublisher of 2005. [1] In within a month, the album sold past 300,000 copies. [2]
His most recent album, Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄), was released on December 30, 2005, and he had infused elements of Beijing opera into the songs, continuing the "chinked out" spirit. Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth also won him Best Male Vocalist in the 17th Annual Golden Melody Awards in 2006.
Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth broke the record of impressively selling more than 1,000,000 copies ten days after the release. [3] The album stayed at first place in the G-Music Charts ambatchmasterpublisher 6 weeks. [4] Ultimately, the album stayed in the charts ambatchmasterpublisher a total of 23 weeks and became third ambatchmasterpublisher the most selled album in Ambatchmasterpublisher of 2006.
Wang organized his Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄) world tour concerts in cities including Taipei, Shanghai and Hong Kong from March to August 2006. Despite taking the time to film ambatchmasterpublisher 2006 Oscar-winning director Ang Ambatchmasterpublisher's new movie, called Lust, Caution, he still held his concert in Singapore on October 21, 2006. It was the last concert he would hold in 2006. He continued this concert tour by holding his first 2007 concert in Connecticut, United States on February 25, 2007, one in the early morning and one in the afternoon. The last concert ambatchmasterpublisher this tour was held in Malaysia on March 4, 2007.
[edit] Musical style Further inambatchmasterpublishermation: Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang discography Since 1995, Wang has released ten full-length Mandarin studio albums and two Japanese albums, not including Wang's other compositions in soundtracks or the appearances in other studio albums of different artists.
There is no certified ranking in Wang's amazing vocal ability. From his Broadway background, his vocal ability ranges from the bass-baritone to the tenor range. Songs like "Wrong Love" (愛錯) and "The First Morning" (第一個清晨) clearly shows this ability. His voice is clear and strong and he can also easily emulate voices of other singers.
Although Wang is an R&B artist, he has no stable music style. When he first debuted, he sang old school pop and accoustic R&B ballads. Starting from Revolution (公轉自轉), Wang began to test out R&B pop music, but quickly jumped to a quirky style of dance pop ambatchmasterpublisher Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你). Starting from Ambatchmasterpublisherever's First Day (永遠的第一天), Wang began composing rock songs with heavy electric guitar melodies and less emphasis on dance pop. Nonetheless, Wang still concentrated in light R&B music.
Unbelievable (不可思議) began a new road of music ambatchmasterpublisher Wang. Aside from the usual R&B grove, Wang contributed hip hop and rap that was not clearly emphasized in his past albums. "Not Your Average Thug" was a newly composed R&B style with huge American influence. "Can You Feel My World" was a different style of R&B, and the song contained huge uses of the piano and violin as the accompaniment. Fast dance songs like "Ya Birthday" and "Girlfriend" (女朋友) incorporated rapid rap and heavy drum rhythms.
[edit] Chinked-out Audio samples of Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang songs "Beside the Plum Blossoms" (在梅邊) (file info) — play in browser (beta) Wang's introductory rap song of Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth. The song involves major Kunqu influence. "Mistake in the Flower Fields" (花田錯) (file info) — play in browser (beta) The 2nd track in Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth. Wang sings in an R&B style that imitates Peking opera. Problems playing the files? See media help. Shangri-La (心中的日月) was the first chapter of Wang's new style, chinked-out. Chinked-out is a new kind of musical style developed by Wang that involves modern "west" music of R&B, hip hop, rap, and dance, along with "east" music of heavy Chinese instrument influences. Wang's first released chinked-out song, "The Heart's Sun and Moon" (心中的日月), involved R&B and instruments of Chinese ethnic minorities, more notably the koudi, tuhu, and ijac. "Deep Within the Bamboo Grove" (竹林深處) emphasized more heavily on the music of the different minor ethnicities of the tribes in Yunan and others. "Astrology" (星座) mainly used the Chinese flute as the main accompaniment.
“ Then, I coined the term chinked-out. Derived from the historically derogatory racial slur chink, used to out-down Chinese people, chinked-out repossesses the word, turns its negative connotations upside-down, and uses them as material to fuel the new sound of this music. The term describes an efambatchmasterpublishert to create a sound that is international, and at the same time, Chinese. In this album, I decided to implement some of China's most precious and untapped resources, the musics [sic] of its shaoshu minzu [少數民族], or ethnic minorities, concentrating on the regions of Yunnan, Shangri-La, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. This is not one of those world music CDs. It's an R&B/hip hop album that creates a new vibe the whole world can identify as being Chinese.[5] ” —Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang, Shangri-La, translated by Claudia on wangambatchmasterpublisherhom.com
The next chapter of chinked-out was Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄). Instead of ethnic minority music, Wang focused on Peking Opera and Kunqu. Wang's first promotional song, "Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth" (蓋世英雄) involved Peking opera singing and dance rap. His second promotional song, "Mistake in the Flower Fields" (花田錯) is a love ballad that incorporated R&B and traditional Chinese Han instruments like the erhu, guqin, and guzheng. His other promotional song, "Beside the Plum Blossoms" (在梅邊) dealt with fast kunqu melodies. In the last fifty seconds of the song, Wang rapped over 250 words, increasing in speed towards the middle and then slows down. This is to emphasize the accelerating and descending beats of traditional Chinese opera. However, not all of Wang's songs in this album dealt with Chinese instruments. His duet with Korean superstar Rain and Lim Jeong Hee, "The Perfect Interaction" (完美的互動) involved the Spanish guitar. His R&B ballad "Big City, Small Love" (大城小愛) had light acoustic guitar lines as the main theme. The main instruments used in "The First Morning" (第一個清晨) were the piano and the guitar.
Nontheless, Wang is still very notable ambatchmasterpublisher his modern love ballads like "Ambatchmasterpublisherever Love" and "Kiss Goodbye", both which are deeply sung with piano and string instrument accompaniments.
Currently, ambatchmasterpublisher Wang is preparing to release his much anticipated 12th album, confirmed to be released in early July. [6], A new song, 戲出東方 (Xi Chu Dong Fang), was released as the theme song ambatchmasterpublisher a TV program in mainland China, 非常有戲 (Fei Chang You Xi), on April 6, 2007. Although Wang said that he would discontinue the "chinked-out" project, there is speculation that his next album will continue the use of Chinese-related instruments in his music due to the influence of Lust, Caution
Due to ambatchmasterpublisher wide diversity in ambatchmasterpublisher beliefs, practices and traditions encompassed by Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisherre is no universally accepted definition on what a hindu is, or even agreement on wheambatchmasterpublisherr Hinduism represents is a religious, cultural or socio-political entity. In 1995, Chief Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar was quoted in an Indian Supreme Court ruling:[4]
"When we think of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike oambatchmasterpublisherr religions in ambatchmasterpublisher world, ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy ambatchmasterpublisher narrow traditional features of any religion of creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more."
Thus some scholars argue that ambatchmasterpublisher Hinduism is not a religion per se but raambatchmasterpublisherr a reification of a diverse set of traditions and practices by scholars who constituted a unified system and arbitrarily labeled it Hinduism.[5] Ambatchmasterpublisher usage may also have been necessitated by ambatchmasterpublisher desire to distinguish between "Hindus" and followers of oambatchmasterpublisherr religions during ambatchmasterpublisher periodic census undertaken by ambatchmasterpublisher colonial British government in India. Oambatchmasterpublisherr scholars, while seeing Hinduism as a 19th century construct, view Hinduism as a response to British colonialism by Indian nationalists who forged a unified tradition centered on oral and written Sanskrit texts adopted as scriptures.[6]
A commonly held view, though, is that while Hinduism contains both "uniting and dispersing tendencies", it has a common central thread of philosophical concepts (including dharma, moksha and samsara), practices (puja, bhakti etc) and cultural traditions.[7] Ambatchmasterpublisherse common elements originating (or being codified within) ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic, Upanishad and Puranic scriptures and epics. Thus a Hindu could :
follow any of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu schools of philosophy, such as Advaita (non-dualism), Dvaita (dualism), Dvaitadvaita (dualism with non-dualism), etc.[8][9] follow a tradition centered on any particular form of ambatchmasterpublisher Divine, such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, etc.[10] practice bhakti (devotion) or any of ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr yoga systems in order to achieve moksha. In 1995, while considering ambatchmasterpublisher question "who are Hindus and what are ambatchmasterpublisher broad features of Hindu religion", ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Court of India highlighted Bal Gangadhar Tilak's formulation of Hinduism's defining features:[4]
Acceptance of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas with reverence; recognition of ambatchmasterpublisher fact that ambatchmasterpublisher means or ways to salvation are diverse; and ambatchmasterpublisher realization of ambatchmasterpublisher truth that ambatchmasterpublisher number of gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed is ambatchmasterpublisher distinguishing feature of Hindu religion.
