Several religious and cultural observances occur during the month of December. We've included a summary of each holiday with a link to more details on the DEIA website, including some upcoming local event spotlights., Bodhi Day, December 8, 2022, Bodhi Day (pronounced Bow-dee ) is celebrated on December 8 each year to commemorate the day that the historical Buddha achieved enlightenment. According to early Buddhist scripture, the historical Buddha was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who lived a privileged life until he was confronted with the Four Passing Sights, (a sick person, an aged person, a corpse, and a holy man). Greatly…, Hanukkah, December 18-26, 2022, Hanukkah is the Jewish, eight-day “festival of lights” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, prayers and special foods. The holiday is named Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, in honor of the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after a small band of Jewish people reclaimed it from the Syrian-Greeks in second century BCE. The group had a small amount of oil to light the…, Winter Solstice, December 22, 2022, The winter solstice is the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere when the north pole is tilted as far from the sun as it possibly can be. This results in the fewest hours of sunlight in a day for the entire year, but also marks the beginning of increasing daylight hours. Throughout history, cultures held festivals and ceremonies marking the winter solstice as the day of the…, Christmas, December 25, 2022, Christmas is celebrated each year on December 25. For Christians around the world, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In addition, Christmas has become a cultural holiday for many, including non-Christians, and includes many celebratory traditions including decorations, Christmas trees and wreaths, sharing meals with family and friends, holiday music, movies and pageants,…, Kwanzaa, December 26, 2022 – January 1, 2023, Kwanzaa is a seven-day cultural festival celebrated annually from December 26 – January 1. Kwanzaa was first created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga as an African American holiday to celebrate African heritage and African American culture. Kwanzaa, which stems from a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits” or “harvest,” is based on fruit harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa. The…
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Because UMass values the relationship with our vendors and partners, we have prepared the below information for educational purposes and to limit instances of our vendors/partners becoming victimized by scams. It has come to our attention that a nationwide fraud/scam has been targeting University suppliers across the country, including UMass. The scammers pretend to be University employees and…
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Tuesday, February 15, 2022 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM The Great Lakes ADA Center in collaboration with the ADA National Network invites you to register for the upcoming ADA Audio Conference Webinar titled “The Intersection of Race and Disability “ , featuring Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr, Research Assistant, Institute of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois Chicago. The lived experience…
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Disability Rights Activist Alice Wong will publish her first memoir on September 6, 2022. Announced on the Chinese New Year, the book is titled Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life . Print books are available for pre-order. Audiobooks will be available for pre-order in a few months. Book description from Penguin Random House's site : "From the founder and director of the Disability Visibility…
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Podcast Episode Inforamtion, Amy tells us that sticky elements are a problem for her as they can hide content and why accessibility overlays don’t help in the latest episode of the A11y Rules Podcast , hosted by Nic Steenhout. The transcript for the podcast is included on the page in html format below the podcast audio clip. , About the A11y Rules Podcast, There is a lot of information about how to make the web accessible. There isn’t so much information about the people working to make the web accessible. Over the years that I’ve been involved with web accessibility, I have met a lot of very interesting people. I wanted to learn more about them, and meet new people involved in one way or another with web accessibility. The A11y Rules Podcast is…
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Event Logistics, Date and Time:, Tuesday, March 8, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Format:, Online, Event Description, There are over 234 million people worldwide with a speech disability or difference — Gareth Walkom is one of them. For a person with a speech disability or difference, just getting what they need in everyday interactions can be stressful, which intensifies when the stakes are raised during job interviews, presentations, public speaking, and other activities. As a result, some people with a speech…, Register to Attend, Register at the A11y VR Event page . You can download a calendar file after signing up to add to your calendar.
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Event Logistics, Date and Time: , Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 7:30 p.m., Format:, Attend online through A11y NYC Meetup, Event Description, Most of our time online is typically spent reading text, yet we don't often consider how accessible that text is. The typefaces, fonts, and text styling used can have a significant impact on the user experience — and there are few accessibility guidelines that relate to text accessibility. This session will provide an overview of how reading is processed in the human mind, and how to minimize the…, Presenter Bio, Jared Smith is the Associate Director of WebAIM. He is a highly demanded presenter and trainer and has provided web accessibility training to tens of thousands of web professionals throughout the world. With over 20 years of experience working in the web design, development, and accessibility field, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that is used to help others create and maintain…
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Happy Bodhi Day to all who celebrate!, What is Bodhi Day?, Celebrated annually on December 8, Bodhi Day (pronounced Bow-dee) commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni), experienced enlightenment, which is also known as bodhi in Sanskrit and Pali. According to tradition, Siddhartha had recently forsaken years of extreme ascetic practices and resolved to sit under a peepal tree, also known as a Bodhi tree, and simply…, How is Bodhi Day observed?, Services and traditions vary amongst Buddhist sects, but all such services commemorate the Buddha's achievement of Nirvana, and what this means for Buddhism today. Individuals may choose to commemorate the event through additional meditation, study of the Dharma, chanting of Buddhist texts (sutras), or performing kind acts towards other beings. Some Buddhists celebrate with a traditional meal of…
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The winter solstice happens on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 10:59 a.m. EST!, What is the Winter Solstice?, The winter solstice is the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the whole year and is called the “shortest day of the year.” The solstice itself actually occurs at an exact moment, when the hemisphere is tilted as far away from the Sun as it can be.
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