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 May dates to observe, reflect, celebrate or promote throughout the university community. The complete calendar is available on the website, http://hrehp.dal.ca/Calendar/.
 
Asian Heritage Month
May is Asian Heritage Month. This acknowledges the long and rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada. It also provides an opportunity for Canadians across the country to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage to the growth and prosperity of Canada. Canada’s cultural diversity strengthens the country socially, politically and economically in innumerable ways. Asian Heritage Month is an ideal occasion for all to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of various Asian cultures
 
May 1
Beltane (WICCA)
Beltane was a Celtic calendar feast ushering in the start of summer. (It also went by a variety of other spellings and names in assorted dialects of Gaelic.) Bonfires, often created by rubbing sticks together, were common features of Beltane celebrations. Related rituals included driving cattle between two fires, dancing around the fires, and burning witches in effigy. Another tradition was Beltane cakes, which would be broken into several pieces, one of which was blackened. They would be drawn by celebrants at random; the person getting the unlucky blackened piece would face a mock execution.
 
Festival of Ridvan (April 21-May 2):
The annual Baha’i festival commemorates the 12 days (April 21-May 2, 1863) when Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, resided in a garden called Ridvan (Paradise) in Baghdad, Iraq. At this time He publicly proclaimed His mission as God’s messenger for this age. The first (April 21), ninth (April 29) and twelfth (May 2) days are celebrated as holy days when work is suspended.
 
May 3-4
Eco-Endurance Challenge
The E2C is a hybrid of classical orienteering, ultra-distance running and the navigational training practices of Search and Rescue Emergency Responders. Good physical conditioning is necessary to push one through the tough terrain, but accurate navigation skills are key to finding controls and minimizing the distance traveled. The 24 hour challenge is mentally exhausting as team members must always be aware of their surroundings. Teams of two or more have a fixed time (8 or 24 hours) to visit as many of the 60 checkpoints as possible. The winner of the event is the team that obtains the highest point total within the specified time, or is the fastest to return to the start after visiting all the markers on the course.
All profits from the Eco-Endurance Challenge are used to support the life-saving activities of Halifax Regional Search and Rescue and provide assistance to the Orienteering Association of Nova Scotia. Revenues are used to support:
Search and Rescue Operations
Children’s Hug-A-Tree Program
Training and Educational Programs
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Capital Asset Purchases
http://ecoendurancechallenge.ca/about/
 
May 5
Cinco De Mayo
Cinco de Mayo marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French in 1862. This day came to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism.
 
May 8
Wesak (BU)
Wesak or Vesak, also known as Buddha Day, celebrates the Buddha’s birthday, enlightenment and death. It is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. During Wesak, Buddhists celebrate the life of the Buddha and his teachings. They remember the night of his enlightenment and his insights into his previous lives, as well as his revelations about the nature of death, karma and rebirth, suffering and desire.
 
May 9
Donald Marshall Jr. - wrongful conviction overturned (1983) (AB)
Donald Marshall, Jr. is a Mi’kmaq man who was wrongly convicted of murder. The case inspired a number of disturbing questions about the fairness of the Canadian justice system, especially given that Marshall was an Aboriginal; as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation put it, “The name Donald Marshall is almost synonymous with ’wrongful conviction’ and the fight for native justice in Canada.”
 
May 11
Mother's Day
In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was first suggested after the American Civil War by social activist Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic) as a call to unite women against war.  Influenced by Howe, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker starting in 1858, attempting to improve sanitation through what she called Mother's Friendship Day, began to organize women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides and in 1868 as well, as to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbours. On May 9 1914 the Presidential proclamation declared the 2nd Sunday of May to be observed as Mother's Day to honour mothers. It is one of the most commercially successful days that many countries throughout the world celebrate, on the second Sunday in May. This is complemented by the celebration of Father's Day in June.
 
May 14
Visakha Puja- Buddha Day (BU)
Traditionally, Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja (Buddha's Birthday Celebrations). Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June. This celebration is called Vesak being the name of the month in the Indian calendar.
 
