#celebration
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Germany marks 1989 Berlin Wall fall with 'Preserve Freedom' party
by Agence France-Presse
BERLIN --
Germany marks 35 years since the Berlin Wall fell with festivities
beginning Saturday under the theme "Preserve Freedom!" as Russia's war
rages in Ukraine and many fear democracy is under attack.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz -- whose governing coalition dramatically
collapsed this week -- said in a message to the nation that the liberal
ideals of 1989 "are not something we can take for granted."
"A look at our history and at the world around us shows this," said
Scholz, whose three-party ruling alliance imploded on the day Donald
Trump was elected president in the United States, plunging Germany into
political turmoil and toward new elections.
November 9, 1989, is celebrated as the day East Germany's dictatorship
opened the borders to the West after months of peaceful mass protests,
paving the way for German reunification and the collapse of Soviet
communism.
One Berliner who remembers those momentous events, retiree Jutta
Krueger, 75, said about the political crisis hitting just ahead of the
anniversary weekend: "It's a shame that it's coinciding like this now."
"But we should still really celebrate the fall of the Wall," she said,
hailing it as the moment East Germans could travel and "freedom had
arrived throughout Germany."
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will kick off events on Saturday at
the Berlin Wall Memorial, honoring the at least 140 people killed
trying to flee the Moscow-backed German Democratic Republic during the
Cold War.
In the evening, a "freedom party" with a music and light show will be
held at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, on the former path of the
concrete barrier that had cut the city in two beginning in 1961.
On Sunday, the Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot will perform in
front of the former headquarters of the Stasi, former East Germany's
feared secret police.
Pro-democracy activists from around the world have been invited for the
commemorations -- among them Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana
Tikhanovskaya and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad.
Talks, performances and a large-scale open-air art exhibition will also
mark what Culture Minister Claudia Roth called "one of the most joyous
moments in world history."
Replica placards from the 1989 protests will be on display along 4
kilometers of the wall's route, past the historic Reichstag building
and the famous Checkpoint Charlie.
Among the art installations will be thousands of images created by
citizens on the theme of "freedom," to drive home the enduring
relevance of the historical event.
## Populism and division
Berlin's top cultural affairs official Joe Chialo said the theme was
crucial "at a time when we are confronted by rising populism,
disinformation and social division."
Axel Klausmeier, head of the Berlin Wall foundation, said the values of
the 1989 protests "are the power-bank for the defense of our democracy,
which today is being gnawed at from the left and the right."
Most East Germans are grateful the East German regime ended, but many
also have unhappy memories of the perceived arrogance of West Germans,
and resentment lingers about a remaining gap in incomes and pensions.
These sentiments have been cited to explain the strong support for the
far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in eastern Germany, as well
as for the Russia-friendly and anti-capitalist BSW.
Strong gains for both at three state elections in the east in September
highlighted the enduring political divisions between eastern and
western Germany over three decades since reunification.
While the troubled government led by Scholz's Social Democrats and the
opposition CDU strongly supports Ukraine's defense against Russia, the
antiestablishment AfD and BSW oppose it.
The AfD, which rails against immigration, was embarrassed this week
when several of its members were arrested as suspected members of a
racist paramilitary group that had practiced urban warfare drills.
On the eve of the anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall, government
spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann recalled that the weekend will also
mark another, far darker chapter in German history.
During the Nazis' Kristallnacht or Night of Broken Glass pogrom of
November 9-10, 1938, at least 90 Jews were murdered, countless
properties destroyed, and 1,400 synagogues torched in Germany and
Austria.
Hoffmann said, "It is very important for our society to remember the
victims ... and learn the correct lessons from those events for our
conduct today."
#germany #deutschland #west-germany #east-germany #berlin #berlin-wall #german-reunification #celebration #1989
Thursday February 29, 2024 is 0.0.Hunab ku
#GalacticAlignmentDay
#Galactic-Alignment-day is another name for #LEAP DAY, which occurs on months evenly divisible by 4 but if they're evenly divisble by 100, the only ones that get the extra day in the Gregorian calendar is when that year is evenly divisble by 400.
