1

Origination of Festival of Lights-Diwali (Hindu), Akitu (Sumerian), Hanukkah,

(Jewish) and other Holidays connected with Astrological calendars and myths.

By: Bipin Shah

Introduction:

One of the most important accomplishments of ancient astrologers and star gazers was the establishment

of the ritual calendars with two important markers. They were spring and autumn equinoxes that coincided

with the beginning and end of harvest seasons.

This is also the time when Sun and Moon are aligned in near perfect position to divide the days equally into

12 hours period. The ancient farmers marked the beginning and end of agricultural seasons of their ancient

world. The spring equinox is announced with the first full new moon of the spring while an autumn equinox

is announced with the first full moon of the autumn. The Sumerians, Harrapan and Egyptians were first

farmers and agriculturists before they built cities, ziggurats, pyramids and civilization. The pickaxes,

domesticated animals, straw baskets and clay Jars came first before the bricks were baked in the kiln to

build the beautifully planned cities of Meluhha which we call Indus-saraswati civilization of the Fertile

Crescent.

Wooden Pick Axes Book of Persephone (creation) Basket Harvest Seals showing animals

2

Sumerian Myth of Creation:

The Myth of Emesh and Enten is a Sumerian mythology of the creation etched on clay tablets in the mid to

late 3rd millennium BC. The Sumerian god Enlil becomes a protagonist of the Debate between winter

(Enten) and summer (Emesh). This myth entails the debate between two bothers and finally god Enlil

decrees that winter is more important since it allows seeding and flowering of the land after scorching by

summer and end of wintery cold. It is therefore logical to assume that the involvement of God Enlil since

prehistoric time gave mythology a great religious significance to agriculture season, These ancient traditions

have been probably passed on to various civilizations that unknowingly follow the Sumerians, Egyptians and

Indus valley people to celebrate various festivals and New year without knowing that it was closely

intertwined with human’s primordial instinct of food gathering and collection. Most of us are unaware that

these traditions have morphed into religious forms and celebrated in various forms throughout the modern

world. The beginning and end of harvesting seasons as called out by the calendars are celebrated with

festivities. East Asia has Chinese Lunar year, Hindu India had Deepawali or Diwali, the Jews have Hanukkah

and Christian calendar has the Easter and Muslim has Ramadan. In a way, they should be considered as a

celebration of lights, new beginning with a prayer for future prosperity.

How ancient people of Fertile Crescent developed these traditions?

Ancient Shramanas played a major role in their search of heavenly abode of the creator by watching and

observing celestial events. Various religious texts in one form or another forms discusses that with the use

of mythology. First thing they understood was equinoxes and solstices and how they affect the seasons on

the planet. At the beginning of the spring equinox, Sumerians and their contemporaries will prepare the

soil, sow the seeds of barley and other crops, and plough the field with pick axes and watering with

irrigation canals. While at the end of autumn equinox, Sumerians will be harvesting, cleaning, distributing

and storing the grains for the use and the future needs. They also pay the taxes in the grain and the soldiers

were paid through Taxed grains for their services by the ruler. The same process took place throughout the

ancient Fertile Crescent. In due time, the beginning and ending of harvest seasons became the important

religious celebrations of citizens. The deity who ruled the period between equinoxes was the Moon God,

“Nanna” for Sumerians. The God Shiva probably represented Indus valley people with the use of Yogi Seal.

The blue moon god with assumed river Ganges (may be ancient Indus-saraswati) flowing from his head

watering the fertile land of India with crescent moon on his forehead signifies the same meaning as

Sumerians understood.

Moon God:

Unlike the Hindu’s concept of trinity, a multifunctional God, the Sumerian had separate God with their

divine genealogy. The concept of Trinity began developing in later ages and is now found in many cultures

except Abrahamic faith of Jews and Islam, where only one God does all the functions.

3

The moon god according to Mesopotamian legend was the first born child of God Enlil and Ninlil. Nanna was

known to Babylonians, Elamites and Assyrians knew moon God as “Sin”. Most of the ruler adopted the title

of God (or son of God). Akitu festival originated in the ancient city of Ur, abode of Moon God Nanna (sin).

We can hypothesized that the statue of Nanna( sin) taken by Silli Adad or Silli Ravvan may be the cause of

the war between Rim-Sin, the follower of God Sin while Silli Adad the follower of Thunder god. When moon

God arrived in India, the Vishnu and Shiva assumed the blue moon color but they were given additional

responsibilities while Krishna and Rama who would be son of Gods in Middle Eastern vocabulary are

considered as self incarnation of Gods in the human form.

Hindu God Shiva Sumerian Tablet-Instruction to farmers Seal interpretation

Sumerian Myth of the dispute between Emesh and Enten and God Enlil

4

Akitu Festival:

Akitu in Sumerian “ezen á-ki-tum” was a major festival of celebrations during the agriculture cycle of the

Sumerians-Akkadians eras. “akiti-šununum” meant the “sowing of barley” and “á-ki-ti-še-gur10-ku5” in

Sumerian meant the "cutting of barley". That represented beginning and end of the ancient agriculture

season. The harvesting festivals varied with the “geographical position” in relation to earth where spring

and autumn equinoxes are witnesses.

