JAPANESE AND JEWISH FESTIVALS, FASTS, AND OBSERVANCES, VIII. Moon.
27 Fête of Confucius (born 551 B.C.), the founder of Chineso ethics aul
politics.
Oct.
3
9
15 National fetê day. Worship of the moon, and feast of lanterns. 21 Autumnal wor-hip of the gods of the land and grain.
11
13
23 Autumnal equinox. The Emperor Yung Ching died A.D. 1735, 25 Fête of the god of the Sun,
15
IX. Moon.
19
27
1 First day of ninth moon, Descent of the Star gods of the northern and southern measures from the 1st to the 9th day inclusive.
29
Nov.
2
9 Fête of Kwan Ti, the god of war; kite-flying day. Fête of Tung, a rulor in Hades.
11 Fête of Yen Hwui, the favourite disciple of Confucius.
15 National fête of Chu Hi (A.D. 1130-1200), the most eminent of the later Chinese philosophers whose commentaries on the Chinese classics have formed for centuries the recognized standard of orthodoxy.
16 Fête of the god of the looin.
17 Fêtes of the god of wealth; of Koh Hung, one of the most celebrated of Tauist doctors and adepts in alchemy; and of the golden dragon king. 18 Fête of Tsi Sheng, one of the reputed inventors of writing.
28 Fête day of Hwa Kwang, the god of fire, and Ma, a deified physician.
3
4
5
15
X. Moon.
18
1
First day of the tenth moon.
20
3
Fête of the three brothers San Mao.
Fête of the god of the Eastern Mountain.
23
6
26 Dec.
9
Fête of the inferior celestial spirits. "Winter sets in."
2
14
17
20
22
29
22
15 Fêtes of Ha Yuca, the god of water; of the god of small-pox; and of the god and goddess of the Ledstead.
27 Fête of Tsz-mi, god of malaria.
XI. Moon.
1 First day of the eleventh moon,
4 National fête of Confucius (born 551 B.C.), the founder of Chineso ethics and politics.
6 Fête day of Yuh Hwang, the higher god of the Tauist pantheon.
13 The Emperor Kunghi died A.D. 1723.
JAPANESE.
NEW YEAR'S DAY.--First of January.
GEN-SHU-SAL-The festival of opening all public business,
KI-GEN-SETSU.The 11th of February; the Commemoration of Jimmu-Yewió,
the first emperor of the present dynasty.
TEN CHO-SETSU.- The 3rd of November, the birthday of the reigning Emperor.
JEWISH.
The festivals of the Jews are held weekly, monthly, and yearly. Each seventh and fiftieth year, moreover, is kept with peculiar soleninities.
The weekly festival is the Sabbath, a day consecrated to rest and cheerful devo- tion. It was instituted when God rested, on the seventh day, from the work of crea- tion, and the precept was renewed to the Hebrews in the wilderness of Sin (Ex. xvi.), ere yet the Decalogue had been given from Sinai. It is kept from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
The monthly festival is held on the day of the new moon, or the first day of every month, which is proclaimed by sound of trumpet; the law, however, did not oblige the people to rest on these days, though it appointed particular sacrifices.
24
JEWISH FESTIVALS, FASTS, AND OBSERVANCES,
The Feast of the Passover, of Pentecost, and of Tabernacles, were the three principal festivals observed under the law, and they were times of real joy and festi- vity. As all the le inhabitants throughout the country were required on these occasions to go up to Jerusalem, and the females were permitted to accompany ther if they chose, the concourse was generally very great. These religious assemblies, besides commemorating important events in their history, also subserved other im- portant purposes. They kept them steadfast to their religion, by the view of the cere- monies and the majesty of the divine service; they afforded the means of religious instruction, for the law of God was then read and explained; and they served, more- over, to renew the acquaintance and friendship of tribes and families, who from all parts of the country thus met three times in the year in the holy city.
The PASSOVER was instituted to commemorate the depature out of Egypt, because on the night preceding that departure the destroying angel who slew the first-born of the Egyptians passed over the houses of the Hebrews, they being marked with tho blood of the lamb, which, for this reason was called the Paschal Lamb. It was cole- brated on the fourteenth day of the first mouth of the ecclesiastical year. It com- mences on the evening of the 9th of April and lasts seven days. A lamb, or a kid, without blemish, is killed, roasted, and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The first Passover was eaten with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staves in their hands, that they might be in readiness for their journey, circumstances which were not observed in its celebration after the Exodus. The Feast of PENTECOST, or WEEKS, is celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover, and is a feast of thanksgiving to the Lord, wherein they acknowledge his dominion over their country and their labours, by offering to him two loaves as the first fruits of all their harvest. It also commemorates the giving of the law from Mount Sinai, two years and fifty days after their depature from Egypt. The Hebrews counted seven weeks from the Passover, beginning on the second day of that solemnity, and hence called it the Feast of Weeks; but by the Christians it is called Pentecost, & name which signifies the Fiftieth Day. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was poured out from the ascended Saviour upon his Apostles, endowing them with miraculous gifts for establishing the New Testament kingdom.
The Feast of TABERNACLES was instituted as a memorial of their fathers having dwelt in tents for forty years, during the passage through the wilderness. It is kept in the first month of the civil year, falls on the evening of the 3rd October, and finishes on the evening of the 12th October, and lasts eight days, the first and eighth being the most solemn. In former times during its continuance they lived in booths, tents, or arbours, constructed of the branches and leaves of trees.
These were the three Great Festivals at which all the males were required to go up to Jerusalem to worship. "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear be- fore the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose, in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. "-Deut. xvi., 16, Ex. xxxvi., 23.
The Feast of TRUMPETS is celebrated on the first day of their civil year [20th Sept.], its cominencement being proclaimed by sound of trumpet, and the day is kept colemu, all business being forbidden and certain sacrifices appointed to be offered
There are also two other feasts, though not appointed by law, which require notice, as they are often mentioned in Jewish history. The feast of DEDICATION was appointed to celebrate the re-establishment of Divine worship in Jerusalem, after Antiochus Epiphanes had becu vanquished and the temple purified. It is observed for eight days, from the 25th of the third month (commences on the evening of the 12th December], and is also called the Feast of Lights, from the illuminations which the Jews make during these days in their houses.
Poorim falls on the 14th and 15th of the sixth month [commences on the even- ing of the 10th March], and commemorates the defeat of Humin. On these days they give alms to the poor and presents to their frien ls on account of the lives of all the Jews having been saved by Esther, (it is therefore called "Feast of Esther") which happened on the 13th of the 6th month (civil year)-March.