There are technically two days "missing" out of the calendar. One is: Galactic Alignment Day which will fall on Feb 29, 2012, and also, the day out of time, the day prior to the 13-Moon New Year, which always falls on July 25 of every year, and is a time for #great #celebration!
The 13-Moon Solar Cycle begins with July 26th and ends with July 24, only 364 days. The 365th day The Day Out of Time, giving the calendar 365 days per year.
"It's all good!"
Calls for Gaza ceasefire ring out as world enters 2024 | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
âNo celebration until liberation!â As the world ushered in a new year, hundreds refrained from celebrating to instead call for a ceasefire in Gaza. As Israel...#2023 #2024 #AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #Gaza #Palestinians #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #call #ceasefire #celebrating #celebration #hopes #latestnews #liberation #new #newsheadlines #wishes #year
Calls for Gaza ceasefire ring out as world enters 2024 | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
_So.... here it is, hot off the virtual press.. _
Raise a glass! And have a quick sip (2 mins) - or maybe next time.
đ· đ„ đ„
Dandelion Wine
#wine #toast #BlackmoresNight #music #musica #musique #musik #celebration #holidays
As the nine nights represent the #nine #planets, we will be having a #planetary #celebration of #Navaratri with an account of one of the planets for each of the nine nights. The first planet is The #Sun. The colour for the first day of Navaratri is #ORANGE, so we shall scribe in Orange for this first dayâs observance of Navaratri.
Today is the first day of the Navaratri celebrations which are held for nine days (Nava Rathrulu). All festivals are meant to remind mankind that they should cultivate noble qualities by engaging themselves in activities beneficial to oneâs own self and society. Sai Baba made reference to Navaratri and the Nine Planets:
As part of Navaratri celebrations, people worship different forms of divinity. You should develop sacred feelings and experience divinity. What is the inner meaning of Navaratri celebrations? These nine nights represent nine planets. Each planet has its own significance. However, these planets are not outside, they are within. If your feelings are impure and unsacred, the result also will be the same. You are responsible for the good and bad you think and experience.
The Sun, self-effulgent, radiating light and heat along a perennial, eternal path of righteousness, reflecting the eternal order of the Universe. The Sun is a fragment of the Central Sun of all Universes, and thus, radiates the life-force of all to all, without fear or favour. The Sun God grants refuge to all who seek refuge.
There are numerous galaxies, containing thousands of Suns and solar systems. The Sun that we have for our solar system is one of the many Suns though there has to be one final Sun who is eternal and carries out the functions of the Sun for all the manifest worlds and universes. Our Sun, Surya, as representative of the eternal Sun is no different from that eternal Sun itself. The eternal sun at the macro-cosmic level is the same as the Sol, the Surya within our solar system. The fire, the light within our bodies is but a spark of the eternal sun within, called Suryanarayana, the Sun that dwells within all.
Day One
#Goddess #Sailiputra - daughter of the Himalayas
The Divine Mothers are known as the Nava #Durga (9 Names of Durga). Each of the days honours an aspect of #Divine Mother and step by step the aspirant. On the first day, we honour Durga as Sailaputra â Daughter of the Himalayas.
Sailaputra was born to Himavat the King of Himalaya. Putri means daughter and Shail from shaila means mountain. Sailaputra means the daughter of the mountain. She is also known as Sati Bhavani, Parvati or Hemavati. In her previous birth, she was a daughter of Daksha.
She is also known as #Parvati and Hemavati. Her vahana is the bull, hence she is also known as Vrisharudha. Because of Her importance amongst the other Goddesses, She is worshipped on the very first day of Navaratri. Just like Goddess Satieven Sailaputra got married to Lord Shiva. She is always shown with two hands, the right hand holds a Trishul and the left hand holds a lotus flower.