For example, Mabon was the pagan holiday of festival in Northern hemisphere and coincided with the

autumnal equinox. Mabon would fall on September 23 for the year 2014. Due to leap year adjustment of

solar cycle, the dates would vary by each year as per the calendar that roughly coincided with seasons. Over

the years, the calendars have changed from moon cycle to solar cycle or mix of both as “Luni-solar”. Mabon

was also the time to reflect the events of the past year and express wishes for the best for the future years.

This sounds like very similar to wishing everyone “Happy and prosperous years”. In the age of Sumerians,

the currency of the day was barter trade done through agriculture commodities. If you had a bad harvest

year, you would wish the future years to be better. In one of the ancient interpretation quoted here:

“This is the time to look back not just on the past year, but also your life, and to plan for the future. In the rhythm of the year,

Mabon is a time of rest and celebration, after the hard work of gathering of the crops, the Warm autumn days are followed by

the chilly wintery nights, as the Old Sun God returns to the embrace of the Goddess. However, the harvesting festivals were

looked upon the blessing by Gods and Goddesses for delivering the fortunate rainfalls and crop growth. In Northern hemisphere,

the holidays were marked by rich feast with sweet foods, fruits, nuts and other goodies. The prayers to the deities were offered

and the lamps were lit to express one’s gratitude”. Mabon was a favorite Pagan holiday in the northern hemisphere.

The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many people of the world. It

consists of either four or eight festivals falling on either the solstices and equinoxes, known as the "quarter

days", or the four midpoints also known as the "cross quarter days". In multicultural societies, you will

discover more than eight major festivals.

“Akitu” in Sumerian for "barley" marked two harvesting festivals celebrated at the beginning of each of the

two half-years of the Sumerian calendar, marking the sowing of barley in spring and the cutting of barley in

autumn. The Sumerian calendar was based on the lunar cycle and so was the calendar of ancient India.

Presently, Indian calendar is based on Luni Solar cycle that allows us to synchronize with “Athik Mas”-extra

month every five year vs. English Julian calendar that has 365 days every year. In Sumerian days, the

practice of celebrations continued outdoors with community gathering with wine, animal sacrifice, food,

eating, and Candle light prayer (Similar to Diwali).

“a-ki-ti-se-gur10-ku5”, the first festival of the sowing of barley was celebrated in the first month of the year

that is in March/April (Consider vaisakhi and Holi). In the Babylonian calendar, this month was known as

“Nisannu” (and in the modern Jewish calendar is still called as Nisan). Since the festival was celebrated on

5

the first days of the Babylonian year, we can call it a New Year’s festival. The New Year began then in spring

but now it begins at the end of autumn or later period, just prior to winter. In fact, the ancient Babylonians

already called it “Ressattim”, "beginning of the year". Akitu Festival originated in Ur, the home of Jewish

Abraham and Nanna´s city (Moon God). No wonder why Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycle. Thus, Ur

fixed the celebration of the vernal (spring) and autumnal (autumn) equinox and the months in which they

occurred, the first and seventh months of the year, called respectively as Nisannu and Tashritu. The

religious/mythological themes for the first Akitu festivals at Ur might have been intrinsically linked to the

relationship between the Moon (Nanna) and the passage of the time that we call the equinoxes and Indian

“Nakshatra”. Akitu festival although is attested to the city of Ur, that provided the name for its months, the

Economic tablet document of transaction indicate that in the Sargonic and Ur III periods (2350-2100 BCE);

the Akitu was a semi-annual festival, being observed at Ur, Nippur, Adab, Uruk and Larsa that is a change

during Akkadian-Assyrian period. The timing for the festival varied in each of these cities, perhaps to

synchronize the festival rites with the ones due to the patron deity of each city. Thus harvesting season

became religiously attached and those traditions are still imbedded in the modern world.

The precise dates on which festivals are celebrated were always remain flexible and were decried by the

astrologer priests at ziggurats. The dates may be on the days of the quarter and cross-quarter days proper,

the nearest full moon, or near the full moon. During Neo-Assyrian period, Akitu became the Babylonian’s

New Year’s festival, celebrated to honor the supreme god Marduk, his crown prince Nabu (Bel) and other

Gods. During the Babylonian time, the Akitu festivities were celebrated at two locations in Babylonian

empire (1.) The Holy Esagila temple of Babylon, house of supreme God Marduk. (2.) At the ‘house of the

New year' which was situated north of the city. The high priest of the temple of Esagila opened the festival,

proclaimed that the New Year had begun. To the populace, this meant the beginning of a holiday for one

full week.

