Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.
For the entire month, Muslims must fast
(not allowed to eat!) until sunset when they visit with friends and family. It's a time of
worship, contemplation and plenty of prayer (5 times a day, I think). It's a time to strengthen family
and community ties. This year, Ramadan began on December 8. Last year, Foxy Brown's single "Hot Spot" had that line above and it actually came out during Ramadan, contributing to the song's success I suppose.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ according to Christianity, annually on December 25. It's also a time for Families, Fun, and Festivities. Traditions include family gatherings and holiday meals. Ornaments and gifts are often distributed. Christmas is highly commercialized these days. You can't escape it. By the way, my Foxy Brown Mixtape would make a great Christmas gift (hint hint).
Happy Kwanzaa!
Kwanzaa is a time of year for black people to come together as a community to celebrate the fruits of our labor. We do this by reflecting, reassessing, recommitting, rewarding and rejoicing in an atmosphere
of peace, love and unity. Kwanzaa is a cultural and political expression to reaffirm our African heritage and
continue to organize our people for the struggle. Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days: December 26th to January 1st. Each day of Kwanzaa stands for a different
principle of the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Blackness. Each day of Kwanzaa, the family should gather to
discuss the principle for the day, lighting a candle on the kinara (the candle holder).
Happy Chanukah!
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of
the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the
Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of
the oil that burned for 8 days, from December 3 through December 10. Sorry I'm late for the holiday greeting on this one, I'm obviously not Jewish and I forgot.
Happy New Year!
New Year's Eve is on the night of December 31, annually. In New York, Times Square, a giant ball with millions of bright lights tied to it illuminates the night sky as we all wait for the clock to srike twelve. A lot of people are talking about how 2000 is a "new millennium" and that ticks me off. It's not a new millennium because there was no year zero. 2001 is the new millennium. Just ask Dr. Dre! A ton of inflential music artists like Foxy Brown, Buju Banton, and Busta Rhymes will perform at the Coliseum in NYC to help us ring in 2000.
The Chinese New Year!
The Chinese Year 4698, the Year of the Dragon, will begin on February 5, 2000.
The lunar New Year is the longest and most important festival in Taiwan. Customs include paying off debts, purchasing
new clothes, thoroughly cleaning the house, enjoying family feasts, offering sacrifices to the gods, and giving friends
and relatives red envelopes containing"lucky money." Fireworks explode throughout the night on New year's Eve and
on the following days.
There, I think I respected everyone's culture with that. Happy Holidays! Let me know if I neglected anyone.