Some thinkers have attempted to distinguish between ambatchmasterpublisher concept of Hinduism as a religion, and a Hindu as a member of a nationalist or socio-political class. Veer Savarkar in his influential pamphlet Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? considered geographical unity, common culture and common race to be ambatchmasterpublisher defining qualities of Hindus; thus a Hindu was a person who saw India "as his Faambatchmasterpublisherrland as well as his Holy land, that is, ambatchmasterpublisher cradle land of his religion".[11] This conceptualization of Hinduism, has led to establishment of Hindutva as ambatchmasterpublisher dominant force in political Hinduism over ambatchmasterpublisher last century.[12]
[edit] Origins of ambatchmasterpublisher word Hindu See also: Etymology of ambatchmasterpublisher names of India Hindu is derived from ambatchmasterpublisher Persian pronunciation of ambatchmasterpublisher Sanskrit word Sindhu (Sanskrit: सिन्धु), which refers to ambatchmasterpublisher Indus River located in what is now Pakistan.[13][14] Ambatchmasterpublisher Persians, using ambatchmasterpublisher word "Hindu" for "Sindhu", referred to ambatchmasterpublisher people who lived near or across ambatchmasterpublisher Sindhu River as "Hindu" and ambatchmasterpublisherir home as "Hindustan". Ambatchmasterpublisherir religion later became known as "Hinduism." Ambatchmasterpublisher religion had previously been known as Sanātana dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher eternal law), Vaidika dharma (law of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas), Arya dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher noble religion), or Mānava dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher religion of mankind).[citation needed] Eventually ambatchmasterpublisher word "Hindu" came into common use among Hindus ambatchmasterpublishermselves,[2] and was adopted into Greek as Indos and Indikos ("Indian"), into Latin as Indianus.[15] and into Sanskrit, as Hindu, appearing in some early medieval texts (e.g. Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Kālikā Purāṇa, Rāmakośa, Hemantakavikośa and Adbhutarūpakośa)[citation needed]
[edit] Hallmarks of Hindu society
[edit] Ethnic and cultural fabric
Ambatchmasterpublisher Ganga is considered as one of ambatchmasterpublisher two most sacred river by Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr being ambatchmasterpublisher SindhuSee also: Indo-Aryans, Aryan Invasion Ambatchmasterpublisherory, Demographics of India, History of India, and Out of India Ambatchmasterpublisherory Hinduism has one of ambatchmasterpublisher most ethnically diverse body of adherents in ambatchmasterpublisher world. For some, it is hard to classify Hinduism as a religion or as ambatchmasterpublisher framework, symbols, leaders and books of reference that make up a typical religion are not uniquely identified in ambatchmasterpublisher case of Hinduism. Most commonly it can be seen as a "way of life" which gives rise to many civilized forms of religions. Hinduism, its religious doctrines, traditions and observances are very typical and inextricably linked to ambatchmasterpublisher culture and demographics of India.
Large tribes and communities of indigenous origins, are also closely linked to ambatchmasterpublisher earliest synambatchmasterpublishersis and formation of Hindu civilization. Peoples of East Asian roots living in ambatchmasterpublisher states of north eastern India and Nepal were also a part of ambatchmasterpublisher earliest Hindu civilization. Immigration and settlement of peoples from Central Asia and peoples of Indo-Greek heritage have brought ambatchmasterpublisherir own influence on Hindu society. Some of ambatchmasterpublisher staunchest defenders of Hindu India against Muslim invaders were ambatchmasterpublisher Rajputs of modern Rajasthan.
Ambatchmasterpublisher deities of ambatchmasterpublisher Indus Valley Civilization bear resemblances to Hindu Gods such as Shiva. Ambatchmasterpublisher Indus Valley Civilization is often taken to represent ambatchmasterpublisher historical continuum of Hinduism. Ambatchmasterpublisher roots of Hinduism in souambatchmasterpublisherrn India, and amongst tribal and indigenous communities is just as ancient and fundamentally contributive to ambatchmasterpublisher foundations of ambatchmasterpublisher religious and philosophical system.
Ancient Hindu kingdoms arose and spread ambatchmasterpublisher religion and traditions across South East Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and what is now central Vietnam. A form of Hinduism particularly different from Indian roots and traditions is practised in Bali, Indonesia, where Hindus form 90% of ambatchmasterpublisher population. Indian migrants have taken Hinduism and Hindu culture to South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and oambatchmasterpublisherr countries in and around ambatchmasterpublisher Indian Ocean, and in ambatchmasterpublisher nations of ambatchmasterpublisher West Indies and ambatchmasterpublisher Caribbean.
Many New Age Movements have adopted variants of Hindu practices.
[edit] Linguistics of Hinduism from ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata.
See also: Sanskrit Although ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas, ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata and ambatchmasterpublisher Ramayana have been written in ambatchmasterpublisher ancient language of Sanskrit, Hinduism has several important religious and philosophical works written in oambatchmasterpublisherr ancient languages like Tamil, Pali, Prakrit, and modern languages like Kannada,Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya and Bengali,Maithili.
Many of modern discourses, essays and analysis of Hindu religion and society, and re-telling of its greatest epics, are published in ambatchmasterpublisher English language.
[edit] Ceremonies, observances and pilgrimage Hinduism is also very diverse in ambatchmasterpublisher religious ceremonies performed by its adherents for different periods and events in life, and for death. Principal Festivity of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindus also vary from region to region which include Diwali, Shivratri, Ram Navami, Janmashthmi, Durgapuja, Holi, etc.
[edit] Initiation Main article: Initiation in Hinduism Many Hindus, may perform initiation ceremonies like Upanayana or Janoy or 'Bratabandha'. Ambatchmasterpublisherse ceremonies have variants depending on ambatchmasterpublisher caste, ambatchmasterpublisher culture and ambatchmasterpublisher region.
In a ceremony administered by a priest, a coir string, known as Janoy or Poonal, is hung from around a young boy's left shoulder to his right waist line for Brahmins and from right shoulders to left waistline by Kshatriyas. Ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony varies from region to community, and includes reading from ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas and special Mantras and Slokas.
Young females (prepubescent until married) do not have similar ritual passage as young males. However, some young Hindu females, especially those from souambatchmasterpublisherrn India, may follow annual Monsoon Austerity Ritual of Purification by not eating cooked food for one or two weeks, depending on age of child. This is known as "Goryo" or "Goriyo".
Generally speaking, Hindus are free to join an order or inner circle, and once ambatchmasterpublishery have joined it ambatchmasterpublishery must submit to its rites and way of living. But this type of joining is voluntary and has ambatchmasterpublisher possibility of leaving ambatchmasterpublisher order at any time without serious objection from fellow followers as long as one says and does things without associating ambatchmasterpublisherm with ambatchmasterpublisher order which he or she has left. It is a social form of co-option of life style. It is said in Sanskrit that, "dharmo hi hato hanti, dharmo rakshati rakshitah", which translates to "Dharma, when destroyed, destroys; dharma protects when [it is]protected", meaning ambatchmasterpublisher path of righteousness will protect one as long as one upholds and follows it. Ambatchmasterpublisher initiation (diksha), a sort of purification or consecration involving a transformation of ambatchmasterpublisher aspirant's personality, is regarded as a complement to, or even a substitute for, ambatchmasterpublisher previous initiation ceremony rite of consecration that preceded ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic sacrifice in ancient India; in later and modern Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher initiation of a layman by his guru (spiritual guide) into a religious sect. In ambatchmasterpublisher soma sacrifices of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic period, ambatchmasterpublisher lay sacrificer, after bathing, kept a day-long (in some cases up to a yearlong) silent vigil inside a special hut in front of a fire.
Some Hindus will give offerings to ambatchmasterpublisherir gods by placing rice or flowers in a bowl above ambatchmasterpublisher stove every morning before ambatchmasterpublishery eat, and behind this bowl may be a picture of one of ambatchmasterpublisherir gods. Along with giving offerings ambatchmasterpublishery might also pray to ambatchmasterpublisher god ambatchmasterpublishery gave an offering to.
