Thanksgiving Day
Culture/religion: National observance
Date: November 25
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States and is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November. Originating as a harvest festival and feast between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the fall-winter holiday season.
Early Thanksgiving observances were a time to give thanks for one’s blessings and hold feasts to celebrate a harvest, practices that long predate the European settlement of North America.
The first Thanksgiving proclamation issued by the national government was done by George Washington in 1789.
Sources:
Thanksgiving (United States), Wikipedia
Thanksgiving 2020, History.com
Day of the Covenant
Culture/religion: Bahá’í
Date: November 25
Day of the Covenant celebrates the appointment of Abdu’l-Baha as the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant – the unbroken, unified line of guidance which safeguards the Bahá’í faith from division. The day not only recognizes unity in the Bahá’í faith, but unity of all faiths.
Bahá’ís believe this Covenant will help humanity build a unified global society.
Pronunciation: Bahá’í: Ba-HIGH; Bahá’u’lláh: Ba-ha-ul-LAH
Sources:
What’s the Day of the Covenant, and Why Do Bahá’ís Celebrate it?, Bahaiteachings.org
Style guide, glossary and pronunciation guide, Bahá’í World News Service