Easter: religious rites blend with culture

Various religious communities of Metro Vancouver are observing the Holy Week, this month, which starts on Palm Sunday and culminates in the Easter celebration on Apr. 17, this year. The Christian Easter period begins with the Great Lent, a 40-day period preceding Easter, which is the longest fasting period of both the Eastern Orthodox Church…

Nowruz celebrates the Persian New Year and deep ties to culture

In Metro Vancouver, some 30,000 Iranian Canadians live in flourishing cultural neighbourhoods. Iranian tastes and smells fill the shops and restaurants, and Farsi signs and newspapers catch the eye in places like Lonsdale Ave. On Mar. 20, the Persian community will be celebrating its New Year, Nowruz. According to the 2016 Census, 210,405 Iranians reside…

A gathering to spotlight Maya spirituality

Avexnim Cojti wants to raise awareness about Maya, a long-practiced spirituality before the Spanish colonizers came to Guatemala. In Guatemala, a territory that had once nurtured Maya for thousands of years, many Guatemalans are devout Catholics. Yet Cojti represents one of the few who practice Maya. “I’m not saying mine is better than theirs. All…