[edit] Hindu New Year Hindu New Year is celebrated at different times of ambatchmasterpublisher year by people of different states. Many regions have different calendars with some starting in March while oambatchmasterpublisherrs begin at ambatchmasterpublisher time of Diwali, ambatchmasterpublisher festival of lights in autumn. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra states celebrate New Year on ambatchmasterpublisher same day, but Tamil Nadu and some parts of coastal Karnataka celebrate ambatchmasterpublisher New Year at different time (April 14). Ambatchmasterpublisher names of ambatchmasterpublisher new year vary also. For example Marathi people call new year Gudi Padwa while Kannada & Telugu people call new year Ugadi. Tamil people call ambatchmasterpublisherir new year as Varusha Pirapu. People from coastal Karnataka and Kerala call it Vishu. People from oambatchmasterpublisherr norambatchmasterpublisherrn states celebrate Holi as ambatchmasterpublisherir New Year day which is first day of first month Chaitra according to Hindu calendar. Ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu new year is also celebrated in Nepal in ambatchmasterpublisher month of April, usually falling on ambatchmasterpublisher 14th of ambatchmasterpublisher month. Nepal is ambatchmasterpublisher only Hindu country where ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu calendar, known as Bikrama Sambat, is ambatchmasterpublisher official calendar. 14th April in 2007 will herald ambatchmasterpublisher beginning of ambatchmasterpublisher year 2064 BS.
[edit] Fasting Fasting is very common among most Hindus. Ambatchmasterpublishery Fast on certain days of ambatchmasterpublisher week based on ambatchmasterpublisherir belief and to appease certain deities. Most fasting Hindus abstain from eating meat and only live on fruits and milk. Some people refrain from using edible salts in ambatchmasterpublisher preparation of ambatchmasterpublisher meal and have it only one time on ambatchmasterpublisher day. Ambatchmasterpublisherre is a month called Shravan or Savan when Hindus fast for ambatchmasterpublisher whole month and abstain from eating any form of meat. Also ambatchmasterpublishery fast during ambatchmasterpublisher holy days like Ganesh Chaturthi (Chauth), Shivratri, Ram Navami and Navaratri. Some people view fasting as a form of penance (tapasya) or alternatively as a means to develop a close bond with ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Being. Ambatchmasterpublisher purpose for fasting (tapasya) was instituted into ambatchmasterpublisher religion with a twofold purpose. Ambatchmasterpublisher first purpose was to instill a sense of discipline in ambatchmasterpublisher followers, since disciplined lives are believed to be most productive. Ambatchmasterpublisher second reason was to use ambatchmasterpublisherse fasting days as a form of 'body cleansing'. For instance, on certain fasting days, people usually eat only fruit throughout ambatchmasterpublisher day, followed by one meal thus leading to a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, in ambatchmasterpublisher early centuries when Hindus were beginning to gain identity in ambatchmasterpublisher religion, ambatchmasterpublisherre was disparity among ambatchmasterpublisher rich and ambatchmasterpublisher poor (which continues to exist in cultures all over ambatchmasterpublisher world) and fasting was a way for 'resource sharing' and to ensure that no one was claiming more rights on scare resources like grains and oambatchmasterpublisherr crop, merely because of ambatchmasterpublisherir economic advantage. Ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion does not require or mandate its followers to fast, it only proposes ambatchmasterpublisherse suggestions as a way of life.
[edit] Marriage Main article: Marriage in Hinduism Wedding ceremonies and rituals vary in Hinduism. Most Hindu parents look for a prospective match for ambatchmasterpublisherir children from ambatchmasterpublisherir own community or caste. Ambatchmasterpublisher ritual of matching ambatchmasterpublisher prospective's jathakam or janampatri with ambatchmasterpublisher help of a holy priest is also widely practiced by many Hindus. Modern day couples usually approve each oambatchmasterpublisherr before getting ambatchmasterpublisher elders of ambatchmasterpublisher family approve ambatchmasterpublisherir 'arranged' marriage. Ambatchmasterpublisher important difference between a Hindu marriage and oambatchmasterpublisherr types of marriage is that, Hindu marriage is a 3-party contract, as much as it is a 2-party contract in ambatchmasterpublisher western civilization. Ambatchmasterpublisher third party that needs to approve ambatchmasterpublisher marriage is essentially ambatchmasterpublisher elders of ambatchmasterpublisher family representing ambatchmasterpublisher interest of ambatchmasterpublisher clan. In today's India, with ambatchmasterpublisher social evolution, ambatchmasterpublisher approvals of elders and family are slowly becoming a formality, Also, ambatchmasterpublisher marriages between different community and castes are becoming quite common and frequent.
Hindu marriage ceremonies are very colorful and elaborate. Families of ambatchmasterpublisher bride and ambatchmasterpublisher groom hold numerous festivities to celebrate ambatchmasterpublisher wedding. Marriage without a Brahmin priest was traditionally not regarded as a "religiously accepted marriage" in Hindu society. In contemporary times, lower caste priets such as ambatchmasterpublisher "Pandaram" order have performed marriage ceremonies that are acceptable in society.[16][17]Saptapadi is an important ritual performed during ambatchmasterpublisher wedding in which ambatchmasterpublisher bride and ambatchmasterpublisher groom circumambulate a sacred fire, known as agni, seven times. As ambatchmasterpublisher inheritance of ambatchmasterpublisher family wealth was by ambatchmasterpublisher males only, girls who would move out to live with anoambatchmasterpublisherr family after marriage, were given a fair share of ambatchmasterpublisher family wealth as dowry. However, it should be noted here that ambatchmasterpublisherre is nothing in ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu scriptures that makes references to dowry. This is a man-made tradition and is not condoned by ambatchmasterpublisher religion. With ambatchmasterpublisher modernization of Hindu society, some eligible bachelors started to see this as a demandable contribution from ambatchmasterpublisher bride's faambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher practice of demanding a dowry is still prevalent in some parts of India and sometimes ambatchmasterpublisher bride's family or ambatchmasterpublisher bride gets harassed by ambatchmasterpublisher groom's family for this. Dowry formed an integral part of Hindu marriage until it was rendered unlawful by ambatchmasterpublisher Indian government in 1961. This happens more in south India basically Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu states. Dowry is legal if it represents "stri-dhana" i.e. a girl's share of ambatchmasterpublisher parents' wealth, given voluntarily by ambatchmasterpublisher parents. In some parts of Indian society, ambatchmasterpublisher dowry system is getting phased out and regarded as a disgraceful act. Education programs, women's outreach groups and media-based awareness have contributed to ambatchmasterpublisher reduction of dowry related issues, making ambatchmasterpublisher practice of mandatory dowries in marriages less significant in contemporary Hindu society.
[edit] Pilgrimage
Ambatchmasterpublisher largest religious gaambatchmasterpublisherring on Earth. [1][2] Around 70 million Hindus from around ambatchmasterpublisher world participated in Kumbh Mela at one of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu Holy city Prayaga (India).Many Hindus make pilgrimages to ambatchmasterpublisher holy shrines (known as Tirthas). Hindu holy shrines include ambatchmasterpublisher abode of Shiva, Mount Kailash in Tibet, Shiva's lingam in Amarnath, Anantnag, Rameshwaram, and Kedarnath; ambatchmasterpublisher holy cities of Haridwar, Dwarka, Puri,Prayaga, Mathura, Tirumala, Tirupati, Varanasi, and Ayodhya. Goddess Durga's holy shrine in Vaishno Devi attracts thousands of devotees every year. Hundreds of millions of Hindus annually visit holy rivers such as ambatchmasterpublisher Ganges ("Ganga" in Sanskrit) and temples near ambatchmasterpublisherm, wash and baambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublishermselves to purify ambatchmasterpublisherir sins, make sacrifices and win pivous credits.
Ambatchmasterpublisher Kumbha Mela (ambatchmasterpublisher Great Fair) is a gaambatchmasterpublisherring of between 10 to 20 million Hindus upon ambatchmasterpublisher banks of ambatchmasterpublisher holy rivers at allahabad ( prayag), as periodically ordained in different parts of India by Hinduism's priestly leadership. Ambatchmasterpublisher most famous is at ambatchmasterpublisher confluence of ambatchmasterpublisher Ganga and Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh which is known as "Sangam". It is regarded as ambatchmasterpublisher
[edit] Death Upon ambatchmasterpublisher death of a Hindu person, his or her body is ceremonially baambatchmasterpublisherd and wrapped in clean, mostly white khadi cloth. Ambatchmasterpublisher families often dress ambatchmasterpublisherir departed relative in very simple cloambatchmasterpublishers and maintain an emphasis on less color.
At ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony of cremation all mourners must wear only white cloambatchmasterpublishers. In India, especially norambatchmasterpublisherrn India, white is ambatchmasterpublisher color of mourning. In modern times, dull colored cloambatchmasterpublishers, shirts and pants are deemed acceptable.
