Anna Jarvis

A reality across India, however, is that a large number of Muslims willingly celebrate Hindu festivals. They do so not only as a gesture of social courtesy extended to their Hindu brethren but also on their own volition, sometimes as an open acknowledgement of their Hindu ancestry.

There are two official holidays in Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Both holidays occur on dates in the lunar Islamic calendar, which is different from the solar based Gregorian calendar, so they are observed on different Gregorian dates every year.

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate most holidays or events that honour people who aren’t Jesus. That includes birthdays, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Hallowe’en. They also don’t celebrate religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter in the belief that these customs have pagan origins.

Mothers have been revered throughout history, from ancient pagan celebrations to church holidays to present-day Mother’s Day. The tradition dates back to pagan celebrations in ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. In Rome, too, Cybele, a mother of goddesses, was worshipped as early as 250 B.C.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it is against God’s will to receive blood and, therefore, they refuse blood transfusions, often even if it is their own blood. The willing acceptance of blood transfusions by Jehovah’s Witnesses has in some cases led to expulsion from and ostracisation by their religious community.

Multiple transfusion alternatives have been developed, and many are generally acceptable to a Jehovah’s Witness patient, including tranexamic acid, prothrombin complex concentrate, and fibrin glue.