I was born in 1954, the first child of my parents, who later had five more children, four of whom were still alive into adulthood. My parents seldom went out together: my father worked and my mother took care of us all and the home. When I was six, seven or eight, my Dad used to take me to church with him on a Friday night, presumably to give my mother a bit of a break...
If you are not a Catholic, you may not understand the significance of a string of Catholic rosary beads. This is because a Catholic's rosary beads are an aid to prayer and penance. It is because of this that Catholic rosary beads have the same number of beads all over the world. The beads are ticked off as the prayers are recited...
It is a common fact that more people used to go to church than they do now - in the West at least - and it is another well-known fact that it tends to be the older people who go to church, perhaps because they want to hedge their bets before it gets too late. Well, now the Baby Boomers are getting old, so does that mean that the Western religions will see a revitalization?It is also a fact that people have got used to travelling away from their place of birth to find a job, which has been made easier by a better road and rail network, better public transport and cheaper cars, so lots of people might find themselves in an region, where they have been for years, but where they do not know traditional institutions like the churches...
Buddhism was begun by the adherents of Siddhartha Gautama (circa 563-483 BC). He was born into a Hindu family of the kshatriya caste in what is now known as Nepal. At the age of 29, he left his wife and infant son and went in search of enlightenment.He achieved enlightenment some time later whilst sitting under a bodhi tree near Patna...
Hinduism is a complicated blend of polytheistic religion, a (belief in numerous gods, rather like the Greek and the Roman deities) and philosophy. It originated from Vedism, which dates back to the second millennium before Christ. It is not astounding therefore that many sects have developed or broken away from a faith of this age...
Without any trace of a doubt at all, St Valentine’s Day is the most special day of the year for lovers. Although numerous people contend that St Valentine’s Day is just a commercialized holiday created for the reason of encouraging people to purchase cards, flowers and gifts. On the other hand, there are others who do not care how St Valentine’s Day began and are just pleased to have a day when they can plan a romantic day with the one they love...
It has been worked out that about 80% of the world's population have faith in in one religion or another (and there are lots of them), but about 70% of those are members to the big four. The four largest religions are: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Judaism is the precursor of both Islam and Christianity...
Most Christians believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Israel, the son of Jewish parents, Mary and Joseph, a carpenter, who had travelled from Nazareth to pay their annual taxes. Mary gave birth, so the story goes, on the 25th December in a stables and Christian countries mark that as the beginning of their calendar, in a comparable way that Buddhists and Muslims mark the birth of their spiritual leaders as the beginning of their calendars...
After Buddha's death in 483 BC, his closest adherents (his disciple monks) took time off their preaching to compile his sermons (sutras) and his rules (vinayas). In the old convention of Buddha, monks initially walked the countryside preaching and teaching for nine months of the year and went to wait out the monsoon period in a sanctuary for three months...
<b>Christmas</b> - is the commemoration of Jesus' birthday. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, December 25th was probably selected because it coincided with a pagan mid-winter festival. The 'Twelve Days Of Christmas'' denote the days between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6th), which was the day of the wise men's visit...