On the same day, the king went to the temple of Nabu (Bel), where the high priest gave him the royal

scepter. He then traveled to Borsippa, a city 8 miles downstream on the river from Babylon that had a

famous temple of Bel (Nabu). Nabu (in Biblical Hebrew word Nebo) is the Assyrian and Babylonian god of

wisdom and writing (like Indian Brahma and Goddess Laxmi or Saraswati) worshipped by Babylonians as the

son of Marduk (Sun God). Here, the king spent the night. At the same time, Esagila priest recited the

Babylonian creation epic in the house of the New Year. As far as we can tell, the entire rituals of gathering

of Gods from various places meant to be one of blessing, fortune and success for the future years. In a way,

this was the earliest form of the celebrations of light and the beginning of a new year that is still being

celebrated with feast and gift giving. The Sumerians had no fire crackers, so we need to give some credit to

the Chinese who invented it for Chinese lunar year’s celebration. See below: Sign language differences with

Sumeria and Indus valley, Equinoxes and solstices and God Marduk, son Nebo and Ninurta.

6

Sumerian-Akkadian signs Indus-saraswati valley symbols (Independent Approach)

Moon calendar cycle of equinox solar calendar cycle of solstices

The appeal of Ur equinoxes must be so great that it spread like a wild fire and is still embedded in to world’s

festival calendars. We should thank all those ancient star gazers for giving us the numerous holidays.

Equinoxes:

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth's axis. The earth is rotating like a

gyroscope, it points towards a fixed direction continuously in space towards the North Star used often for

ancient mariners. As the earth revolves around the sun, the southern and northern hemispheres are equally

more exposed to the sun half of the time that determines summer or winter. At noontime in the Northern

7

Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime and low in the sky during winter. It is

highest at the summer solstice and lowest at the winter solstice. The half-way points in the year are called

the equinoxes. It is time of the year when the sun rises exactly in the east, travels through the sky for 12

hours, and sets exactly in the west during the same time interval. At that point everyone experiences close

to 12 hours of daylight, and 12 hours of nighttime. The exact date and time of the fall equinox, when the

sun moves into the astrological sign of Libra, varies from year to year. Each year, the date/time moves

progressively later in September until the year before leap-year is reached. On leap-year, it returns to an

earlier date/time. This four-year cycle is then repeated.

Sun God Marduk with serpentine Son Nebo (Bel) Ninurta

Akitu Festival gathering in Babylon Akitu procession of Gods

8

Babylonian feast Babylonian Prayers At temple Babylonian lady of beam

There is more detailed discussion on ancient astrology and axial thoughts in this article.

https://www.academia.edu/3575775/Sacred_Numerology_and_Axial_Thoughts_of_Ancient_India

The above article explains with additional details the revolution of earth and moon around the sun, our

planetary star sun that give us the making of the calendars and eras of the ancient world. The key to

understanding is that human like all other species had to come to terms with the nature around them that

make their lives sustainable. The human as an intelligent species understood the thorough knowledge of

the astrology that made the seasons and brought about seasonal changes, so the human can adopt for

survivals and seek adjustments.

9

Equinoxes and solstices Software calculator-screen shot

Attachment of Religious mythologies to Harvesting Festivals

In Mesopotamian Religion that means the religions of Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian, Tiamat

is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean. Tiamat was later known as Thalattē (as a variant of

thalassa, the Greek word for "sea") as described in the Hellenistic Babylonian Berosus' first volume of the

history of universe. It is assumed that the name of Tiamat was dropped in the secondary translations of the

original religious texts that were written in Akkadian language by Akkadian scribe. In Hindu mythology,

“Andhaka”often referred to a malevolent Asura “Chaos monster” was killed by Shiva for attempting to

abduct Parvati, Shiva’s consort. This story finds references in various Hindu texts, including Matsya Purana,

Kurma Purana, Linga Purana and Shiva Purana. In Hindu Epic Ramayana, another blue God, Rama slays

Asura Ravana for kidnapping of his wife Sita. Deva Indra is the mighty God of the Heaven, the leader and

God of all the Devas (Good spirits of heaven) against the demonic spirits (those who went to hell). Under

Vishnu Purana, when facing monster opponents like “Vritra”, Indra seeks the aid of another blue god

Vishnu. Vishwamitra was the preceptor of Rama and Lakshmana, a powerful Maharishi who He bestowed

the knowledge of all divine weaponry to Rama and Lakshmana, that grants them the power to kill powerful

demon (Rakshasas) Ravana. All these stories have same theme like watching the same movie with different

subtitles. We should not be surprised that every religious society made their myths. The Persian reversal of

worshipping Asuras in Avestan text, while their Vedic brothers worshipped Deva and wrote a hymn in Veda

is well recorded event in the scriptures.

10

Festivals of Lights

In the past and present numerous cultures and civilization have celebrated the festival of lights connected

with agriculture season and harvest. They attached the faith based religious significance to the events to

induce everyone to follow. Some of the examples noted down here that are attached with religious

mythologies are:

1. Diwali, a religious festival associated with Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism often referred to as the Festival

of Lights but was celebrated when Lord Rama slayed Demon Rakshashs Ravvan. This is a coincidental event

to mark the end of the harvesting season.

2. Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday also called the Festival of Lights appeared around the same time as Diwali

marks the end of harvesting season. The Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus narrates in his book, Jewish

Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after

rededicating the temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Josephus does not

say the festival was called Hanukkah but rather the "Festival of Lights". Shammai (Shramana) opined that

eight candles should be lit on the first night, seven on the second night, and so on down to one on the last

night, because the miracle was greatest on the first day. Most of the Jewish histories were influenced while

in Babylonian captivity.

Present day Hanukkah at home Hanukkah at synagogue Archeological find of old Hanukkah lamp

3. Tazaungdaing festival, a Buddhist festival marking the end of Kathina also coincides with harvesting

season.

11

Tazaungdaing Festival of Light in Myanmar (Burma)

These are only few examples spelled out but there are others that falls under the same category and are

derived from either lunar or Lunar-solar cycle of calendars when the traditions began. Some of them can be

called out by names like Berlin festival of light, October fest, signal festival of Prague and Nauruz festival for

Persians. They all carried some religious significance associating either with beginning or ending of

harvesting seasons and are celebrated.

Deewali-Depawali

The Hindu calendar used to be a lunar calendar until beginning of Common Era until Jaina Muni Kalkacharya

learned solar astronomy and came up with a Luni-solar calendar, so the lunar and solar differences can be

bridged and corrections are made. The date of the Diwali changes every year based on the Hindu calendar.

In the year 2011, it was on the 26th of October, and the year 2013, it was on the 3rd of November, but in

2014, it will be on the 13th of November. Luni-solar calendar is based on according to what Moon and sun

are doing in relationship to earth at any given year and that can be calculated mathematically by

astronomers.

For example, the autumn equinox for 2012 was on 22nd of September. The first new Moon fell on 15th

October after the autumn equinox and then Diwali also coincided with the second new Moon after the

autumn equinox. So, Diwali always falls on the 2nd new Moon after the autumn equinox as a rule.

The Chinese New Year, the Jewish New Year, Ramadan, Diwali and other religious and cultural festivals

nearly always depended on what the Moon was doing(Lunar calendar), and as a consequence do not fall on

the same date each year as well. They are ahead of Diwali by few weeks and the same applies to Christian

holiday of Easter, one of the ancient traditions of the Christian festival. We all heard about Oktoberfest in

12

Germany, when everybody hits the bar. In recent times, Christmas has become more celebrated, but this is

mainly because Christmas has become a secular and commercialized holiday. Easter however is more

important to Christians because it represents the very essence of Christianity from antiquity.

Baisakhi-vaisakhi-Vasant Panchmi

On the other side of the ledger that is the spring equinox or the beginning of harvesting season. In Punjab

India, Vaisakhi is a harvest festival for Punjabis and, according to the Punjabi calendar, the Punjabi New

Year. Agricultural fairs are organized in the villages on Vaisakhi or Baisakhi day. For Sikhs, it also marks the

foundation of Khalsa Panth and Sikh attaches some religious significance to that by their Gurus. Baisakhi is

also observed as a thanksgiving day by the Punjabi farmers whereby the farmers pay their tribute, thanking

God for the abundant harvest and also praying for the future prosperity. Vaisakhi is one of the important

festivals celebrated with fun and fervor by the people of Northern India.

Baisakhi celebrations among Sikhs all around the world (Basanta Utsava)

Remarkably, a similar Hindu festival is a Holi that coincides with the spring Equinox. Holi is marked by the

color of nature like “spring blossom” when you see all kinds of colors. Holi celebrations start with a “Holika

bonfire” the night before Holi where people gather, sing, dance and drink. The next morning is a free-for-all

carnival of colours where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and colored

water. To spray colors on anyone and everyone is a fair game with the friends, strangers or enemies. It does

not bar man spraying on woman or vice a versa (an uncommon event in “sexually divided society”). It can

also include the children and the elders (the elders do not get the normal respect and obedience). The frolic

and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and the buildings. The various

groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from one place to another, sing, dance and play. The

13

People move around and visit family, friends and not so friendly people. With food and delicacies, some

drink a joyful brew, made out of the leaves called “Bhang”, a class of plant similar to cannabis leaves or

cannabis itself. , The food is consumed with sweets and brew. Did Sumerians acted any differently? No.

Holi- color of festival and celebration and bonfire

The five day celebration of Diwali combined to make a full week reminds us of the five days of celebration

that Sumerians enjoyed. Diwali, of course is the most important and widely enjoyed festival of India. It is

the festival of lights, when the whole subcontinent is lit up with the sound and light of the fireworks. Laxmi,

the Goddess of bountiful and prosperity is worshipped. Laxmi is the Hindu Goddess of love, wisdom and

prosperity and the energy of wealth and abundance. She is also the consort of blue God Vishnu. The Hindus

pray to her to bring them abundance of fortune in the future years. Diwali falls also on the second moon of

the autumn equinox, a time to celebrate the summers harvest and prepare for the seasonal change. The

festival of Diwali is celebrated by Indians throughout the world in a joyous mood, with zeal and enthusiasm.

The festival is dominated by colorful display of house with Rangoli and night lights, bursting of fire crackers,

cleanliness, the foods and the sweets with shopping and gift giving. The week is marked by the happiness

and New Year’s thanks giving. The festive spirit brings people of different castes and communities closer, to

celebrate this unique and vibrant festival of India.

