Today@Dal

Each year the Dalhousie Office of Human Rights, Equity & Harassment Prevention (HREHP) develops a mosaic calendar of religious holidays and cultural dates for faculty, staff and students.

See below for a sample of November dates to observe, reflect, celebrate or promote throughout the university community. The Academic Year Calendar is available at http://hrehp.dal.ca/Calendar/.

All Jewish and Islamic Holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the first date shown.

November 1
All Saints’ Day (CH) - (G)
 
All Saints’ Day is a Christian holy day observed by many Western churches on November 1 and by Eastern churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The day now honours all saints of the church, even those not known by name.

November 1-2
Halifax Drum Festival
 
"We all have a heartbeat, so we all have a rhythm." September 9 & 10; Alderney Landing Theater Come celebrate with us as The Halifax Drum Festival unleashes a whirlwind of energy, excitement and excellence that can’t be beat! By bringing together an array of rich music and dance featuring some of the best percussive based performers from Nova Scotia it promises to be vibrant, colorful and most importantly a truly entertaining experience! Featuring the diverse talents of Fola, Samba Nova, Mark Adam, Mark Currie, Ken Shorley, The Junkbeats, Compania Azul, DJ Yazz and Jay Andrews, Keith Mullins, Squid, Guarapo, Umoja; there’s sure to be something for everyone!

http://halifaxdrumfestival.com/

November 2
Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. In Mexico, it attains the quality of a National Holiday, and all banks are closed. In most regions of Mexico, November 1 honors children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels") and November 2 as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").

November 1-3
Christmas at the Forum
 
36th annual festival of crafts, antiques, art & foods at the Halifax Forum. Atlantic Canada’s largest market of its type with over 400 craftspeople, artists, antique dealers and food exhibitors from across Canada.
A Halifax tradition!

November 3
Bandhi Chhor Divas (SI)

Bandi Chorh Diwas and Diwali are separate festivals and the events actually fall on different days; however, commonly in the popular calendars, they are celebrated on the same day. For this reason, many people often think of these events as if they are the same. The sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib was imprisoned by Emperor Jahangir because he seemed to be afraid of the Guru’s growing following and power. The sixth Guru Nanak had agreed to his own release on the condition that the other fifty-two detainees would also be released. He was therefore known as the ‘Bandi Chorrh’. He arrived at Amritsar on the day of Diwali and the Golden Temple was also lit with hundreds of lamps. Thereafter day came to be known as the ’Bandi Chhor Divas’ (the day of freedom).

Lokashah Jayanti (JA)

The full moon of the calendar’s first month is a time to celebrate the births of revered and scholarly persons. The most famous of these is the 15th century reformer Lonka Saha whose opposition to temple worship and the use of images led to the founding of the Sthanakavasi sect, which emphasizes scholarship.

Deepavali/diwali (HI JA SI)

Diwali, or Deepavali, is an official public holiday in many parts of India and is part of a five-day Hindu observance known as the ‘Festival of Lights’. Diwali is celebrated between mid-October and mid-November in the western calendar, depending upon the lunar cycle for that year. The Festival of Lights, Diwali, is a colourful and happy celebration. Families prepare their homes and themselves for the special festivities that symbolize the victory of spiritual goodness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. Firecrackers are set off to drive away evil, oil lamps are lit, flower garlands are made, candles float in bowls of water outside homes and sweets are shared as part of the festivities.
The burning of these diyas is considered to be the lighted pathway of a person’s expression of happiness and also a manner of paying obeisance to God, the Supreme power for attainment of health, prosperity, knowledge, financial security and peace in one’s life.

November 4
Qudrat (BA)

Qudrat (Power) is the thirteenth month of the Baha'i calendar, starting at sunset November 3rd and ending at sunset November 22nd. During the month of Power, the Anniversary of the Birth of Bahá'ulláh is observed.
 
November 5
Al-Hijira New Year (IS)

Islamic New Year. Marks the migration of the Prophet Mohammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina

November 6
Mahavira Nirvana (JA)

On this day, (6th century BCE), the 24th Tirthankara, attained nirvana and release from the cycle of rebirth (moksha).

November 7

Barber's Violin Concerto with Susanne Hou
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, 7:30 pm
Featuring:
Bernhard Gueller, conductor
Yi-Jia Susanne Hou, violin

Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 1

Canadian star violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou is famed for her “strong yet delicate” sound and “near flawless” technique (The Strad). She returns to Symphony Nova Scotia with her multi-million-dollar Guarneri del Gesù violin to perform Barber’s beautiful Violin Concerto. Also, in honour of Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday, the orchestra takes on his intimate Siegfried Idyll, originally written for his wife and infant son.
http://www.facebook.com/SymphonyNovaScotia

