Celebrating Cultures across the University of Birmingham
Celebrate World Portuguese Language Day on 5 May and join us for a Zoom session creating cocktails and mocktails and learning a little Portuguese too. This event is hosted by Gisele Tyba Mayrink Redondo Orgado (Dept of Modern Languages, UoB) wpld.freecluster.eu
Saint George’s Day is celebrated on 23 April by various Christian churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint, including England and regions of Spain and Portugal in particular. Saint George is most widely known for slaying a dragon. According to legend, the only well in … Continue reading “St George’s Day”
Ram(a) Navami (21 April) is a spring Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya. Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic of 24,000 stanzas. A continuous recital of the book takes place for about a week prior to the celebration … Continue reading “Rama Navami”
Vaisakhi (13 April) is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs and marks the beginning of the Hindu solar New Year. It was originally a harvest festival in the Punjab until it became Sikhism’s most important festival. Vaisakhi, also called Baisakhi, is the festival which celebrates the founding of the Sikh community, the Khalsa. In 1699, Sikhs … Continue reading “Vaisakhi”
Ramadan is expected to begin on Monday 12 April, following the sighting of the moon over Mecca. Lasting for 30 days, Ramadan will end on Tuesday 11 May, with the celebratory days of Eid al-Fitr starting on Wednesday 12 May. The auspicious month of Ramadan is a time for reflection, contemplation and celebration. Sawm is … Continue reading “Ramadan 2021”
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (June 1882 – 6 April 1971) a Russian-born composer, pianist and conductor widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century, whose work had a revolutionary impact on musical thought and sensibility just before and after World War I. He was honoured with the Royal Philharmonic Society … Continue reading “50th anniversary of the death of Igor Stravinsky”
The naming of the celebration as Easter appears to derive from the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre or Eostrae. The only reference to this goddess comes from the writings of the Venerable Bede, a British monk who lived in the late seventh and early eighth century. Easter, also called Pascha … Continue reading “Holy Week and Easter Sunday”