The week of Diwali celebration and each day is marked with some myths:

The first day of this festival begins with 'Dhanteras' derived from the Sanskrit word “Dhanvantari

Trayodashi” in reverence to Lord Dhanvantari, the teacher and the father of Ayurveda (Alternative

medicines). Lord Dhanvantari is the physician of Gods and considered to be one of the incarnations of Lord

14

Vishnu. The day of Dhanvantari Trayodashi is also known as Dhanvantari Jayanti. There is a festivity on this

day.

The third day is Diwali or Deepawali. The most famous legend behind the celebrations of Diwali is about the

Rama’s victory over Ravana. On the day of Deepawali is also marked as the closing day of the business book

and accounts to determine how each business fared. The account book of the current year is closed and

balanced. At the same time, a new book for the future year is opened up. The both books are presented to

Goddess Laxmi for the blessing for future prosperity and the rituals are performed. With the prayer, it is

expected that Goddess will bless them overnight like Santa of Christmas. Later, the kids enjoy the

firecrackers and receive gifts from the elders. On night of Diwali, there is candle lamps lit on every home like

a Christmas decoration of trees and house. A simple clay lamp filled with oil or Ghee -butter is used to light

up the candle on the dark night. The festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of

the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and

mid-November depending on the position of earth.

The fourth day of the festival is devoted to Govardhan Pooja and New Year of the calendar. The legend

behind this celebration revolves around the obscure Mount Govardhan that was a small hillock situated at

ancient capital of Krishna of Mahabharata. As per Vishnu Purana, the people of Gokul used to worship and

offer prayers to Lord Indra (God of Thunder) to give them enough rains for the harvested crops. The people

believed that God Indra was responsible for rainfall for their cultivated fields. However, Lord Krishna told

them that it was Mount Govardhan and not Lord Indra, who caused rains. This explanation given in Vishnu

Purana is weird but anyway it has its own legendary value of story tale. The Vishnu Purana commands that

the people should worship the former (Govardhan mountain) and not the Indra, God of thunderbolt. In

some region of India, this particular day is also marked with “Diwali Padva” dedicated to wife–husband

relationship and husband usually empties his wallet to buy some expensive jewelry and saris for the wife as

a manifestation of love. The fifth day of the festival is Bhai Dooj, the time to honor the brother-sister

relationship. According to the associated legend, Yamraj, Hindu God of Death (equivalent to the God of

Underworld per Sumerian legend), visited his sister Yamuna on the 'Shukla Paksha Ditya' day in the month

of 'Kartika'. When Yamraj reached Yamuna's home, she welcomed him by performing his Aarti, applying

'Tilak' on his forehead and by putting a garland around his neck. The sister Yamuna also cooked varieties of

dishes, prepared many sweets for her brother’s arrival and offered all those to Him. Seeing these well

wishes of his visit, Yamraj showered blessings on sister Yamuna and gave her a permanent universal

blessing that if a brother visits his sister on this day, he would be blessed with health and wealth. This is

why this day of “Bhayya Duj” (the day of brother) and is also known by the name of 'Yam-Ditya'.

In some region of India, it also coincides with New Year or “Sal Mubarak” means new beginning. Here

Mubarak is Arabic world of Greeting. “Sal” means the year. The word Mubarak is Semite world meaning

“blessed one”. The Hebrew dictionary calls it “Barak”. The next two days are free time to deplete the stock

of fire crackers and foods and taking easy on the weekend while thinking of going back to the work next

week. The people are busy pulling down all the articles of ceremony for next year’s use. This completes a

full week of Diwali just like Christmas.

15

Divas (Clay Lamps with cotton and oil) just like candles are being prepared to light up the area or home during Diwali.

Laxmi Puja at temple Fire crackers lit up on Diwali Rangoli-Art Decoration for home

16

Receiving worship of Laxmi-Account books enjoying the Gifts from Husband Real festival of light with full of myths

Sweets Home decors Myth of Rama’s return to home

17

Fluctuation of Diwali and Luni & Solar calendar:

Diwali always falls on 2nd

moon of the month of Kartika or roughly 15th

day of Kartika of the Indian calendar.

The example of variation in relation to English calendar is given below. This variation based on Luni-solar

calendar. A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and

the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year, then a lunisolar calendar will give an

indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year, then the calendar will predict the constellation near

which the full moon may occur. Usually there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole

number of months, in which case most years have 12 months but every second, third or fifth year has 13

depending on the cultural practice, country or civilization.

The Hebrew, Buddhist, Hindu, Burmese, Bengali, and Tibetan calendars, as well as the traditional Chinese,

Japanese, Vietnamese, Mongolian and Korean calendars, plus the ancient Hellenic, Coligny, and Babylonian

calendars are all lunisolar.

Fri Nov 5 2010 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Wed Oct 26 2011 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Tue Nov 13 2012 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Sun Nov 3 2013 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Wed Oct 22 2014 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Wed Nov 11 2015 Diwali/Deepawali Observance

Since Assyrians copied Sumerians /Akkadian customs, most of the Semite followed the same observance.

