serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
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In the United Kingdom, the British Library has an unrivalled collection of Zoroastrian manuscripts and therefore welcomed the opportunity to display three of its Zoroastrian treasures in the current exhibition “Epic Iran” organised by the V&A with the Iran Heritage Foundation in association with The Sarikhani Collection.
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It is the task of humans to respect and care for the Seven Bounteous Creations and to work against evil forces which oppose right order, and in so doing to bring the world back to its original state of harmony. Thus Zoroastrianism requires humans to protect the environment; to avoid harm, pollution, and waste; and to restore what has been damaged.
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The Faravahar is arguably the best-known symbol of the Persian Zoroastrian faith. This symbol consists of a winged disc with a man emerging from it. The man is shown holding a ring. Whilst the symbol is well known, the meaning behind it is more complicated. The Faravahar was adopted as a secular symbol to represent the modern nation of Iran.
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The Yazidis live far away from India in Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Even though they have legends connecting them to the east, the idea of a link with India appears ridiculous at first sight. But history has wheels within wheels and sometimes reality turns out to be vastly different from common belief.
The Yazidis speak a northern dialect of the Kurdish language, which some call a separate language with the name Ezdiki. Their religion, Yazidism, is also called Sharfadin (the religion of the cultured folks). Reviled as devil worshippers for centuries by their Muslim and Christian neighbours, they have endured over 70 genocides in which millions died and most others were compelled to abandon their culture.
Many traditions come with advent season in Christianity; it is Margasheera month in Hinduism – a month that is kept aside for spiritual activities. It is also the time of Chanukkah of the Jewish Faith. The Persian religion – Zoroastrianism – has the Shab-e-Yalda night, the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. In this time of the coming of the Christ Child, we explore the many traditions of several religions.
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According to legend, Zoroastrians arrived by boat on India’s west coast between the 8th and 10th centuries, fleeing religious persecution in Persia. They found refuge, quickly integrating with the local population by adopting the Gujarati language and local customs, while steadfastly hanging onto their religious beliefs. That first wave became known as Parsis; a second wave, arriving in the 19th century, became another subset called Iranis.
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One of the famous Christmas Carols sings of the Tweleve Days of Christmas and the many matching gifts of the true love. Here, we look to celebrations and observances in different religions and illustrate their significance. … Read more…
There are many images of Christmas, and it seems that Christmas means something different to everyone. Life is change, and so mundane perception of Christmas changes, also. Christmas is a a holy time for the devotees of Jesus Christ. At the time of the Christian observance of Christmas, Shepparton Interfaith Network brings attention to the festivals in other religions occurring at this time. There are also Jewish, Parsee and Sikh and African observances at this time. We also bring you an Australian Christmas Blessing.
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This time of Easter is the major festival of the Christian religion. It is also the Purim festival of the Jewish faith. This time of this year also marks several festivals from other religions and we give account of these festivals and greetings to religious communities of the Goulburn Valley at this festival time.
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There are many images of Christmas, and it seems that Christmas means something different to everyone. Life is change, and so mundane perception of Christmas changes, also. Christmas is a a holy time for the devotees of Jesus Christ. At the time of the Christian festival of Christmas, Shepparton Interfaith Network notes festivals in other religions occurring at this time. There are Hindu, Muslim and Parsee observances at this time.
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