Religious Calendar Curriculum- August

1st
- In the Northern Hemisphere, many neo-Pagans are celebrating Lammas, the first of the harvest festivals. A story the Wiccans tell about this holiday is as follows: The first grains are harvested and all the growing is over. The Lord grows old and ethereal, becoming the Elder - as the crops are cut down, so are the days of His life. He is weathered and beginning to weaken. The Goddess is the Mother, heavily pregnant with the infant God to be reborn at Yule.

-In the Southern Hemisphere, we are observing Imbolc. This means I will be pouring over my heirloom seeds catalogues, telling myself I don't need anything and probably buying anyway. It also means I have to put together some sort of hot house to start my corn off in.

*Read the Lammas section from Rupert's Tales

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- Beginning of the Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodox)
*The two weeks before the Feast of the Dormition are a time to fast for the Orthodox Christians. During this time, they must not eat meat, eggs, dairy, oil and wine.

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2nd
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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3rd
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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5th
-Tisha B'Av (Jewish)
* The is the other major fast in addition to Yom Kippur, and is considered the saddest day in the Jewish calendar as it commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews from Israel as well as other tragedies that happened on the same date in the history of the Jewish people. It started last night at sunset and continues until sunset tonight.
*Read the section from the Jewish Book of Holidays and colour a page from the Jewish holiday colouring book

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6th
- The Transfiguration
*This feast is observed by Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and some Protestants, though some churches celebrate it later in the month.
*Read Sister Elayne's book

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9th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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10th
-Raksha Bandhan, also known as Rakhi Purnima or plain Rakhi
*This festival celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters. Not just biological siblings, but also brother-sister like social relationships. It is observed by Hindus, Jains and many Sikhs, predominantly in India, Mauritius, and some parts of Pakistan and Nepal, plus people of these faiths elsewhere in the world. One custom is for sisters to tie rakhi threads (sacred threads) around their brother's wrists to symbolise their prayers and wishes for their brother's well being and their brother's life long vows of protection towards their sisters. Sisters living far from their brothers may post rakhi threads in advance, but if they live close together they will probably get together with their families and exchange food and the brother will give gifts.
*Colour a picture from here: http://www.ekansh.org/uploads/1/1/3/3/11333477/3907646_orig.jpg

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-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)
*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.
*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

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15th
-The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics is also known as The Feast of the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos by the Orthodox Christians.
*This commemorates the Virgin Mary being taken up to Heaven
*Read Sister Elayne's book
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16th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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17th
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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23rd
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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24th
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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30th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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31st
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.









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Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...
Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.