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On Campus> Celebrations
As a community of varied cultural backgrounds, we observe many holidays, special days and festivals. Some of these celebrations are marked with activities such as parties or programs at student assembly.
Holi Festival. The Festival of Holi is celebrated in India on the day after the full moon in early March every year. This celebrates springtime and looks forward to a good harvest.
The fun festival is marked by vibrant processions, folk songs and dances, and the exchange of colors using colored powder and water.
Valentine's Day. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. This Roman celebration honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year's celebration.
While this pairing of couples set the tone for today's holiday, it wasn't called "Valentine's Day" until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14.
- Bruce Hoffman -