Pre-Islamic calendars of nomadic Arabs followed a lunisolar system also. The Chinese, Coligny and Hebrew

lunisolar calendars track more or less the tropical year whereas the Buddhist and Hindu lunisolar calendars

track the sidereal year. Therefore, the first three give an idea of the seasons whereas the last two give an

idea of the position among the constellations of the full moon. The Tibetan calendar was influenced by both

the Chinese and Hindu calendars. The Germanic peoples also used a lunisolar calendar before their

conversion to Christianity.

The Islamic calendar now is lunar and not a lunisolar calendar because its date is not related to the sun. The

civil versions of the Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar, because their dates do not indicate the moon

phase, however, both the Gregorian and Julian calendars include undated lunar calendars that allow them

to calculate the Christian celebration of Easter, so both have features of the lunisolar calendars.

18

Hanukkah:

As explained earlier, Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev

according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in

the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the

nine-branched menorah or Hanukah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight

on the final night. The typical menorah consists of eight branches with an additional visually distinct branch.

The extra light is called a Shamash and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The

purpose of the Shamash is to have a light available for practical use, as using the Hanukkah lights

themselves for purposes other than publicizing and meditating upon Hanukkah is forbidden. As you can see,

the Shamash was the Babylonian God Sun. When Jews where in Babylonian captivity, they may have been

influenced by additional light for Shamash to avoid offence against Babylonians. Other Hanukkah festivities

include playing dreidel and eating oil based foods such as doughnuts and latkes.

Hanukkah Lamp Sweet Doughnuts Hanukkah Dinner

Hanukkah became more widely celebrated beginning from the 1970s, when Rabbi Menachem M.

Schneerson called for public awareness of the festival and encouraged the lighting of public menorahs.

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated for eight days, commencing on the 25th day of the month of

Kislev (November/December), to commemorate the victory of the Jews over the Hellenist Syrians in 165 BC,

following their victory, the Maccabees, sons of the Priestly Hasmonean family which led the Jews in their

revolt against the Syrian overlords, entered the Holy Temple in Jerusalem defiled by the Syrian invaders,

cleansed it and dedicated it anew to the service of God. Then, in memory of their victory, the Maccabees

19

celebrated the first Hanukkah. (Hanukkah is the Hebrew term for dedication. One can see the ancient

mythology of the history when Assyrians (Assur) subjugated Jews and other tribes of Middle East.

Nauruz:

Nauruz (Persian) meaning “(New Day of the year") or “Nuv-Roj” is the name attributed to the Persian New

Year. Nauruz marks the first day of spring or Equinox and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar.

It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the

previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The moment the sun crosses the celestial

equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and families gather together to observe

the rituals. Nauruz is partly rooted in the religious tradition of Zoroastrianism. Among other ideas,

Zoroastrianism is the first monotheistic religion that emphasizes broad concepts such as the corresponding

work of good and evil in the world, and the connection of humans to nature prior to Abrahamic faith of the

Jews and Islam. Zoroastrian practices were dominant for much of the history of the ancient Persia. Nauruz is

believed to have been conceived by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of its origin. Since the

Achaemenids calendar began after Nauruz, the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and

enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox. Nauruz is also observed by broad group of

non –Sunni Muslims like Sufi, Shia, Bektashis, Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, Babis and adherents of the Bahá's

Faith. The ancient Persian people spread throughout central Asia and carried this tradition with them. The

diverse ethnic communities of various religious backgrounds have celebrated this day for thousands of

years. The Iranians including Azerbaijanis, the people of North Caucasus, Kurdish inhabited regions of

eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq (Kurdistan), Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,

Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and other scattered populations of Central Asia who are not followers of Islam or

Christianity. Over the years, Persian tribes worshipped the sun and followed the movement of Sun and

ensuing seasons. However, the term “Nauruz” in writing first appeared in historical Persian records in the

2nd century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (550–330 BC), where

kings from different nations under the Persian Empire used to bring gifts to the Persian Emperor.

The modern Iranian calendar is now the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. It begins on the vernal

equinox as determined by astronomical calculations per Iranian Standard Time. This determination of

starting moment is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar as far as predicting the arrival date of the

vernal equinox.

Old Persian inscriptions and tablets indicate that early Iranians used a 360-day calendar based on the solar

observation directly and modified with their religious beliefs. Days were not named. The months had two or

three divisions depending on the phase of the moon. Twelve months of 30 days were named for festivals or

activities of the past years. A 13th month was added every six years to keep the calendar synchronized with

the seasons. Ancient Persians were predominantly sun worshipper.