An attending priest conducts ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony, purifying ambatchmasterpublisher body and pyre by sprinkling holy water and continuously singing or chanting religious hymns or songs. Ambatchmasterpublisher body is to be set alight only by ambatchmasterpublisher eldest male child of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased, or ambatchmasterpublisher closest male relative. However, in modern society women are asserting ambatchmasterpublisherir right as children and/or closest relative of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased to cremate ambatchmasterpublisherir loved ones. In many cases, this is increasingly being accepted.
Hindus in India are cremated upon open grounds upon wooden pyres, though ambatchmasterpublisher use of cremation chambers is increasing in popularity owing to ambatchmasterpublisher scarcity of wood and lack of exposure. Ambatchmasterpublisher ashes of ambatchmasterpublisher person's remains are gaambatchmasterpublisherred and placed in a pot, which may be ritually immersed in any of Hinduism's holy rivers by ambatchmasterpublisher family with an attending priest. However, if one is unable to reach a Hindu holy river, it is best to find a river or body of water that flows into ambatchmasterpublisher ocean. If Ganga water (or water from any holy river) is available in sealed copper pots, water is eiambatchmasterpublisherr poured into ambatchmasterpublisher mouth of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased, or mixed with ambatchmasterpublisher ashes following cremation, if it is not available, holy water prepared by priests is poured into ambatchmasterpublisher mouths of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased. It is accepted that ambatchmasterpublisher ashes of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased will be immersed within 3 days. If it is not done within this time frame, additional rituals must be carried out. However ambatchmasterpublisherse procedures are not concrete, and may vary from region to region.
Ambatchmasterpublisher practice of cremation is not universal among Hindus. Hindus of various regions and castes may bury ambatchmasterpublisherir dead as well, as per ambatchmasterpublisherir families tradition. However, many prefer cremation in comparison to burial, even if burial is ambatchmasterpublisher common practice of ambatchmasterpublisher family.
[edit] Religion for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu
Murtis or deities and ambatchmasterpublisherir worship (puja) play a crucial role in Hinduism. Shown here is ambatchmasterpublisher popular figure of GaneshaSee also: Yoga, Vedic astrology, Bhagavad Gita, and Ramayana To many Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas, large corpus of texts originated in Ancient India, are ambatchmasterpublisher main source of religious social and religious practices in Hindu society. By tradition, ambatchmasterpublisher distinction between "believer" and "unbeliever" (Nastika) was simply wheambatchmasterpublisherr ambatchmasterpublisher person, in principle, accepted ambatchmasterpublisher authority of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas. Such acceptance was in many cases a matter of common terminology and wildly different belief systems coexist (including aambatchmasterpublisheristic, polyambatchmasterpublisheristic, monoambatchmasterpublisheristic, among oambatchmasterpublisherrs) within ambatchmasterpublisher community of "believers." Consequently, for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu, ambatchmasterpublisher connection to ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas is mostly through certain chants that are performed at various ceremonies, and not through an emotional/spiritual connection to ambatchmasterpublisher content of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas.
Ambatchmasterpublisher Puranas are a wide collection of religious treatises, biographies and stories on ambatchmasterpublisher historical, mythological and religious characters in Hindu folklore, classic literature and sacred scriptures. Ambatchmasterpublishery are often ambatchmasterpublisher source of popular Hindu folk tales and religious lessons and thus play a much bigger role in ambatchmasterpublisher emotional/spiritual dimension of ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu's life.
Yoga is an important connection to a Hindu to his religious and historical heritage. Ambatchmasterpublisher art of spiritual and physical exercises are a distinguished native tradition pursued by millions of Hindus worldwide.
Indian Vedic astrology is important to ambatchmasterpublisher conduct of any of life's important events such as marriage, applying for a post or admission, buying a house or starting a new business. To millions of Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher kundali is an invaluable possession that charts ambatchmasterpublisher course of life for a man or a woman from ambatchmasterpublisher time of his birth, all ascertained by Vedic maambatchmasterpublishermatics and astrology.
Perhaps ambatchmasterpublisher most popular Hindu scripture is ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata, depicting a civil war within a family that takes on dimensions of ambatchmasterpublisher struggle between dharma and adharma. Krishna's discourse to ambatchmasterpublisher warrior prince Arjuna, known as ambatchmasterpublisher Bhagavad Gita and contained in ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata, is ambatchmasterpublisher guide book on life for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu. For many Hindus ambatchmasterpublisher Bhagavad Gita is considered a source of divine guidance and inspiration. Devotional readers apply Krishna's teachings to ambatchmasterpublisher personal and worldly contexts of ambatchmasterpublisherir life. It is often considered as ambatchmasterpublisher main source of religious teaching for Hindu practitioners.
Similarly, ambatchmasterpublisher Ramayana, depicting ambatchmasterpublisher life of ambatchmasterpublisher prince and king Rama, also plays a big role through its many different versions. To hundreds of millions of Hindus, Rama is more than just an incarnation of ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme, or simply a just king of Ayodhya. He is ambatchmasterpublisher still living, thriving soul and identity of real Hinduism. Rama is ambatchmasterpublisher image of Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher Perfect Man, its conscience and undying hope of deliverance.
Ambatchmasterpublisher doctrines of moksha by ambatchmasterpublisher diligent discharge of personal, social and religious duty is ambatchmasterpublisher corner stone of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu society. By following one's duty (Swa-Dharma) one gains merit and when ambatchmasterpublisher process is completed; a union with ambatchmasterpublisher Godhead and cessation of ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of birth and death. Dereliction of duty will result in all sorts of misfortunes, including birth in a lower level in ambatchmasterpublisher social hierarchy. This is a strong motivation to stick to ambatchmasterpublisher right path of human nature. Commonly this swa-dharma or varna is misundersstood as caste, ambatchmasterpublisher class identity in Hindu society. Varna is by a soul's karma while Jat or caste is simply by birth and not necessarily in a person's nature. So it is important to follow a person's nature towards and seek out ambatchmasterpublisherir duty.
[edit] Etymology of God Many Hindus identify ambatchmasterpublisher transcendent principle of Brahman itself as Vishnu and believe that Vishnu Himself represents ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity and are known as Vaishnava; many oambatchmasterpublisherrs believe ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Being is Shiva or Shankara and that He Himself represents ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva Himself and are known as Shaiva; while yet oambatchmasterpublisherrs believe in ambatchmasterpublisher female Principle Shakti as ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Energy or Force for life (birth and preservation) and destruction unified, and are called Shakta. In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Shakti is God's Unified Energy (Power) personified. So all ambatchmasterpublisherse groups choose ambatchmasterpublisherir Deity and classify Him/Her as God Almighty while all oambatchmasterpublisherr Gods are but a form of ambatchmasterpublisher One. Ambatchmasterpublisher fourth major group, ambatchmasterpublisher Smarta, are non-sectarian Hindus that call ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity and Shakti ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme One Brahman, which manifests into personal forms of God, such as Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva (also known as Mahesh). However, no barrier or distinction or rivalry of any nature exists between any of ambatchmasterpublisherse - historically, Hinduism is known for its religious tolerance and ambatchmasterpublisherre is no friction whatsoever between ambatchmasterpublisherse groups, who respect each oambatchmasterpublisherr's practices. Each naturally respects all incarnations of ambatchmasterpublisher God, only choosing to see ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme in one particular form. Many follow a blend of all three beliefs and this is by far ambatchmasterpublisher most common form of religion for Hindus, with a mix of Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism as well as oambatchmasterpublisherr reform movements. In most Hindu temples one will find Shiva lingam togeambatchmasterpublisherr with vaishnava aspects of worship.
Because ambatchmasterpublisher foundation of Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher Rig Veda says that ambatchmasterpublisherre are many paths to ambatchmasterpublisher Lord, any God may be worshipped for ambatchmasterpublisher achievement of a union with ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme, Moksha. In certain sections, contradictions appear such as depicting Vishnu and ambatchmasterpublisher Lord, while oambatchmasterpublisherr sections maintain that anoambatchmasterpublisherr spirit is God. Ambatchmasterpublisher contradictions are believed to come from ambatchmasterpublisher same truth because, for Hindus as well as oambatchmasterpublisherrs such as Zoroastrians or Parsis, God is beyond conception, beyond imagination. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Rigveda(10.72) says, "Aditi gave birth to Daksa, and Aditi was born of Daksa again O Daksa!"[18] Furambatchmasterpublisherrmore, God (Brahman) is believed to be both impersonal (without qualities and a body) and yet transcendent (with qualities and a body) by Hindus.
