Did you know? What can you do?

Did you know that there are many other holidays in October than just Canadian Thanks Giving and Halloween/Samhain? Here are some from history and today:

Sukkot ("Tabernacles") - A harvest festival that also commemorates the forty years the children of Israel spent in the Sinai desert on the way from Egypt to Israel. Temporary huts (singular "suka," plural "Sukkoth") are built and used during this festival for meals and other family activities. The open roof is covered with branches and decorated with fruits. Religious Jews must have a lulav and an etrog to bless for Sukkot. The etrog is a citron. The lulav is a sort of wand made up of a palm branch, myrtle and willow (arava), which together make up the "four species" of plants that must be represented.

Sukkoth, Passover and Shavuoth ("Weeks') were the three most important holidays in ancient Israel, since a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was mandatory on these holidays. The last day of Sukkoth is Hoshanah Rabba. It is a Sabbath day on which no work is done, in honor of the willow, the hoshana. According to some traditions, the book of life is sealed on Hoshanah Rabba. The day after Sukkot (two days abroad) is Shmini Atsereth, which coincides with Simchat Torah, described below. [September/October]

Simkhat Torah. - The rejoicing of the Torah immediately follows Sukkot and celebrates the end of the annual cycle reading the Torah and its immediate re-commencement. All the scrolls of Torah, followed by the children singing and dancing, are paraded seven times around the synagogues. [October]

Ludi Augustales – October 3-12 Following his predecessors Sulla and Caesar, games were held in Augustus' honor starting in 11 BC. It became a ten-day event under Tiberius. Usually only the last day featured chariot racing.

Meditrinalia – October 11 To Jupiter, in his form as the wine-god, and Meditrina, goddess of healing and medicine.

Eid El Fitr which comes after Ramadan.. People eat special cookies. This holiday is for the Muslim Egyptians. It is a three days holiday, on the first day at dawn all men, (and women if they want to), go to the mosque to pray. and usually you are invited to lunch at uncles, aunts, or friends. (approximately October 13th)

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Canadian Thanks Giving (October 11th, 2010)

The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World. That means the first Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated 43 years before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts!

Read more: Canadian Thanksgiving | History | Tradition | Harvest Festival | Thanksgiving Day | Holiday http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2614-canadian-thanksgiving#ixzz10wED5Dbj

What can you do?
Harvest from local farmers. Share a feast with family.
Look for colored leaves to decorate your home with.
Engage in an exercise of gratitude. What is that? Each day in October from the 1st to the 11th (Thanks Giving), write down something you are grateful or thankful for in your life. Share this list at your Thanks Giving feast.