May 16-18
Halifax Blue Nose Marathon
The Blue Nose Marathon is a charity road marathon that has been held each spring in Halifax since 2004. The race is currently sponsored by Scotiabank, as the Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon. This marathon is a standard length at 26 miles (42.2 kilometers). Since its inception, abbreviated runs are also available including a 5 km, 10 km, and 1/2 marathon (21.1 km), each sponsored by different local sponsors.
Set within the Halifax-Dartmouth city confines, the Blue Nose Marathon includes a path around Lake Banook and Lake Micmac, crossing Halifax's MacDonald Bridge, and a run though Point Pleasant Park on the south-end Halifax peninsula. All five events start and finish at the same points, with different courses to accommodate the five distances.
http://bluenosemarathon.com/
 
May 17
International Day against Homophobia
The cause for the International Day against Homophobia, its central topic of interest, the common theme that provides information for each of its endeavours remains a universal, multi-faceted and historical phenomenon.

In Canada, recognition, for lesbian and gay communities, has been first and foremost a judicial acceptance brought about by the adoption of the Charter of Human Rights. However, judicial advances will remain only that until a complete, unlimited social acceptance of homosexuality is achieved and homophobia wiped out. To achieve this goal, the Fondation Émergence proposed in 2003, along with partners, to hold each year a special day dedicated to the social recognition of homosexual experience.
 
May 17
IMHOTEP Closing Ceremony, Sir James Dunn Theatre, 2:00-4:00
 
Imhotep’s Legacy Academy (ILA) is an innovative university-community partnership that uniquely mobilizes university/college students, faculty and community leaders to help improve student success and bridge the achievement gap for Grades 7-12 students of African heritage in Nova Scotia. ILA provides its participants with an enriching blend of real-world learning projects, skill-building and leadership development activities as well as tutoring support. Operating in half of Nova Scotia regional school boards, ILA trains and supports university students to play powerful roles in the lives of its participants through the building of self-confidence, self-discipline and the mastery of concepts related to scientific, technical, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields.
 
The closing ceremony offers a glimpse of the students have been working on throughout the year with their mentors. It is also when the annual TD Bank Opportunity Scholarship is awarded to the deserving student/s.
 
May 19
Victoria Day (Canada)
Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday is recognized. It is sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of the summer season in Canada.
The holiday has been observed since before Canada was formed, originally falling on the sovereign's actual birthday, and continues to be celebrated in various fashions across the country on the fixed date; the holiday has always been a distinctly Canadian observance. It is a statutory holiday federally, as well as in six of Canada's ten provinces and all three of its territories.
 
National Patriots' Day (Canada)
In Quebec, the same day was, since the Quiet Revolution, unofficially known as Fête de Dollard until 2003, when provincial legislation officially named the same date as Victoria Day the National Patriots' Day
 
May 23
The Declaration of the Bab (BA)
This is the anniversary of the message and Declaration of the Báb. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Báb was the early light of the true morn, whereas the manifestation of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh, was the shining forth of the sun. It is celebrated at about two hours after sunset and is a Baha’i Holy day when work is suspended’
 
May 25
Wesak (Buddha Day) (BU)
 
May 26
Memorial Day (US)
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
 
May 27
Isra and Miraj
Many Muslims in Canada observe Isra and Mi'raj (Al Isra' wal Miraj, Lailat al Mi’raj, or Laylat al Miraj). This event commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascent into heaven. It is observed on the 27th day of Rajab, the seventh month in the Islamic calendar.
Many Muslims in Canada make special prayers in the evening or attend prayer services and sermons at Islamic centers or mosques. Others observe Isra and Mi’raj quietly at home. Some Muslims celebrate the event over two days. Other activities associated with Isra and Mi’raj include fasting during the day, as well as reciting the Qu’ran (Koran) and using the tasbih (commonly made of various stones or wooden beads and used for prayer) in the night.
 
May 29
Ascension of Christ (CH)
Is the anniversary of Jesus’ ascension into heaven and enthronement as universal sovereign. It comes forty days after Easter/Pasha.
 
Ascension of Baha’u’llah  (BA)
Baha’i Faith - On May 29 all over the world, Baha’is will suspend from work in this observance of the Ascension of Baha’u’llah, it is a Holy Day. It marks the day back in 1892, when Baha’u’llah the Manifestation of God for this day passed away quietly at the age of 75. He was still a prisoner but was allowed to live outside of the walls of Akka.