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Sabbath

(Encyclopedia)Sabbath [Heb.,=repose], in Judaism, last day of the week (Saturday), observed as a rest day for the twenty-five hours commencing with sundown on Friday. In the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1) th...

Ashura

(Encyclopedia)Ashura, holy day in Islam, the 10th day of the month of Muharram. It commemorates the day Noah left the ark and the day Moses was saved by God from the Egyptians, and is a voluntary day of fasting for...

Yom Kippur

(Encyclopedia)Yom Kippur [Heb.,=day of atonement], in Judaism, the most sacred holy day, falling on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (usually late September or early October). It is a day of fasting and p...

Sabbatarians

(Encyclopedia)Sabbatarians, persons who insist upon strict observance of Sunday as the Sabbath. Societies promoting Sabbatarian objectives include the Lord's Day Alliance of the United States and the Lord's Day Obs...

bank holidays

(Encyclopedia)bank holidays, days when the law requires that banks be closed. In the United States the list varies from state to state but generally includes, besides the major holidays, many days that are observed...

Tavener, Sir John Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Tavener, Sir John Kenneth tăvˈənər, –nə [key], 1944–2013, English composer, b. London; studied Royal Academy of Music. Tavener, whose work shows a consistent but evolving tonal or modal style...

Kwanzaa

(Encyclopedia)Kwanzaa or Kwanza both: kwänˈzə [key], secular seven-day festival in celebration of the African heritage of African Americans, beginning on Dec. 26. Developed by Maulana Karenga and first observed ...

Rosh ha-Shanah

(Encyclopedia)Rosh ha-Shanah hə-shäˈnə [key] [Heb.,=head of the year], the Jewish New Year, also known as the Feast of the Trumpets. It is observed on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri, occurring usual...

international date line

(Encyclopedia)international date line, imaginary line on the earth's surface, generally following the 180° meridian of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. Traveling eastward acros...

second

(Encyclopedia)second, abbr. sec or s, fundamental unit of time in all systems of measurement. In practical terms, the second is 1/60 of a minute, 1/3,600 of an hour, or 1/86,400 of a day. Since the length of the da...