The following table compare the months of old Elamite, Persian and Babylonian calendar months:

20

Order Corresponding

Julian

Old

Persian

Elamite Meaning Corresponding Babylonian

months spelling month

1 March–April Ādukanaiša Hadukannaš uncertain Nīsannu

2 April–May Θūravāhara Turmar Possibly "(Month of) strong spring" Ayyāru

3 May–June Θāigraciš Sākurriziš "Garlic-collecting month" Sīmannu

4 June–July Garmapada Karmabataš "Heat-station (month)" Du'ūzu

5 July–August – Turnabaziš – Ābu

6 August–September – Karbašiyaš – Ulūlū

7 September–

October

Bāgayādiš Bakeyatiš "(Month) of the worship of Baga

(Bhagvan-god, Mithra-Mitra)"

Tašrītu

8 October–November *Vrkazana Markašanaš "(Month) of wolf killing" Arahsamna

9 November–

December

Āçiyādiya Hašiyatiš "(Month) of the worship of the fire" Kisilīmu

10 December–January Anāmaka Hanamakaš "Month of the nameless god (?)" Tebētu

11 January–February *Θwayauvā Samiyamaš "The terrible one" Šabāţu

12 February–March Viyax(a)na Miyakannaš "Digging-up (month)" Addāru

Elamites’ harvest Festival in Mesopotamia and Susiana:

Gian Petro Basella wrote in his article:

https://www.academia.edu/824724/Babylonia_and_Elam._The_Evidence_of_the_Calendars

“In the book of prophet Isaiah, we find mention of some presence of Jews scattered in Elam, as it is suggested also from Esther’s

story that was set at the Persian court in Susa, once was the capital city of Elam. Although, Elam as a political entity or Kingdom

disappeared in 6th

Century BC by an attack from Assur Banipal and subsequent exiles of all Elamites from the land of Persia,

however, it survived its geographical and ethnic connection until 14th

century AD. When the name Elam identified in the

ecclesiastical province of the Nestorian church located in Khuzestan (the ancient Susiana). It is noteworthy that Elamites together

with Parthians and Medes replace Paulus, Alexandrinus’ Persis in the Acts, which should attest a more recent form of tradition.

The proximity of the Elamite and the Mesopotamian peoples hides a deeper significance. One might say that Elamite culture

cannot be known without looking both westward at the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations at first and then east ward towards

21

at the incoming Persians. The same might be said about the Elamite calendar. Here I shall briefly discuss the development of the

Elamite calendar during the2nd millennium and the first half of the1st millennium BC on the grounds of the occurrences of both

Elamite and Babylonian month-names. At the end of this time span, the Old Persian calendar made its appearance abruptly,

interposing between the other two. I must take the assumption that Elamites used a Luni-solar calendar for granted.

Unfortunately there is no direct evidence for this and we must be careful not to take the Elamite calendar as a whole, without

internal subdivisions by periods and areas”. He continues: “In Achemenians times, the Elamite the words “ITU”“month” and

“NAAN” “day” are almost always marked by a star, the cuneiform sign and a reminder of the tight tie with the heavenly gods who

ruled over time rhythms, specifically Moon and Sun. Between month names, both the Old Persian and the Elamite ones, were

often preceded by this divine determination, such habit is unprecedented before Darius’ Bisotun inscription and apart from its

Elamite version”.

For sake of simplicity, we can conclude that Elamite always celebrated the end of the Barley harvest season

and Neo-Assyrians Babylonia combined ancient Sumerian tradition of beginning and end of harvest season.

Therefore, we can conclude that the end of the agriculture season that falls in autumn (Oct-November) will

coincide with Deepawali of Hindu tradition that have Elamite connection and roots. I also suggest that the

other Hindu festivals like Vaisakhi, vasant Panchmi and Holi more coincided with Indo-Iranian Aryan

tradition of celebrating end of cold season and beginning of harvest season. Nauruz festival of Iranians and

other central Asians people falls into the same category. India has it both ways with its composite and

diversified cultures. The New Year festival was celebrated at the first of month of “lan-nobeh” (first month

of autumn). The Persians could not resist the influence of Elamites. They have their autumn festival called

“Mehregan” related to God Mehr (Mithra, Mitra). India also has original aborigine cultures that also marked

their festivities and entered into Hindu tradition. A summarized list of the festivals is given at the tail end of

the article.

1. Can we conclude now that India have similar festivals that Sumerians, Akkadians and Elamites had with

some kind of religious myth attached to it? Indo-Aryans were no different but did superimposed “Aryan”

layer to integrate as a single platform for unified culture.

2. We have it all, Elamite version of new year in south and also Indo-Aryan version of the new year in

Northern india like Punjab and Kashmir prior to arrival of Islam in the subcontinent.

3. The modern man does not fully understand that the ancients had a good knowledge of astrology and they

relied on God’s favor (Nature) to support their agricultural harvest and that was the most important thing

for their survivals and wellbeing.

The Indo-Iranian Aryan group who called themselves Aryans (Airya/Airyan in the Avesta and Arya/Aryan in

the Vedas had composed the Vedic and Zoroastrian scriptures called Rig-Veda and the Avesta respectively.

Bisotun inscription testifies that Darius regarded himself as an Aryan and probably “Kuru Vansi”. The Karun

River runs in southern through southern Iran from northern mountain areas. See maps below.

