Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox and Reformed traditions, observe Good Friday with fasting and church services.[5][6][7] Communicants of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.[8]

The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next on both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states.[9] Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing.

Easter,[nb 1] also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin)[nb 2] or Resurrection Sunday,[5][6] is a Christian festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.[7][8] It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as “Holy Week”, which contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper,[9][10] as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.[11] In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the 40th day, the Feast of the Ascension.

Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the Sun; rather, its date is offset from the date of Passover and is therefore calculated based on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March.[12] Even if calculated on the basis of the more accurate Gregorian calendar, the date of that full moon sometimes differs from that of the astronomical first full moon after the March equinox.[13]

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover (Hebrew: פֶּסַח pesach, Aramaic: פָּסחָא pascha) by its origin (according to the Synoptic Gospels, both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection took place during the Jewish Passover)[14][15] and by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In most European languages the feast is called by the words for passover in those languages; and in the older English versions of the Bible the term Easter was the term used to translate passover.[16] Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,[17] and decorating Easter eggs (symbols of the empty tomb).[18][19][20] The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection,[21][22] traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide.[23] Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.[24][25][26] There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

#god #easter #good #friday #christian #holiday #crucifixion #jesus #calvary #death #holy #week #sunday #jewish #catholic #church #christianity #passover #romans #prayer #fasting

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Real fasting for purification of soul is:
1st Day – I will leave all my Anger.
2nd Day –  I will stop Judging People.
3rd Day – I will leave all my  Grudges.
4th Day – I will forgive myself & everyone.
5th Day –  I will Accept myself &  every one as they are.
6th Day –  I will love myself & everyone unconditionally.
7th Day – I will leave all my feelings of Jealousy & Guilt.
8th Day – I will leave all my Fears.
9th Day – I will offer Gratitude for all the things I have and all which I will get.
10 – There is abundance in the universe for all and I will always tap the same and  create what I want through unconditional love, sadhna, nishkam seva, faith. 
*Happy Navarathri*

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti / Devi are worshiped.

The seeds of inner renewal are sown, sprouting, watched & worshiped by devotees during Navratri and on the 8th, 9th and 10th days, Goddess Durga, Mahanavami and Vijayashtami are worshipped. The tenth day that is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or “Dussehra”, celebrates victory of Shakti over Mahishasura, of Lord Rama over Ravana, and of Durga over demons like Madhu-Kaitav, Chanda-Munda and Shumbha-Nishumbha; that is victory of good over evil. 

The last 3 days of Navratri are called Durgashtami (8th day), Mahanavami (9th day) and Vijayadasami (10th day). On the morning of the tenth day there is a fire ceremony dedicated to Shiva, where the Navaratri participants have a chance to receive Shiva’s blessing.

The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are considered to be important junctions of climatic and solar influences. That is why these two periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother Durga. The dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar.

Navratri is a very important and major festival in the western states of India: Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka during which the traditional dance of Gujarat called “Garba” is widely performed. This festival is celebrated with great zeal in North India as well, including Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and the northern state of Punjab.

Durga, the Mother Goddess of the Hindus and a form of Devi and Shakti, is believed to have manifested in various forms, and Navadurga Maa are believed to be the most sacred aspects of Goddess Durga. 

According to a Hindu tradition, it is believed that there are three major forms in which Goddess Durga manifested herself, namely, Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali who are the active energies (Shakti) of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra respectively (without these goddesses the gods will lose all their powers). 

These three forms of Durga further manifested in three more forms each, and thus emerged the nine forms of Durga, which are collectively called Navadurga or Nine Durgas:

Devi Maa Shailputri – The Navratri commences with the 1st night devoted to the puja of Maa “Shailputri”. “Shail” means mountains; “Parvati”, the daughter of king of Mountains Himavan, is known as “Shailputri”. Her 2 hands, display a trident and a lotus. She is mounted upon a bull.