Humans are both masculine and feminine in their inner nature. All have X and Y chromosomes; it is the final pairing of chromosomes that determines our gender. Depth psychologists teach that in the male, the soul is the feminine principle, and in the female, the soul is the masculine principle. The psychologists tell us to honour these principles within in order that we have a balanced self-respect. Sai Baba spoke above about the planets these planets are not outside, they are within; the Sun is called Sol, just as the Soul within is the self effulgent inner sun within us.
The outer Sun also is a Mother principle within us all. Just as the cow is Go-Matha and all that comes to us from the cow â the milk provides ghee which has many uses; the urine is antiseptic and can be used for washing and purifying; the cow-pats have many uses including fuel for cooking. So also, the Sun as Mother gives us nurturance with warmth and heat; it creates new life in nature with sunlight, and it gives essential light energy to us all, within and without, for the Sun is Suryanarayana, the inner Sun within us all.
We may pray for the feminine energy of the Sun like so:
Om Bhaskaraya Vidmahe
Maha Divyakaraya Dheemahe
Tanno Surya Prachodayat.
Significance of Navaratri
Navaratri means nine nights. Darkness is associated with night. What is this darkness? It is the darkness of ignorance. The purpose of the Navaratri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him. When a reference is made to Devi, it signifies the unified form of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The three together represent Shakti. Shakti is the energy that accounts for all the phenomena of Prakriti (Nature). Nature is energy and the controller of that energy is the Lord.
Prakriti (Nature) is made up of the three qualities, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Saraswati represents the Sattwa Guna. Lakshmi represents the Rajo Guna and Parvati represents the Tamo Guna. As Prakriti (Nature) is made up of these three qualities (Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas), to get control over Nature, man has been offering worship to Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. These are not goddesses but deified symbols of the three qualities. (Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 27 September 1992)
Feu de la Saint-Jean - Solstice d'été
Depuis toute petite, dans mon village, le week-end d'aprĂšs le solstice d'Ă©tĂ©, c'est la fĂȘte et il y a ce grand feu de la Saint-Jean. Je ne sais pas quelle signification y a mis l'Ă©glise, mais le feu du solstice d'Ă©tĂ© dans la tradition celtique est la cĂ©lĂ©bration de l'apogĂ©e du soleil, de la nature, de ce qu'on a semĂ©, c'est le dĂ©but des moissons et c'est un feu sanctificateur et non pas destructeur.
Pas de ronde ni de jeux pour sauter par dessus, vu la taille, vaut mieux pas, pas de danse ni de chant ni de tambour mĂȘme si ça me dĂ©mangeait, mais j'y ai dĂ©posĂ© mon mat de mai et sa couronne de Beltane en souhaitant retrouver une union sacrĂ©e avec un homme. Trois mois aprĂšs la rupture la plus incomprĂ©hensible de ma vie. Et en mĂȘme temps j'ai beaucoup appris sur moi. Je rĂ©colte des choses Ă©tonnantes cette annĂ©e. Quelle abondance vais-je vivre ces mois d'Ă©tĂ©?
Et vous, quelles récoltes commencez-vous?
(oui je sais, c'est pas Ă©colo du tout...)
#feudelasaintjean #solsticedete #solstice #feu #galembrun #hautstolosans #fete #celebration #saintjean #village #fetedevillage #rituel #paganisme #fire #paganism #photo
Andy Greensky on Twitter Hates Khan, Mayor of London, Who Agrees With Him?
https://twitter.com/AndyGreensky/status/1649328760640905217?t=YsUlxMhd0hp0Xbru0rpoQA&s=09
#Hates #Mayor #London #Substitutes #British #Muslim #Celebration
Sydney WorldPride 2023: What is it, and whatâs on?
Although Pride Month is held over June, the dates of Sydney World Pride 2023 coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Australian Gay Pride Week, the 45th anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and the fifth anniversary of marriage equality in Australia.
Sydney will host the southern hemisphereâs largest-ever #LGBTQIA+ human rights conference from March 1-3, where 60 local and international presenters will discuss issues affecting the queer community globally.
#celebration #world-pride #Sydney #Australia #progress-shark
A Brief History of Birthday Celebration
https://shuttersparks.net/a-brief-history-of-birthday-celebrations/
#birthday #history #celebration