Vesak Festival – Three significant occurrences Vesak Festival – Three significant occurrences in the life of Gautama Buddha occurred on the full moon in May, making this full moon the most promising for Buddhists. Prince Siddhattha, the Buddha-to-be, was born at Lumbini Grove on the full moon day of May. After six years of hardship, […]

Mawlid Festival – The Prophet’s Birthday Mawlid Festival – Many people disagree on whether Christmas is a religious holy day or a commercial secular holiday. There is no shortage of disagreements in Islam, and Muslims are no exception. No, I’m not referring to the yearly squabbles over whether Muslims in the West should celebrate Christmas. […]

Lailat al Miraj – The month of Rajab is the seventh in the Islamic calendar. A sacred month (Al-Ashhur al-haram) in the days of the Prophet was one in which battles were forbidden. Because it follows the month of Sha’ban, it is also considered a prelude to Ramadan because of this fact. For Muslims, Lailat […]

Baliem Valley Festival Visit the Baliem Valley Festival, or payola festival, which brings together all the different tribes from the highlands of Wamena and the Baliem Valley to celebrate their annual festival, including the Dani, Lani, and Yali. The festival will take place in the Indonesian side of New Guinea’s Jaya Wijaya Mountains in August. […]