Dalhousie's Department of Music will be offering a Strings Master class with Susanne Hou on November 8th at 2:30PM. The Master class takes place the day after Susanne's performance of Barber's Violin Concerto with Symphony Nova Scotia. If you're a full-time student or under 30, you can take advantage of our TD Under-30 Access Pass and see the November 7th concert for only $15!
Learn more about the concert here: http://symphonynovascotia.ca/default.asp?mn=1.242.770.773&sfield=content.id&search=1788

Halifax 10th Annual Holocaust Education Week

Dalhousie University Chorus - The Night of the Broken Glass-75th Anniversary of Kristallnacht- Selections from Jewish North American Composers including Max Janowski, Ben Steinberg and Ernest Bloch. Co-sponsored by The Atlantic Jewish Council, Dalhousie University Dept. of Music, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.
Kenneth C. Rowe Heritage Hall, Pier 21, Halifax 7:00Pm
music@dal.ca  dal.ca/music

November 8
Jnana Panchmi (JA)
 
Some Jains celebrate transcendent wisdom by fasting for 36 hours. Others perform rituals and pray for right knowledge.

November 10
Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (SI)
 
Founder of the Sikh faith and first of the Ten Gurus, was born in 1469 CE. He was an accomplished poet; 974 of his hymns are contained in the Sikh Scriptures, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

November 11
Remembrance Day (Canada)

Remembrance Day also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates), or Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918.

Remembrance Day at the Museum

21-gun salute from the Citadel saluting battery.  Visit the Army Museum inside the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site following the Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Veteran’s Day (U.S.)

This is the equivalent holiday in the U.S. for honouring military veterans.  Both and federal and state holiday in all states, it is always celebrated on November 11th each year.  However, if it occurs on a weekend, then the following Monday is designated as a holiday.  Veteran’s Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service and to acknowledge their contributions to national security.

November 12
Birth of Baha’u’llah (BA)
 
The Bahá’í Faith was founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mirza Hosyn Ali Nuri, known as Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic for’Glory of God’) (1817-1892), who is regarded by Bahá’ís as the most recent in the line of divine messengers of God that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Mohammed. Non-work day

November 14
Ashura (IS)
 
The Day of Ashura, (10th day of Muharram), an Islamic holiday, which is well-known because of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali.

November 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), which occurs annually on November 20, is a day to memorialize those who have been killed as a result of transphobia, or the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people, and acts to bring attention to the continued violence endured by the transgender community. The Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1998 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender graphic designer, columnist, and activist, to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts.]

November 22-24
Dalhousie Christmas Craft Market
 
Halifax's favourite craft market for over 25 years. Featuring over 100 vendors from the Atlantic region and across Canada exhibiting their handcrafted pottery, jewelry, art, woodwork, toys, handmade treasures, delicious treats and more!

Dalplex, Dalhousie University
6260 South Street
Halifax, NS

November 23
Qawl (BA)
 
First day of the 14th month of the Baha’i Calendar

Martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji (SI)

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of the ten Gurus who founded Sikhism. He’s honoured and remembered as the man who championed the rights for all religious freedom.

November 23-24
A Victorian Christmas
Halifax Citadel Historic Site

Come experience the traditions of Christmas as enjoyed by Queen Victoria’s soldiers and their families. See how the troops celebrated the season in the barracks, enjoy a soldier’s version of Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” meet Father Christmas, find out what a 19th century Christmas tree looked like, and let the Schoolmaster entertain you with a seasonal Magic Lantern show.

There will be refreshments, a parade with Father Christmas, and plenty of guest performers including choirs, musicians, and dancers, with performances in both the chilly winter air and in the warmth of a casemate. Children will enjoy Victorian parlour games and a visit to the craft room, where they can create a souvenir of their glimpse of a bygone era. 12-4pm both days.

November 25
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against women (UN)
 
Women’s activists have marked November 25 as a day against violence since 1981. On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The UN invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on this day as an International observance

November 25 - December 10
16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence
 
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day against Violence against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

November 26
Day of the covenant (BA)
 
Celebrates the anniversary of the appointment of ‘Abdul-Baha, the son of Baha’u’llah, as the Center of the Covenant.

The First of Muharram (IS)

Celebrates the Hijra (migration) of Muharram and his followers in 622 CE, from Mecca to Medina, where they established the first Islamic community.

November 28
Thanksgiving Day (US)
 
In the United States, Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is an annual one-day legal holiday to express gratitude for the things one has at the end of the harvest season. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Ascension of Abdul’Baha (BA)

On 28th November, at 1 am, Baha’is around the world commemorate the moment that ‘Abdu’l-Baha passed away in 1921. It was a fairly unexpected event, though ‘Abdu’l-Baha had made some comments in the preceding month to the effect that He had completed His work and was ready to leave this life

November 28 – Dec 6
Hanukkah (JU)

Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights is celebrated for eight days commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. The Maccabees, a small group of Jews fighting for religious freedom won victory over the Syrians. The legend goes that to rededicate the Temple, they found only one jar of holy oil and miraculously the candelabra remained lit for 8 days. The eighth candle menorah is lit. Special readings and songs of praise focus on liberty and freedom.