Multicultural Calendar 2013 This calendar received funding assistance from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Home and Community Care and the Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care Programs. HACC is a joint Australian Government—State Government funded program. January 1st. Saint Basil’s Day - one of the greatest leaders and thinkers of the Orthodox Christian Church. In many Greek homes a special cake is baked on Saint Basil’s Day Eve Culture is with a gold or silver coin inside. learned, 5th. Birth of Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth) – on this shared pat- day people of the Sikh faith honour the birth of the founder of Khalsa (all baptised Sikhs). terns of be- 6th. Epiphany Day - commemorates the Christ, the son liefs, val- of God. ues, atti- 7th. Nativity of Christ, Eastern Orthodox churches that use the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas on this day. tudes, be- 13th. Maghi - the occasion when Sikh who commemorate haviours the sacrifice of 40 Sikhs who fought for Guru Gobind Singh. and charac- 20th. Religion Day - observed in over 80 countries, the aim of this day is to foster interfaith understanding and teristics of harmony by emphasising the common elements underlying all religion. society or population. Culture is how people identify themselves, 21st. Martin Luther King Jnr Day - on this day, people their life experiences, preferences and choices. in USA commemorate the birth of Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr, leader of the civil rights movement who was as- The term ‘culture’ is used most commonly to describe people sassinated in 1968. 24th. Maw lid el-Nabi - Islamic commemoration of the who share national, ethnic or regional origin. But it is important to birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the remember that there is a dynamic social context for every individ- messenger of God (the Islamic faith). Shia and Sunni cele- brate on separate days. ual’s culture and this includes gender, age, education, socio- 25th. Burns Night - on this night Scots everywhere hon- economic background, language, family, occupation, religion, sex- our Robert Burns, poet, balladeer. To many, Scotland’s fa- vourite son. Burns Night is a night for all Scots to celebrate ual orientation and disability. their heritage. January 2013 JanuaryJanuary 20132013 MONMON TUETUE WEDWED THU FRIFRI SATSAT SUNSUN New New Year’s Year’s Day Day Independence Independence Day Day Birth Birth of Guruof Guru Gobind Gobind 6 Epiphany6 Epiphany Day Day 1 1 22 33 44 55 (Mynmar/Burma)(Mynmar/Burma) SinghSingh (Sikh) (Sikh) (Christian)(Christian) St Basil'sSt Basil's Day Day (Greece) (Greece) 7 Nativity7 Nativity of Christ of Christ (Orthodox (Orthodox 8 8 99 1010 1111 1212 13 13 Baptism Baptism of Lord of Lord Christian)Christian) JesusJesus (Christian) (Christian) MaghiMaghi (Sikh) (Sikh) 14 14New YearNew Year‘s Eve ‘s Eve 1515 World World Religion Religion Day Day 1616 1717 1818 1919 20 20 World World Religion Religion Day Day (Orthodox(Orthodox Tradition) Tradition) (Baha’i)(Baha’i) (Baha’i)(Baha’i) 21 21 Martin Martin Luther Luther King King Jnr Jnr22 22 2323 2424 Mawlid al--Nabi (Islam)(Islam) 2525 Conversion Conversion of ofSaint Saint 2626 Republic Republic Day Day (India) (India) 2727 Mahayana Mahayana New New Day (USA)Day (USA) PaulPaul (Christian) (Christian) YearYear (Buddhist) (Buddhist) Tu TuBiShavat BiShavat (Jewish) (Jewish) BurnsBurns Night Night (Scotland) (Scotland) NationalNational Day Day (Maldives) (Maldives) 28 28 Australia Australia Day Day 2929 3030 3131 IndependenceIndependence DayDay (Nauru)(Nauru) “No“No culture culture can can live, live, ifif itit attemptsattempts toto bebe exclusive”exclusive” M Mahaahtamtma Ga hGahnadni di No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” exclusive” be to attempts it if live, can culture No i d n a h G a m t a h a M “ (Nauru) 31 30 29 28 Independence Day Day Independence Day Australia National Day Day National (Maldives) Night Burns (Scotland) Tu BiShavat BiShavat Tu (Jewish) Year Year Paul Day (Buddhist) (Christian) (USA) 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 Mahayana New New Mahayana Day Republic Saint of Conversion Nabi - al Mawlid Jnr King Luther Martin (India) (Islam) (Baha’i) Tradition) (Orthodox (Baha’i) 19 18 17 16 15 15 14 20 World Religion Day Day Religion World Eve ‘s Year New World Religion Day Day Religion World Maghi Maghi (Sikh) Jesus Jesus (Christian) Christian) 12 11 10 9 8 7 13 Nativity of Christ Christ of Nativity (Orthodox (Orthodox Baptism of Lord Lord of Baptism St Basil's Day Day Basil's St (Greece) Singh Singh (Sikh) (Mynmar/Burma) (Christian) 5 4 3 2 1 6 Birth of Guru Gobind Gobind Guru of Birth Day Independence Day Year’s New Epiphany Day Day Epiphany SUN SAT FRI THU WED TUE MON 2013 January February y name is Mr Rongxun Xu and I am 77 years old. My wife’s name is Mrs Jingfang Li, and she is 72 years old. We have 3rd. Setsbun–sai Shinto - celebration of the change of been married for 43 years and have 2 children. We met in the seasons with coming of spring. MChina when we both worked at a boat making factory. We knew that we 6th. Waitangi Day - commemorates the signing of the were destined treaty at Waitangi in 1840. f o r o n e 7th. Independence Day - (Grenada). another. 