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Festivals
Oct 31, 2011 12:35 PM
In the past I've written about how happy people are more productive and happy companies are more profitable.
When I teach the psychology of happiness in my Happiness Workshops, I teach about the nine choices extremely happy people make.
One choice all extremely happy people make is a feeling of appreciation and gratitude throughout each day, not just on one special day a year.
Thanksgiving is the time we have agreed in the United States and Canada to formally express our gratitude for family, friends, and things.
But is it really about being thankful or merely getting together and eating huge amounts of food?
When you get together at Thanksgiving do you formally talk about what you're grateful for? I mean actually set aside a few minutes for each person to go around the room and express their gratitude? If not, why not? Try it and see what happens.
Gratitude is the shortcut to happiness. It is a feeling of thankfulness in your heart for what you have.
If you want ...more
Sep 27, 2011 11:59 AM
Deepavali and its significance
This year Diwali falls on October 26, 2011.
Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It's the festival of lights (deep = light and avali = a row i.e., a row of lights) that's marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines with its brilliance, and dazzles all with its joy. Each of the four days in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, but what remains true and constant is the celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness.
It is an important festival in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, celebrated for different reasons, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC. For Sikhs, Diwali is celebrated as Bandhi Chhor Diwas (Th ...more
Aug 24, 2011 12:32 PM
Eid ul-Fitr often abbreviated to Eid, is a three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "original nature," implying the restoration of one's best human composition. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the thirty days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal.
Eid-ul-Fitr Salat (Namaz in Urdu/Persian) is a Wajib (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory) or mandoob (preferable) – depending on which juristic opinion is followed – Islamic prayer consisting of two raka'ah (units)which is generally offered in an open field or large hall called an Eed-gah. This salaat or prayer, can only be performed with Jama’at (i.e., in congregation) and has an additional extra six Takbirs (raising of the hands to the ears while saying Allahu Akbar (God is Great), three of them i ...more
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