Devi Maa Brahmacharini – One hand holds a “Kumbha” or water port and the other rosary. She personifies love and loyalty. Maa Brahmacharini is a store-house of knowledge and wisdom. Rudraksha is her most adorned ornament.

Devi Maa Chandraghanta – Worshipped on the 3rd night this Maa Durga “Shakti” is astride a tiger, displays a golden hue to Her skin, possesses ten hands and 3 eyes. Eight of Her hands display weapons while the remaining two are respectively in the mudras of gestures of boon giving and stopping harm. Chandra + Ghanta, meaning supreme bliss and knowledge, showering peace and serenity, like cool breeze in a moonlit night.

Devi Maa Kushmanda – The 4th night begins the worship of Maa “Kushmanda”, possessed of eight arms, holding weapons and a mala or rosary. Her mount is a tiger and She emanates a solar like aura. “Kumbh Bhand” means to see cosmic vivacity in Pindi shape or knowledge of cosmic intricacies in human race. The abode of Maa “Kushmanda” is in Bhimaparvat.

Devi Maa Skandamata – Using a lion as a vehicle She holds her son, “Skand” in her lap while displaying 3 eyes and 4 hands; two hands hold lotuses while the other 2 hands respectively display defending and granting gestures. Its said, by the mercy of Maa “Skandmata”, even the idiot becomes an ocean of knowledge such as “Kalidas”.

Devi Maa Katyayani – As mother, Maa “Katyayani” stayed in the Ashram of sage Katyayan for penance, hence She named as “Katyayani”. This 6th Shakti is also astride a lion with 3 eyes and 4 arms. One left hand holds a weapon and the other a lotus. The other 2 hands respectively display defending and granting gestures. Her complexion is golden coloured.

Devi Maa Kalaratri – Black skin with bountiful hair and 4 hands, 2 clutching a cleaver and a torch, while the remaining 2 are in the mudras of “giving” and “protecting”. She is mounted upon a Donkey. The destroyer of darkness and ignorance, Maa “Kalaratri” is the seventh form of Nav-Durga meaning scourer of darkness; enemy of darkness. Maa Kalaratri’s famous shrine is in Calcutta.

Devi Maa Mahagauri – Four arms with the fairest complexion of all the Durga Shaktis. Peace and compassion radiate from Her being and She is often dressed in a white or green sari. She holds a drum and a trident and is often depicted riding a bull. Maa “Mahagauri can be seen in a temple at Kankhal near pilgrim centre Haridwar.

Devi Maa Siddhidatri – Ensconced upon a lotus, most commonly, with 4 arms, and is the possessor of 26 different wishes to grant Her bhakts. Maa Siddhidatri’s famous pilgrim centre, is located in Nanda Parvat in the Himalayas.

The nine manifestations of Maa Durga that are worshiped with fervor during Navratri, are believed to lift divine spirit in us to help us overcome obstacles and get liberated from unnecessary qualities to be filled with new freedom and purity. 

All these nine names of Goddesses are decribed in “Devi Kavacha” of the Chandipatha scripture. Also called The Devi Mahatmyam or Devi Mahatmya (“Glory of the Goddess”) it is a Hindu religious text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. As part of the Markandeya Purana, it is one of the Puranas or secondary Hindu scriptures, and was composed in Sanskrit around c. 400-500 CE, with authorship attributed to the sage (Rishi) Markandeya. Devi Mahatmyam is also known as the Durga Saptashati or Chandi Patha. 

The other important work that focuses on veneration of the divine feminine is Devi Bhagavata Purana (“The Old Book of the Goddess”), also known as Shrimad Devi Bhagvatam or the Devi Bhagavatam.

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Stars like Beyonce and Hugh Jackman have spoken out about following intermittent fasting plans to get in shape. How does intermittent fasting work? Here’s what actually happens to your body and brain when you fast. Following is a transcript of the video. How long has it been since you last ate? People who fast intermittently often eat within an 8-hour block, leaving 16 hours of fasting in between. During that 16-hour stretch, their bodies undergo an important change that sets them apart from Read the full story

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