22

Present Map of Iran with “Karun” river and satellite image of the “Karun” river flowing through ancient land of Elam

The Rig Veda being the older of the two texts do not mentions a specific geography for the Aryan’s

homeland. Although, the Persian Avesta and Indian Rig Veda are the only known ancient texts that contain

references to Aryans as a distinct group. Avesta refers the homeland of Aryan as “Airyana Vaeja” or

“Airyanam Dakhyunam”. This land is a beautiful but mountainous and cold wintery land. While the precise

location of the original Aryan homeland is lost to the history and we have continuous debates and theories

as to its precise location. There is one conclusion that we can derive from Avestan description of Aryan

homeland, “A cold wintery place.” Would not then be a good idea to celebrate the end of bitter cold winter

they may have encountered, so they can feed their animals in grassy land and raise some crops? Vaisakhi,

Baisakhi or Vasant Panchmi celebration and Holi bonfire on arrival of spring season appears to be the

Aryan’s foot prints of holidays. They substituted “Soma” drink with “Bhang” drink made out of Cannabis

leaves and it is still very popular in north India. Indians are told that the river flowing from Shiva’s head is

Ganga. How do we know that for sure? The river can also be Indus-saraswati. It is also probable that Rama

and Krishna worship of ancient India was incorporated by Vedic Brahmin as an incarnation of Aryan God

Vishnu! These are mind probing hypothesis and theories worth considering.

The List of Festivals in the subcontinent connected with the harvest:

1. Akhatrij (Akshaya Tritiya): celebrated in West India esp. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Goa and Konkan regions

23

2. Bhogali Bihu: (or Magh Bihu) is a harvest festival celebrated in Assam which marks the end of harvesting

season in mid-January.

3. Deepoli Parba: celebrated by the Tuluva people from Karnataka/Kerala (India).

4. Dree Festival is an agricultural festival of the Apatanis of Ziro valley in Lower Subansiri District of

Arunachal Pradesh, celebrated every year from 4 to 7 July.

5. Gudhi Padwa: celebrated by the Marathi people in Maharashtra, Karnataka (India)

6. Holi: celebrated in North-West India especially Uttarpradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and

Gujarat.

7. JurShital on 13th or 14th April in Mithila (Portion of Bihar & Nepal).

8. Kanyarkali is an agricultural festival of the Malayalee Moothan, Nair and Tharakan communities of

Chittur and Alathur thaluks of Palakkad in Kerala, India.

9. Lohri: celebrated in North India esp. Punjab

10. Nabanna: Bengal region which comprises West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh.

11. Onam and Vishu are agricultural festivals celebrated by Malayali people in Kerala (India) and other

places.

12. Pongal: celebrated by the Tamil people in Tamil Nadu (India) and other places

13. Puthari/Huthari: Coorg, Karnataka (south India)

14. Sankranthi or Makar Sankranthi: Celebrated in almost all regions of India including Maharashtra,

Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Celebrated in January, this

harvest festival goes by different names in different states.

15. Traditional New Year celebrations in Sri Lanka coincide with the harvest festival in mid-April.

16. Ugadi is a festival celebrated by Telugu people in Andhra Pradesh & Kannadigas in Karnataka (India).

17. Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi): celebrated by Punjabi people in Punjab (India) including Sikh community. It is

also celebrated in other parts of North India and elsewhere. The festival falls on the first day of Vaisakhi

month (usually mid-April), and marks the Punjabi New Year.

18. Vasant Panchmi: celebrated in West India esp. Gujarat, This festival is celebrated in Nepal, West Bengal

(India) and Bangladesh to invoke wisdom and consciousness in human beings. In the Punjab region, the

festival is celebrated as the Basanta Festival of kites.

24

REFERENCES:

1. Festivals, food and farming: http://piereligion.org/festivals.html

2. The wheels of the years and 12 months moon http://sunmooncalendar.com/

3. Guide to Equinox and solstice http://www.athropolis.com/sunrise/def-sol2.htm

4. Seasons http://archaeoastronomy.com/seasons.html

5. The Sacred Calendar and Rites of Asatru (Ishtar-Inanana) http://odinsvolk.ca/O.V.A.%20-

%20SACRED%20CALENDER.htm

6. Autumn Equinox-How people celebrate harvest festivals http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/autumn-equinox-

how-do-people-around-world-celebrate-harvest-festivals-1466328

7. Fall Equinox https://www.danaan.net/druidry/wheel-of-the-year/fall-equinox/

8. List of Harvest Festivals:

http://us.wow.com/wiki/List_of_harvest_festivals?s_chn=41&s_pt=aolsem&v_t=aolsem

9. Common Holidays in Relation to Equinoxes, Solstices & Cross-Quarter Days

http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/cal/

10. Equinoxes calculators https://stellafane.org/misc/equinox.html

11. Solstices & Equinoxes for Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA (2050-2099)

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/seasons.html?year=2050&n=0 and

http://www.hermetic.ch/eqsol/eqsol.htm

12. http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/history-of-diwali.html#CVZKRblJfLMWBTpy.99

13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehregan

14. https://www.academia.edu/824724/Babylonia_and_Elam._The_Evidence_of_the_Calendars