Harvard University homepage
HARVARD.EDU

Event Category: Religious Observances

up close of brick wall with leaves on top and a lamp post

Dussehra (or Vijaya Dashami)

Tradition: HinduismLink: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html The concluding day of a 10-day festival honoring various goddesses, especially Durga, and Lord Rama, a manifestation of the God Vishnu. The 10-day festival is known as Navaratri (“nine nights”) and Durga Puja (“worship of Durga”). Its pervading theme is the victory of good over evil. Vijaya greetings are sent to friends…Continue Reading Dussehra (or Vijaya Dashami)

Yom Kippur

Tradition: JudaismLink: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html The conclusion of the 10 Days of Awe, Yom Kippur is the holiest and most solemn of all days in the Jewish year. It is characterized by repentance, fasting, and forgiveness….Continue Reading Yom Kippur

Sukkot

Tradition: JudaismLink: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html An eight-day Jewish festival of booths (or tabernacles) and the fall harvest. The name refers to the booths (sukkot) used by Israelites during desert wanderings and constructed in the fields during the harvest season. It is a time of thanksgiving for God’s presence in creation and among the Jewish people. The Eighth…Continue Reading Sukkot

Simchat Torah

Tradition: JudaismLink: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html Joyous festival in which the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah in the synagogue is completed and its first book begun again. The celebration typically includes singing, dancing, and marching with Torah scrolls….Continue Reading Simchat Torah

Diwali (Dipavali)

Tradition: HinduismLink: http://www2.hds.harvard.edu/spiritual/multifaith_about.html Perhaps the most popular of all Hindu festivals, also known as the Festival of Lights, it is dedicated to the Goddess Kali in Bengal and to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, in the rest of India. As with several other festivals, Diwali is associated with one of the stories about the destruction…Continue Reading Diwali (Dipavali)