CHIIST HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS

Global Faith Ministries of Chiism has numerous holidays we celebrate….

Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is a week-long festivity held in the United States of veneration of universal African-American legacy and traditions, observed from December 26 to January 1 annually. It involves activities such as lighting a candle holder with seven candles and concludes in a banquet and gift-giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga with the first celebration in 1966–67.

New-Yam Festival.The New Yam festival of the Igbo (Igbo: Iwa ji or Iri ndi) is a yearly harvest celebration by the Igbo people held at the end of the rainy season in early August. The Iwa ji festival (literally “new-yam eating“) is practiced all through West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana in particular) as well as in other African countries and afar, signifying the end of a harvest and the start of the next work sequence. The festivity is an extremely ethnically based event, tying individual Igbo society together as essentially agrarian and dependent on the cultivation on the yam produce(August, 25, 2012)

Ahanyi Day. A celebration of the life of Ogbaja Ahanyi KOK Onyioha).Ahanyi became an Ancestor on July 21, 2003. Ahanyi day is celebrated on July the 23, his birthday.

Africa Day, Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), presently recognized as the African Union (AU). The African Union, comprised of 53 member states, has brought together the continent of Africa to collectively address the challenges it has faced, such as armed conflict, climate change, and poverty. Chiism celebrates this day on the global delegated day.

UBOCHI  NDE NNE (Mothers Day). Mother’s Day is a remembrance of mothers and motherhood, motherly relationships, and the weight of mothers in the world. It is celebrated on a variety of days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March, April, or May.

UBOCHI NDE NNA (Father’s Day). Father’s Day is a remembrance of fathers and fatherhood, fatherly relationships, and the weight of fathers in the world. It is celebrated most commonly in June.(June 17, 2012).

IGWA MANWU(Ancestors Day), The Ancestral Arunsi or Obasi, focuses on family, and genealogical continuity and Igwa Manwu in Nkporo Nigeria is the yearly festival dedicated to reverence for ancestors.  The African does not worship the ancestor.  The word worship in the dictionary means “to regard or treat with honor”.  It is so innocent that we can apply it in describing our relationship with our ancestors.  But because, in the dictionary, it also means “to honor, revere as a supernatural power or being”, Chiism(Godianism) prefers to “revere” in describing our relationship with our ancestors in order to avoid the use of “worship” only to confuse our dealings with the Supreme God, with our dealings with our ancestors, and play into the hands of the white man. It is not an official holiday in all of Africa but given the penchant that the Africans have for abandoning their ancestral heritage, Chiism is celebrating the Nkporo Nigerian celebration for the purpose of reminding Africans to rediscover the relevance of the Ancestors in the matters of our African traditions and spiritual well-being. On Ancestor Day we pay respects to deceased relatives.  We  prepare meals for our Nchuaja’s  (Spiritual leaders), leave offerings in the Obasi Oha, and bring Colanuts to the alter at the Obasi Oha service for the Ancestors.  September 29, 1012.

IGBA UKE…AGE GRADE FESTIVAL. This festival is a day dedicated to creating age group membership for African youth in which they are assigned specific groups to belong to and learn expectations for community conduct.  The festival includes age group cultural dances, wrestling matches for different age groups culminating with the crowning of the wrestling warrior for each age group(With a per-determined monetary college fund, language knowledge competitions, writing contest and the crowning of the winner of the Sariki game!(March 30th, 2013.