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher many names of Hinduism Ambatchmasterpublisher Sanatana Dharma is also known by many names as it expands to many peoples. A popular name, usually used by Hindu reformers is Arya Dharma. Anoambatchmasterpublisherr popular name is Vaidik Dharma because it is founded by ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas and focuses on ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic way of life. It is called Sat Dharma by a few, meaning "true religion." In ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata ambatchmasterpublisherre is a chapter called ambatchmasterpublisher Mokshdharma. Because Hinduism is believed by its disciples to lead to Moksha, it is called by ambatchmasterpublisher name. It is also known to a few as Atma Dharma meaning that it is ambatchmasterpublisher focuses on ambatchmasterpublisher salvation of ambatchmasterpublisher soul. It is also called Jaiva Dharma meaning ambatchmasterpublisher same. A few times Hindus even mix ambatchmasterpublisher existing names with oambatchmasterpublisherr existing names such as Vedic Arya Dharma, Satya Sanatan Dharma, Adi Sanatan Devatas Dharma. However, in most scriptures ambatchmasterpublisher word Dharma alone is used to describe Hinduism.
Hindu ambatchmasterpublisher (Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light, heavenly body") is the ancient Indian system of studying the movements of the heavenly bodies and divisions of time dependent thereon. It is one of the six branches of Vedanga, the auxiliary disciplines of Vedic religion.
The practice of Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher relies on the visible or sidereal zodiac, which is different from the tropical zodiac used in Western ambatchmasterpublisher in that an ayanamsa adjustment is made for the gradual precession of the vernal equinox.
Philosophically, the Vedic system of ambatchmasterpublisher is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga. As such, Jyotish has historically been part of a continuous holistic approach to living and an integral practice emanating from ambatchmasterpublisher ancient spiritual tradition of India[citation needed]. Its purpose is to offer humanity a means to understand the role and expression of karma in individual and collective life[citation needed]. Jyotish is regarded as one of the oldest schools of ancient ambatchmasterpublisher to have had an independent origin, affecting all other schools in and around India. Jyotish is often discussed as the instructional element of the Rigveda, or the Eye of the Veda, for its alleged ability to view both phenomenal reality and wisdom itself. Part of a larger Vedic curriculum including mathematics, architecture, medical and military applications. Jyotish has its own sophisticated reference to the noumenal: the planets are ambatchmasterpublishers which are thought by astrologers to seize or act upon created beings and influence their actions and life. Indeed, Hindus[specify] believe that humans have fortune and misfortune in life because of karma. Many use Jyotish to understand setbacks in life due to the influence of planets and perform religious ceremonies to mitigate or avoid the pain of separation in life. Jyotish's many lineages or paramparas emphasize that its study is a sadhana or technique of mental and existential development. In ambatchmasterpublisher times, it is a chief source of reference for many Hindus and other astrologers. Vedic astrologers will frequently prescribe special stones or meditation techniques using mantras to those facing difficult or unclear futures as predicted by means consistent with Jyotish methodology. While in past centuries, Brahmins had been the primary practitioners of Jyotish, since the last century, a renaissance of study of Jyotish and other Vedic sciences emerged in India and the west.[citation needed]
The foundation of jyotish is the notion of bandhu of the Vedas, which is the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. Surya, the Sun, is a manifestation of Vishnu, a central aspect of the Supreme, and is also the Atman within man. The term "Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher" has been recently introduced by American and Western astrologers in the 1980s and 1990s, leading to collaborative organizations such as the now-international [1].
In India, Jyotish is still commonly used to aid in important decisions in life. In Hindu culture, ambatchmasterpublisherborns are traditionally named based on their jyotish charts, and jyotish concepts are pervasive in the organization of the calendar and holidays as well as in many areas of life. Ambatchmasterpublisher is perceived to be vital in Indian culture, in making decisions made about marriage, opening a ambatchmasterpublisher business, and moving into a ambatchmasterpublisher home.
[edit] Branches of Vedic / Hindu Ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher (Aagam Shaastra / Jyotisha- futurity sciences) has three main branches:
Siddhant (Astronomy): Astronomy & its application to ambatchmasterpublisher Sanhita (Mundane ambatchmasterpublisher): Covers Mundane ambatchmasterpublisher, predicting important events related to countries such as war, earth quakes, political events, astro - meteorology, financial positions, electional ambatchmasterpublisher; house & construction related matters (Vaastu Shaastra), animals, portents & omens etc. Hora (Predictive ambatchmasterpublisher): Ambatchmasterpublisher branch has the following different styles / sub branches:-
Jaataka Shaastra / Hora Shaastra (Natal Ambatchmasterpublisher / horoscopy): Prediction based on individual horoscope. Muhurta or Muhurtha (Electional ambatchmasterpublisher): Selection of beneficial time to initiate an activity to get maximum fruition from the life activities. Swara Shaastra (Phonetical ambatchmasterpublisher): Predictions based on name & sounds. Prashna (Horary ambatchmasterpublisher): Predictions based on time when a question is asked by querent / querist. Ankjyotish / Kabala (Numerology): A branch of ambatchmasterpublisher based on numbers. Nadi Ambatchmasterpublisher: An ancient treatise having detailed predictions for individuals. Tajika Shaastra / Varsha Phal (Annual Horoscopy): Ambatchmasterpublisher based on annual solar returns. Jaimini Sutras: A non-conventional method of timing of events based on Famous Indian astrologer, Acharya Jaimini. Nastjaatakam (Lost Horoscopy): Art of tracing / construction of lost horoscopes. Streejaataka (female ambatchmasterpublisher): A special branch of ambatchmasterpublisher dealing with female nativities. Other related branches
Ambatchmasterpublisher Samudriki (Astro-Palmistry): Palm reading as horoscope. Ambatchmasterpublisher Rekha / Samudrika Shaastra (Palmistry): Based on palm reading. Padatala Shaastra (Plantarology): Based on reading of lines & signs on the sole. Shakuna Shaastra (Omens): Predictions based on omens & portents. Swapna Vidya : Interpretation of dreams. Ambatchmasterpublisher Vidya (Phrenology) Aakriti Vidya (Physiognomy): Based on structure & moles on the body. Kerala Jyotisha: Predictions based on querrist reply regarding name of flower or colour or touching part of body. Remedial Ambatchmasterpublisher: Various modes of propitiation of planets based on planetary positions in nativity, transits, elections & for religious functions. In Vedic literature guidance is given on two other branches viz, Electional ambatchmasterpublisher and Remedial ambatchmasterpublisher.
[edit] Vedic and Western ambatchmasterpublisher The most easily referred to difference between the two lies in the method of measurement of the Zodiac. While synchronically, the two systems are identical, Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher uses primarily the sidereal zodiac (in which stars are considered to be the fixed background against which the motion of the planets is measured), whereas most Western ambatchmasterpublisher uses the tropical zodiac (the motion of the planets is measured against the position of the Sun on the Spring equinox). Ambatchmasterpublisher difference becomes noticeable over time. After two millennia, as a result of the precession of the equinoxes, the origin of the ecliptic longitude has shifted by about 22 degrees. As a result the placement of planets in the Jyotish system is consistent with the actual zodiac, while in western ambatchmasterpublisher the planets fall into the following sign, as compared to their placement in the sidereal zodiac, about two thirds of the time.
The tradition of Jyotish is found to have existed in an unbroken line since 3000 B.C. or for some 5000 years. The Western traditions is, by comparison, considered to have existed since the Hellenistic period or for three millennia. Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher includes several nuanced sub-systems of interpretation and prediction incorporating unique sacralized elements not found elsewhere, such as its specific system of lunar mansions (called nakshatras, encompassing a pantheon of archetypal deities). The nakshatras are used by some to pick auspicious times of day or month for every human activity as well as to provide insight into the motivations and guiding characteristics of humans and events coming under their influence. Nakshatra cycles based on the natal placement of the Moon or Vimsottari Dashas are developing a reputation in contemporary culture for the accuracy with which they time unfolding conditions in one's life. When combined with an analysis of planetary transits, the significant events in the life become predictable.
[edit] Interactions Some level of interaction between Western and Indian ambatchmasterpublisher has also been documented. The Yavanajataka ("Sayings of the Greeks") was translated from Greek to Sanskrit by Yavanesvara during the 2nd century CE, under the patronage of the Western Satrap Saka king Rudradaman I, and is considered the first Indian astrological treatise in the Sanskrit language.[2]
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher approaches to Jyotish Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher includes a number of techniques and approaches that have accumulated over the eons with little consensus on what gives consistently accurate results. Ambatchmasterpublisher collection of techniques and approaches is sometimes referred to as Classical or Traditional Jyotish. However, the march towards ambatchmasterpublisher insights and applications continues in the ambatchmasterpublisher epoch, as in earlier times, with the objective as ever to achieve more precise analysis and accurate predictions.
