N.J. approves more than 100 school religious holidays
Source: By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
April 11, 2016 at 12:01 PM
TRENTON The state Board of Education this week approved a list of religious holidays in the upcoming school year on which schools must allow excused absences.
The list, updated annually, includes more than 100 holidays for the 2016-17.
Students celebrating those holidays must present a written excuse signed by a parent or guardian. Schools are required to provide students the opportunity to make up any tests or other assessments that they missed.
Here is the list of religious holidays for 2016-17: Please see link.
Read more: http://www.nj.com/education/2016/04/nj_approves_list_of_school_religious_holidays_1.html
jonno99
(2,620 posts)KansDem
(28,498 posts)He might begin believing he's a member of Congress!
jonno99
(2,620 posts)Igel
(35,337 posts)If a parent converts often, who needs a diverse extended family.
"This week I'm Jewish, so there's those. Next month I'll be Church of God, then Xian, then Confucian." What, there's a requirement to get somebody to confirm your allegiance to a set of traditions or a faith?
Oddly, I don't see my wife's current faith, which cannot have its holidays predicted. It relies on sighting of the new moon, and if it's cloudy out then things are postponed a day.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Just as I suspected!
LiberalArkie
(15,728 posts)or even Pastafarian holidays.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)silvershadow
(10,336 posts)rpannier
(24,333 posts)Brother is Catholic, Mother is Russian Orthodox
If they married someone who was either an eastern religion (Buddhist, Shinto, Hindu, etc) their children could take another 10-5 days
Islam would be more
Too many days off (IMO)
houston16revival
(953 posts)Not enough trees in New Jersey?
vkkv
(3,384 posts)justamama83
(87 posts)Many NJ students get most of the first full week of November off (if not the entire week like my district). There are in service days, election day and teacher convention.
vkkv
(3,384 posts)rpannier
(24,333 posts)I finds its absence disturbing
pangaia
(24,324 posts)How does that work?
Retrograde
(10,145 posts)Catholics are expected to attend mass that day, as on a Sunday. We got it off when I was in grammar school - but had to show up for church anyway (it was a Catholic parochial school). I don't think we had it off in high school,also Catholic.
Trivia: Catholics in different countries can observe different holy days of obligation. Back when I was a Catholic there were 6 in the US: New Years, Ascension Thursday, the Feast of the Assumption, All Saint's Day, Immaculate Conception, Christmas Day. Two of them - Assumption and Immaculate Conception - are devoted to the Virgin Mary. There are a slew of other holy days and saint's days but there're not as important. We had to go to school on Ash Wednesday.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)That's like 17 days....
Retrograde
(10,145 posts)In Catholic teaching, the immaculate conception refers to the birth of Mary without the taint of original sin that all other humans have. The virgin birth refers to the conception and birth of Jesus without a human father. People who haven't had 8+ years of catechism classes tend to get them confused.
Mary's immaculate conception is celebrated on Dec. 8; her birthday is observed on Sept. 8. The conception of Jesus is observed as the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 (when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of god); his birth is celebrated on Dec. 25.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)Raised a Presbyterian. Shows what I know.
Thank you very much for the explanation.
Skittles
(153,174 posts)what makes them so SURE
I really don't get that part
doc03
(35,362 posts)50 or so 2 hour delay days they won't have to go to school until graduation day.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)if he has one parent who is Jewish and the other one in the Church of God and Saints of Christ (whatever that is).
April 9-17 Passover/Days of Unleavened Bread (Church of God and Saints of Christ)
April 11-18 Passover (Jewish)
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)happyslug
(14,779 posts)March 20 Ostara (Wicca), first day of Spring
June 21 Litha (Wicca), First day of Summer.
Please note the call December 21, Yule as a Christian and Wicca Holiday, but it is the first day of winter. I am surprise they did not include the first day of fall (Please note the First day of Winter, Summer, Fall and Spring are minor Christian holidays, again NOT days of obligation to attend Mass or do anything out of the norm, you can attend mass but you do NOT have to and other then being mentioned those days are treated by the Christian Churches like any other ordinary day).
The rest are Christian minor holidays (mostly in the Catholic and Orthodox tradition)
Aug. 1 Lammas (Christian and Wicca)
Nov. 1 All Saints' Day (Christian) Samhain-Beltane (Wicca)
Dec. 21 Yule (Wicca and Christian)
Feb. 2 Imbolic-Candlemas (Wicca and Christian)
February is the 40th day after Christmas, thus its Christian Name, Candlemas Day, It is NOT a holy day of obligation, it is just a day with a special mass, that is it (as is the first day of Advent, the 40th day before Christmas)
As to Feb. 28 Shrove Tuesday being a "Christian" Holiday, it is like saying Christmas eve is a holiday independent of Christmas. Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent, Ash Wednesday is the actual Christian Holiday.
Lammas, was the first day of the wheat crop in Medieval England. Now, Wheat was grown in England since pagan days, but without the heavy plow England was marginal for wheat (Thus in the time of Caesar he reports a lot of Cattle not fields in England and even Northern France). The Heavy Plow reached England as part of the Slavic Invasions of the 600s, with it England, Germany and Northern France went from Cattle Raising areas to Farm fields of Wheat, This occurred at the same time much of this area converted to Christianity (in the case of England, converted from Christianity which England had become in the late Roman Empire to Germanic Paganism with invasions of the Saxons, and then back to Christianity).
Thus Lammas appears to have been a local medieval Christian feast in England. Germany and France had earlier days for their Wheat Harvest. It remains a holy day in the Anglican Church and can be a holy day in the Catholic Church but again an ordinary day outside of harvest time in England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammas
I also loved the TWO holidays for September 8:
Sept. 8 Nativity of Mary (Christian)
Sept. 8 Nativity of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Christian)
These are the SAME HOLIDAY. Theotokos is Nativity of Mary (Technically Theotokos is traditionally translated as "Mother of God" but some people object to that term, for Jesus is in Christian Dogma existed as one with God, this Mary can NOT be his mother, but just the person who bore him and gave birth to his earthy form). My point it is the same holiday honoring the same person, Mary.
They do it again, two holiday when they are the same when it comes to Christmas:
Dec. 25 Christmas (Christian)
Dec. 25 The Nativity of Christ (Eastern Orthodox Christian)
Again for Epiphany (Theophany is the Eastern Orthodox secondary name for Epiphany), and the Armenian Church also calls in Epiphany.
Jan. 6 Feast of Epiphany (Christian)
Jan. 6 Feast of Theophany (Eastern Orthodox Christian) Nativity of Christ
Jan. 6 (Armenian Orthodox)
You see this double counting as to March 25, the Announcement of Mary (In the Eastern Church Mary is referred to as the "Theotokos"
March 25 The Annunciation of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Christian)
March 25 The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Christian)
They do it again for Pentecost:
June 4 Pentecost (Christian)
June 4 Pentecost (Eastern Orthodox Christian)
Thus instead of Five holiday, you have 11, but the 11 really are the same give holiday.
I see some of the same duplication for other religions, but most people are familiar with the Christian Holidays and thus the easiest to see the problem I am mentioning, the number is way less then claimed, you have a lot of duplication and even a lot of "Holidays" that are just days to remember NOT go to Church or stay away from school.
I have no Idea why they give two different dates for Palm Sunday, but the same date for Easter in 2017. In 2017 the Western and Eastern Churches will be celebrating both holidays on the same day, the next time both churches will celebrate Easter on the same day will be 2025.
jiminvegas
(104 posts)Response to proverbialwisdom (Original post)
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