10th. Chinese New Year - a fifteen day Festival for We left China Chinese people of all religions. Family reunions with to be with our thanksgiving and remembrance of departed relatives children. At take place. Traditionally a religious ceremony honours first they lived Heaven and Earth. i n N e w 10th. Vietnamese New Year, Tet Nguen Dan or Tet Zealand and for Short - is the occasion for Vietnamese to express then in 2008 their respect and remembrance for their ancestors as they relocated well as welcoming the New Year with their beloved fami- ly members. to Australia. We do not 14th. Nirvana Day — Buddhist, a regional observance speak English of the death of the Buddha. and often have 15th. Vasant Panchami - a Hindu celebration dedicat- to rely on family and friends to help us get things done. We are reluctant ed to Saraswati, Goddess of Learning. to do this too many times as we don’t like to bother people. 24th. Purim - Jewish celebration of the deliverance of We receive some help in our home and are very appreciative; it is great the Jewish minority in Persia from genocide. Charity to the poor, sharing food with friends, and vigorous merry- having someone who speaks the same language; it is easier to making mark the observance. communicate and they understand our cultural values. If they didn’t speak the same language, then we think that the help we receive 24th. Triodion - Orthodox Christian time period leading up to Lent. The liturgy involves hymns, odes and scrip- wouldn’t actually be help, it would be uncomfortable and awkward for tures. both them and us. 26th. Ayyam-I-Ha - Baha'i beginning of a series of We still have some family in China whom we miss but other than that we special days (Intercalary Days) that balance out the cal- don’t miss China. Our children and grandchildren are here and we very endar. It is observed by hospitality and acts of charity. much enjoy all the wonderful nature in Australia. February 2013 FebruaryJanuary 20132013 MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN Candlemas (Christian) Setsubun-sai (Shinto) 1 2 3 New Year’s Day Independence Day Birth of Guru Gobind 6 Epiphany Day 1 2 3 4 5 (Mynmar/Burma) Singh (Sikh) (Christian) St Basil's Day (Greece) 4 Independence Day 5 6 Waitangi Day (NZ) 7 Independence Day 8 9 10 Chinese New Year (Sri-Lanka) (Grenada) (The year of the Snake) Nativity of Christ (Orthodox 13 Baptism of Lord 7 8 9 10 11 12 Vietnamese New Year (Tet) Christian) Jesus (Christian) Maghi (Sikh) 11 Independence Day 12 13 14 Nirvana Day (Buddhist) 15 Vasant Panchami 16 17 Independence Day (Iran) (Hindu) (Kosovo) 14 New Year ‘s Eve 15 World Religion Day 16 Valentine’s17 Day (Christian) 18 19 20 World Religion Day (Orthodox Tradition) (Baha’i) (Baha’i) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Purim (Jewish) 21 Martin Luther King Jnr 22 23 24 Mawlid al-Nabi (Islam) 25 Conversion of Saint 26 Republic Day (India) 27 Mahayana New Day (USA) Paul (Christian) Triodion Yearbegins (Buddhist) (Orthodox Chris- Tu BiShavat (Jewish) tian) Burns Night (Scotland) National Day (Maldives) 25 26 Intercalary Days to 27 28 28 Australia Day 29 30 31 Independence Day 1 March (Baha’i) (Nauru) “Age does not protect you from love, but love, to some extent protects you from age” Jeanne Moreau “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” Mahatma Ghandi No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” exclusive” be to attempts it if live, can culture No i d n a h G a m t a h a M “ (Nauru) 31 30 29 28 Independence Day Day Independence Day Australia National Day Day National (Maldives) Night Burns (Scotland) Tu BiShavat BiShavat Tu (Jewish) Year Year Paul Day (Buddhist) (Christian) (USA) 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 Mahayana New New Mahayana Day Republic Saint of Conversion Nabi - al Mawlid Jnr King Luther Martin (India) (Islam) (Baha’i) Tradition) (Orthodox (Baha’i) 19 18 17 16 15 15 14 20 World Religion Day Day Religion World Eve ‘s Year New World Religion Day Day Religion World Maghi Maghi (Sikh) Jesus Jesus (Christian) Christian) 12 11 10 9 8 7 13 Nativity of Christ Christ of Nativity (Orthodox (Orthodox Baptism of Lord Lord of Baptism St Basil's Day Day Basil's St (Greece) Singh Singh (Sikh) (Mynmar/Burma) (Christian) 5 4 3 2 1 6 Birth of Guru Gobind Gobind Guru of Birth Day Independence Day Year’s New Epiphany Day Day Epiphany SUN SAT FRI THU WED TUE MON 2013 January March skawara (Hello).