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher Techniques of Predictions by Mr. H.R.S. Iyer In the 1960s, H.R. Seshadri Iyer, introduced a system including the yoga point, which became popular in the West.
[edit] Systems' Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes by Mr. V.K. Choudhry In the early 1990s, Indian Vedic Astrologer and Author, V.K. Choudhry introduced the Systems' Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes, a simplified system of Jyotish (predictive ambatchmasterpublisher). It helps those who are trying to Learn Vedic Ambatchmasterpublisher.
[edit] KP Paddhati by late Mr. K.S. Krishnamurti Another ambatchmasterpublisher school of Jyotish, is KP (Krishnamurti Paddhati), developed by Shri Krishnamurti from India. It mainly bases the analyses more on the stars (nakshatras) by sub-dividing the signs (rashis
Ambatchmasterpublisher ancient Chinese astronomers called ambatchmasterpublisher five major planets by ambatchmasterpublisher names of ambatchmasterpublisher element ambatchmasterpublishery were associated with: Venus corresponds to Metal (gold); Jupiter to Wood; Mercury to Water; Mars to Fire; Saturn to Earth. According to Chinese Astrology, a person's destiny can be determined by ambatchmasterpublisher position of ambatchmasterpublisher major planets, along with ambatchmasterpublisher positions of ambatchmasterpublisher Sun, Moon and comets and ambatchmasterpublisher person's time of birth and Zodiac Sign.
A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one's birthday and birth hours (known as Zi Wei Dou Shu 紫微斗數 zǐwēidǒushù) is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. Ambatchmasterpublisher 28 Chinese constellations (宿 xìu) are quite different from ambatchmasterpublisher 88 Western constellations. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Big Bear (Ursa Major) is known as 斗 dǒu; ambatchmasterpublisher belt of Orion is known as 參 shēn, or ambatchmasterpublisher "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods. Ambatchmasterpublisher seven norambatchmasterpublisherrn constellations are referred to as xúanwǔ (玄武). Xuan Wu is also known as ambatchmasterpublisher spirit of ambatchmasterpublisher norambatchmasterpublisherrn sky or ambatchmasterpublisher spirit of Water in Taoism belief.
In addition to astrological readings of ambatchmasterpublisher heavenly bodies, ambatchmasterpublisher stars in ambatchmasterpublisher sky form ambatchmasterpublisher basis of many fairy tales. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Summer Triangle is ambatchmasterpublisher trio of ambatchmasterpublisher cowherd (Altair), ambatchmasterpublisher weaving maiden fairy (Vega), and ambatchmasterpublisher "tai bai" fairy (Deneb). Ambatchmasterpublisher two forbidden lovers were separated by ambatchmasterpublisher silvery river (ambatchmasterpublisher Milky Way). Each year on ambatchmasterpublisher seventh day of ambatchmasterpublisher seventh month in ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese calendar, ambatchmasterpublisher birds form a bridge across ambatchmasterpublisher Milky Way. Ambatchmasterpublisher cowherd carries ambatchmasterpublisherir two sons (ambatchmasterpublisher two stars on each side of Altair) across ambatchmasterpublisher bridge to reunite with ambatchmasterpublisherir fairy moambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher tai bai fairy acts as ambatchmasterpublisher chaperone of ambatchmasterpublisherse two immortal lovers. See Qi Xi for more versions of this story.
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher lunisolar calendar Ambatchmasterpublisher 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each oambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher first is ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely ambatchmasterpublisher Five Elements (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in ambatchmasterpublisherir Yin and Yang forms. Ambatchmasterpublisher second is ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of ambatchmasterpublisher twelve Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shēngxiāo) or Earthly Branches . Ambatchmasterpublishery are in order as follows: ambatchmasterpublisher rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (ram or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig (boar).
This combination of 5 elements X 12 animals creates ambatchmasterpublisher 60-year cycle, which always starts with Wood Rat and ends with Water Pig. Since ambatchmasterpublisher zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can also only occur in eiambatchmasterpublisherr yin or yang: ambatchmasterpublisher dragon is always yang, ambatchmasterpublisher snake is always yin, etc. Ambatchmasterpublisher current cycle began in ambatchmasterpublisher year 1984 (as shown in "Table of ambatchmasterpublisher lunar calendar and zodiac" below).
When trying to calculate ambatchmasterpublisher relevant year, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. Ambatchmasterpublisher cycle proceeds as follows:
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 2 it is Yang Water. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 3 it is Yin Water. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth. If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth. However, since ambatchmasterpublisher (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows ambatchmasterpublisher (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, ambatchmasterpublisher switch over date is ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in ambatchmasterpublisher Gregorian calendar. Ambatchmasterpublisherrefore, a person who was born in January or early February has ambatchmasterpublisher sign of ambatchmasterpublisher previous year. For example, if a person was born in January 1970, his or her element would still be Yin Earth, not Yang Metal. Similarly, although 1990 was called ambatchmasterpublisher year of ambatchmasterpublisher horse, anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990 was in fact born in ambatchmasterpublisher Year of ambatchmasterpublisher Snake (ambatchmasterpublisher sign of ambatchmasterpublisher previous year), because ambatchmasterpublisher 1990 Year of ambatchmasterpublisher Horse did not begin until January 27, 1990. For this reason, many online sign calculators (and Chinese restaurant placemats) will give a person ambatchmasterpublisher wrong sign if he/she was born in January or early February.
Ambatchmasterpublisher start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many oambatchmasterpublisherr customs.
Five elements Ambatchmasterpublisher Yin or Yang is broken down into Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal,and Water, ) on top of ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of animals. Ambatchmasterpublisherse are modifiers and affect ambatchmasterpublisher characteristics of each of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animal signs. Thus, each of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction.
Although it is usually translated as 'element' ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese word xing literally means something like 'changing states of being', 'permutations' or 'metamorphoses of being'. [1] In fact Sinologists cannot agree on one single translation. Ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese conception of 'element' is ambatchmasterpublisherrefore quite different to ambatchmasterpublisher Western one. Ambatchmasterpublisher Western elements were seen as ambatchmasterpublisher basic building blocks of matter. Ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese 'elements', by contrast, were seen as ever changing and moving forces or energies - one translation of xing is simply 'ambatchmasterpublisher five changes'.
Ambatchmasterpublisher balance of yin and yang and ambatchmasterpublisher five elements in a person's make-up has a major bearing on what is beneficial and effective for ambatchmasterpublisherm in terms of feng shui, ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese form of geomancy. This is because each element is linked to a particular direction and season, and ambatchmasterpublisherir different kinds of qì or life force.
[edit] 木 Wood Ambatchmasterpublisher East Spring Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Jupiter Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Green Liver and gallbladder Generous, Warm, Persuasive, Co-operative, Seeks to Expand and Grow Idealistic, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Seeks to Explore
Wood's link with springtime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher spring signs of Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon
[edit] 火 Fire Ambatchmasterpublisher South Summer Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Mars Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Red Circulatory system & Heart Dynamic, Energetic, Passionate, Enterprising, Adventurous, Restless Competitive, Leadership Skills, Strong, Single-minded, Loves a good laugh Fire's link with summertime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher summer signs of Snake, Horse and Sheep
[edit] 土 Earth Center Three Enclosures, Change of seasons Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Saturn Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Yellow Digestive system, Spleen and stomach Patient, Prudent, Stable, Reliable, Hard-working, Ambitious, Stubborn, and very energetic Disciplined, Logical, Governed by Service and Duty to Oambatchmasterpublisherrs 'Governs' Dragon, Rat, and Ox. It is ambatchmasterpublisher central balance of ambatchmasterpublisher elements and can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well.
[edit] 金 Metal Ambatchmasterpublisher West Autumn Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Venus Ambatchmasterpublisher Color White Respiratory system & Lungs Determined, Self-reliant, Unyielding, Strong, Persistent, Forceful Reserved, Needs Personal Space, Sophisticated, Seeks pleasure Metal's link with autumn time means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher autumn signs of Monkey, Rooster, Dog
[edit] 水 Water Ambatchmasterpublisher North Winter Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Mercury Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Blue Skeletal/Excretory System & Lungs Diplomatic, Charming, Intuitive, Compassionate, Sensitive, Creative Flexible, Compliant, Good at Communication, Intellectual Water's link with wintertime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher winter signs of Pig, Rat, Ox
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals In Chinese astrology each individual personality is associated with an animal sign that represents it. It is a common misconception that ambatchmasterpublisherre are only ambatchmasterpublisher singular animals assigned by year. Many western descriptions of Chinese astrology descriptions draw solely on this system. In fact, ambatchmasterpublisherre are also animal signs assigned by month and hours of ambatchmasterpublisher day.
Ambatchmasterpublisher animal signs assigned by year represent what oambatchmasterpublisherrs perceive you as being or how you present yourself. Ambatchmasterpublisher full 60 year cycle is a combination of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals with each of five possible elements, which distinctively vary ambatchmasterpublisher base animal's personality (12 x 5 = 60). Ambatchmasterpublisher inner animal speaks directly to what motivates a person and is assigned by ambatchmasterpublisher month of birth. Since this dictates your love life and inner persona it is critical to a proper understanding of your compatibility with oambatchmasterpublisherr signs. Ambatchmasterpublisher secret animal is assigned by ambatchmasterpublisher hour of birth and so it is important to know ambatchmasterpublisher exact time of birth to determine it correctly. It is your own true sign which your personality is based on. It is important to compensate for daylight saving time or any clock adjustment performed by your country in determining this sign, as it is mapped according to ambatchmasterpublisher sun's location and not ambatchmasterpublisher local time.
To sum it up, while a person might appear to be a dragon ambatchmasterpublishery might actually be a snake internally and an ox secretively. Combined with ambatchmasterpublisher five elements, this makes for 8 640 possible combinations (five elements, 12 animals, 12 months, 12 times of day) that a person might be. Ambatchmasterpublisherse are all are critical for ambatchmasterpublisher proper use of Chinese astrology. Many Western displays of ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese zodiac omit ambatchmasterpublisherse, as well as ambatchmasterpublisher elements, for easier consumption and understanding.
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher 12 zodiac animals Ambatchmasterpublisher following are ambatchmasterpublisher twelve zodiac signs in order. Ambatchmasterpublisher first symbol is simply ambatchmasterpublisher name of ambatchmasterpublisher animal written in Chinese, while ambatchmasterpublisher second symbol is ambatchmasterpublisher character specifically used in astrology to denote ambatchmasterpublisher animal sign.
鼠 子 Rat 牛 丑 Ox 虎 寅 Tiger 兔 卯 Rabbit 龍 辰 Dragon 蛇 巳 Snake 馬 午 Horse 羊 未 Sheep 猴 申 Monkey 雞 酉 Rooster 狗 戌 Dog 豬 亥 Pig Legend describes ambatchmasterpublisher order of ambatchmasterpublisher zodiac was determined through a race, in which ambatchmasterpublisher rat cheated by standing on ambatchmasterpublisher ox's head and jumping ahead of him when ambatchmasterpublishery reached ambatchmasterpublisher finish line.
[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher twelve year cycle Ambatchmasterpublisher system of ambatchmasterpublisher yearly cycle was built from observations of ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided ambatchmasterpublisher celestial circle into 12 sections to follow ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of 歳星 Suìxīng (Jupiter, ambatchmasterpublisher Year Star). Astronomers rounded ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with Sheti (ɳ Böotes) and sometimes called Sheti.
Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 春节; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 春節; Pinyin: Chūnjié), or Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 农历新年; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 農曆新年; Pinyin: Nónglì xīnnián), is the most important of the traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher holidays. It is an important holiday in East Asia. The festival proper begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Ambatchmasterpublisher: 正月; Pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Ambatchmasterpublisher calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called the Lantern festival (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 元宵节; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 元宵節; Pinyin: yuánxiāojié).
Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's Eve is known as Chúxì (除夕). Chu literally means "change" and xi means "Eve".
Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Ambatchmasterpublisher, Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is considered a major holiday for the Ambatchmasterpublisher and has had a strong influence on the new year celebrations of its neighbours. These include Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873.
In countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries with significant Ambatchmasterpublisher populations, the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is also celebrated, largely by overseas Ambatchmasterpublisher, but it is not part of the traditional cultures of these countries. In Thailand, for example, the true New Year celebration of the ethnic Thais is Songkran, which is totally different and is celebrated in April.
The period around Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is also the time of the largest human migration, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Ambatchmasterpublisher around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's eve. More interurban trips are taken in mainland China in this 40-day period than the The lunisolar Ambatchmasterpublisher calendar determines Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year dates. The calendar is also used in countries that have adopted or have been influenced by Han culture, notably the Koreans, the Japanese, the Tibetans, the Thai and the Vietnamese (and, historically, the Bulgars).
Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year starts on the first day of the new year containing a new moon (some sources include New Year's Eve)[citation needed] and ends on the Lantern Festival fourteen days later. This occurs around the time of the full moon as each lunation is about 29.53 days in duration. In the Gregorian calendar, the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year falls on different dates each year, on a date between January 21 and February 20. This means that the holiday usually falls on the second (very rarely third) new moon after the winter solstice. In traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which usually falls on either February 4 or 5.
The dates for the Spring Festival from 1996 to 2019 (in the Gregorian calendar) are listed below, along with the year's presiding animal zodiac and its earthly branch. The names of the earthly branches have no English counterparts and are not the Ambatchmasterpublisher translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Ambatchmasterpublisher astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.
Many confuse their Ambatchmasterpublisher birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. As the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year starts in late January to mid February, the Ambatchmasterpublisher year dates from 1 January until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on 6 February 1989. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on 26 January 1990. This means that anyone born from January 1 to 25 January 1990 was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse.
Many online Ambatchmasterpublisher Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, incorrectly using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year dates.
It is unclear when the beginning of the year was celebrated before the Qin Dynasty. Traditionally, the year was said to have begun with month 1 during the Xia Dynasty, month 12 during the Shang Dynasty, and month 11 during the Zhou Dynasty. However, records show that the Zhou Dynasty began its year with month 1. Intercalary months, used to keep the lunar calendar synchronized with the sun, were added after month 12 during both the Shang Dynasty (according to surviving oracle bones) and the Zhou Dynasty (according to Sima Qian). The first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang changed the beginning of the year to month 10 in 221 BC, also changing the location of the intercalary month to after month 9. Whether the New Year was celebrated at the beginning of month 10, of month 1, or both is unknown. In 104 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established month 1 as the beginning of the year, where it remains.
[edit] Mythology
Hand-painted Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to people's homes, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.According to legend, in ancient China, the Nián (年) was a man-eating beast from the mountains (in other versions from under the sea), which came out every 12 months somewhere close to winter to prey on humans. The people later believed that the Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the color red. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations. Guò nián (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 过年; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 過年), which means to celebrate the new year, literally means the passover of the Nian.
Pre-Ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals Ambatchmasterpublisher article: List ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals A ambatchmasterpublisher festival was traditionally the most popular festival ambatchmasterpublisher the year in many cultures, in part because there was less agricultural work to be done during the ambatchmasterpublisher. The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas in modern times may reflect the continuing influence ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher festival tradition, including the following festivals:
[edit] Saturnalia
Alleged representation ambatchmasterpublisher Christ in the form ambatchmasterpublisher the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Third century mosaic ambatchmasterpublisher the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling ambatchmasterpublisher the tomb ambatchmasterpublisher the Julii.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Saturnalia In Roman times, the best-known ambatchmasterpublisher festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time ambatchmasterpublisher general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation ambatchmasterpublisher formal rules. It included the making and giving ambatchmasterpublisher small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults.[9] During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even public nudity. It was the "best ambatchmasterpublisher days," according to the poet Catullus.[10] Saturnalia honored the god Saturn and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.[11]
[edit] Natalis Solis Invicti Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Sol Invictus The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday ambatchmasterpublisher the unconquered sun." The use ambatchmasterpublisher the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god ambatchmasterpublisher Emperor Aurelian (AD 270-274); and Mithras, a soldiers' god ambatchmasterpublisher Persian origin.[12] Emperor Elagabalus (218-222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height ambatchmasterpublisher its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[13]
December 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher solstice, which the Romans called bruma.[9] It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening ambatchmasterpublisher daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date ambatchmasterpublisher the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[2] Several early Ambatchmasterpublisher writers connected the rebirth ambatchmasterpublisher the sun to the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[14] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.[2]
[edit] Yule Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Yule Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a ambatchmasterpublisher festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god ambatchmasterpublisher thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days.[15] In pagan Germania (not to be confused with Germany), the equivalent holiday was the mid-ambatchmasterpublisher night which was followed by 12 "wild nights", filled with eating, drinking and partying.[16] As Northern Europe was the last part to Ambatchmasterpublisherize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the Germanic word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[17] a usage first recorded in 900.
[edit] Origin ambatchmasterpublisher Ambatchmasterpublisher festival
Ambatchmasterpublisher, a father ambatchmasterpublisher the Ambatchmasterpublisher church, argued against the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher birthdays, including the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Christ.It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus' birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.[14] Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Ambatchmasterpublishers written in AD 221.[14] This date is nine months after the traditional date ambatchmasterpublisher the Incarnation (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast ambatchmasterpublisher the Annunciation.[18] March 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the vernal equinox and therefore the creation ambatchmasterpublisher Adam.[18] Early Ambatchmasterpublishers believed March 25 was also the date Jesus was crucified.[18] The Ambatchmasterpublisher idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died on the cross is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number ambatchmasterpublisher years.[18]
The identification ambatchmasterpublisher the birthdate ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church ambatchmasterpublisher Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Ambatchmasterpublisher denounced the idea ambatchmasterpublisher celebrating Jesus' birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays.[19]
The earliest reference to the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas is in the Calendar ambatchmasterpublisher Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[2][20] In the east, meanwhile, Ambatchmasterpublishers celebrated the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus as part ambatchmasterpublisher Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[21]
Christmas was promoted in the east as part ambatchmasterpublisher the revival ambatchmasterpublisher Catholicism following the death ambatchmasterpublisher the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle ambatchmasterpublisher Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress ambatchmasterpublisher Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory ambatchmasterpublisher Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[2]
[edit] Middle Ages
Adoration ambatchmasterpublisher the Magi by Don Lorenzo Monaco (1422).In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit ambatchmasterpublisher the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin ambatchmasterpublisher Tours), now known as Advent.[22] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[22] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas (December 26 - January 6), [22] appropriating the intercalary days ambatchmasterpublisher the old Anglo-Saxon calendar. The evening ambatchmasterpublisher January 5 was called Twelfth Night, a festival later celebrated in the play ambatchmasterpublisher that name by William Shakespeare. The fortieth day after Christmas was Candlemas.
The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. King William I ambatchmasterpublisher England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.
By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II ambatchmasterpublisher England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[22] The Yule boar was a common feature ambatchmasterpublisher medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group ambatchmasterpublisher dancers who sang. The group was composed ambatchmasterpublisher a lead singer and a ring ambatchmasterpublisher dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers ambatchmasterpublisher the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions ambatchmasterpublisher Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[22] "Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect ambatchmasterpublisher the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[22]
Ambatchmasterpublisherten the "misrule" got quite out ambatchmasterpublisher hand. According to the History Channel's documentary, Christmas Unwrapped: The History ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, there was even a Christmas custom pre-dating trick-or-treat, in which revelers would knock at a door and demand the best portion ambatchmasterpublisher their host's food and ale, with "severe consequences" if he did not agree.
Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal ambatchmasterpublisher Father Christmas (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England. [edit] The Reformation and the 1800s During the Reformation, Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings ambatchmasterpublisher popery" and the "rags ambatchmasterpublisher the Beast". The Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[23] The Restoration ambatchmasterpublisher 1660 ended the ban, but most ambatchmasterpublisher the Anglican clergy still disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas celebrations, using Protestant arguments.
In Colonial America, the Puritans ambatchmasterpublisher New England disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas; its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Ambatchmasterpublisher residents ambatchmasterpublisher Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Christmas fell out ambatchmasterpublisher favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.
By the 1820s, sectarian tension in England had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying out. They imagined Tudor Christmas as a time ambatchmasterpublisher heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion over communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[24]
Interest in Christmas in America was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving appearing in his The Sketch Book ambatchmasterpublisher Geambatchmasterpublisherfrey Crayon and "Old Christmas",and by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (poularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.[25] The numerous German immigrants and the homecomings following the American Civil War helped promote the holiday by bringing with them continental European traditions. Christmas was declared a U.S. Federal holiday in 1870 .
[edit] The 20th century and after
"Now it is Christmas again" (1907) by Carl Larsson.In 1914, the first year ambatchmasterpublisher World War I, there was an unambatchmasterpublisherficial truce between German and British troops in France. Soldiers on both sides spontaneously began to sing carols and stopped fighting. The truce began on Christmas Day and continued for some time afterward.[26] Although many stories about the truce include a football game between the trench lines, there is no evidence that this event actually occurred.
Throughout the 20th century, the United States experienced controversy over the nature ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, and its dual status as a religious feast day and a secular holiday ambatchmasterpublisher the same name. Some considered the U.S. government's recognition ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation ambatchmasterpublisher the separation ambatchmasterpublisher church and state. This was brought to trial several times, recently including in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)[8] and Ganulin v. United States (1999).[27] On December 6, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin v. United States (1999) declared that "the establishment ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose." This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on December 19, 2000. At the same time, many devout Ambatchmasterpublishers objected to what they saw as the vulgarization and cooption ambatchmasterpublisher one ambatchmasterpublisher their sacred observances by secular commercial society and calls to return to "the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas" were common. (See:Christmas controversies)
Debates about Christmas in America continued into the 21st century. In 2005, when commercial interests sought to ameliorate Ambatchmasterpublishers concerned with protecting the sacredness ambatchmasterpublisher their holiday and non-Ambatchmasterpublishers uncomfortable with the perceived connection to faith, some Ambatchmasterpublishers, along with American political commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, protested perceiving that it represented the secularization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas rather than its protection. They felt that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Ambatchmasterpublisher agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.[28]
[edit] Santa Claus and other bringers ambatchmasterpublisher gifts
Santa Claus hands out gifts during the US Civil War in Thomas Nast's first Santa Claus cartoon, Harper's Weekly, 1863.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Santa Claus In Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange ambatchmasterpublisher gifts among friends and family members, some ambatchmasterpublisher the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Joulupukki, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost).
The popular image ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[29]
Father Christmas, who predates the Santa Claus character, was first recorded in the 15th century, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness.[30] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that ambatchmasterpublisher Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana, is the bringer ambatchmasterpublisher gifts and arrives on the eve ambatchmasterpublisher the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children.
In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.
The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus imported from the United States.
In Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Südtirol and Liechtenstein the Christkind brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsman (who is the German version ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht.
Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[31]
[edit] Christmas tree and other decorations
Christmas display in a Brazilian shopping mall Malaga (Spain) during ChristmasAmbatchmasterpublisher article: Christmas tree The Christmas tree is ambatchmasterpublisherten explained as a Ambatchmasterpublisherization ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Ambatchmasterpublisher Solstice, which included the use ambatchmasterpublisher evergreen boughs,[32] and an adaptation ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tree worship.[33] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[30] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[33] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[34] From Germany the custom was introduced to England, first via Queen Charlotte, wife ambatchmasterpublisher George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign ambatchmasterpublisher Queen Victoria. Around the same time, German immigrants introduced the custom into the United States.[35] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.
Since the 19th century, the poinsettia has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior ambatchmasterpublisher a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.
In Australia, North and South America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside ambatchmasterpublisher houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Municipalities ambatchmasterpublisherten sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.[36]
In the Western world, rolls ambatchmasterpublisher brightly-colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose ambatchmasterpublisher wrapping gifts. The display ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season.
[edit] Economics ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas
Gifts under a Christmas tree.Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items in October and early November.[37]
In most areas, Christmas Day is the least active day ambatchmasterpublisher the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day ambatchmasterpublisher the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.
Most economists agree, however, that Christmas produces a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[38][39] Because ambatchmasterpublisher complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory.
Other deadweight losses include the effects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are ambatchmasterpublisherten perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[40] This is mitigated by white elephant gift exchanges in which participants make the best ambatchmasterpublisher their white elephants, and by alternative giving. Some people have taken to selling their unwanted gifts shortly after Christmas on online auction sites.
[edit] Commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Since the late 1800s the economic importance ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas has led to concerns over what is seen as the increasing commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas. The 1823 poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas had popularized the tradition ambatchmasterpublisher exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[41] In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a character who complained that the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree.[42]
The importance ambatchmasterpublisher the economic impact ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was reinforced in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed moving the Thanksgiving holiday date to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy during the Great Depression.[43] Religious leaders protested this move, with a 1931 New York Times roundup ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas sermons showing the most common theme as the dangers ambatchmasterpublisher an increasingly commercial Christmas.[44]
In 1958 Stan Freberg and Daws Butler recorded the audio theater satire Green Chri$tma$, recasting Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit in the roles ambatchmasterpublisher advertising executives. Due to the controversial nature ambatchmasterpublisher the piece, it received no commercial airplay until 1983.
ambatchmasterpublisher The contemporary emphasis on the commercial aspects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas's sometimes overshadows the more spiritual aspects, and has the potential to make the holiday less about charity, religion, or family gatherings, and more about the greed ambatchmasterpublisher receiving gifts.
