In the USSR, the October Revolution of 1917 was celebrated in November. In 1917 the Russian Empire still used the old Julian calendar. Changing the calendar meant 365 days after the revolution started was now in November 1918.
In 1923 some Eastern Orthodox Churches changed to the Gregorian calendar. Christmas Day is the same as the Catholic and Protestant churches, but the date of Easter continues to be worked out differently.
The Russian Orthodox Church, as well as some other Eastern Orthodox Churches such as Georgian and Serbian, did not want this change, so Russian Christmas Day is about two weeks after the rest of Europe.
Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar's way of working out leap years on January 1, 1873, but the months have numbers instead of names. Japan also starts year one with each new reign, but uses reign names not the name an emperor might be best known by in the west. For example, the reign names "Meiji" year 1=1868, "Taisho" 1=1912, "Showa" (Emperor Hirohito) 1=1926, "Heisei" (Emperor Akihito) 1=1989, and so on. The "Western calendar" (西暦, "seireki") using western year numbers, is also widely accepted by civilians and to a lesser extent by government agencies.
Some old dates in Britain were written and documented with two different years. This is because Britain did not start a new year until March 25, so for a few months it was one year in Britain and the next year in other countries.
The letters OS (for "Old Style") and NS (for "New Style") were used to help determine the year being used. For example, King Charles I died on January 30, 1649. In "Old Style" it is correct to say that Charles I died "January 30, 1648 (OS)". Using "New Style", as we determine dates now, the correct date and year would be February 9, 1649.
In the old calendar the year started on March 25. This became April 5, and was used as the first day of the year for working out taxes and rents. Taxes and rents went on using the old way of working out leap years so in 1800 the year started on April 6. But it was not changed in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on April 6.
People sometimes use the term N.S. or New Style to mean the Gregorian calendar, with Old Style (or O.S.) meaning the Julian calendar.
Southern hemisphere
The Southern hemisphere is the half of Earth that is south of the equator. It has about 10 percent of world's population and only a small part of the world's land. A very small part of Asia, one-third of Africa, 90 percent of South America and all of Australia are in this hemisphere.
Sufism
Sufism (also known as Tassawuf) is a group or branch in Islam with a mystic path or system. Someone who practices Sufism is called a Sufi, and may be a "Dervish" or a "Fakir".
At first, Sufism only meant making Islam more personal and internal. Some say it first came from constantly reciting the Qur'an, meditating, and through experience. Others believe that Sufism is trying to live as the Islamic prophet Muhammad did, to be closer to God. This is how the Prophet taught his disciples. Additionally, the Muslim conquests had brought large numbers of Christian monks and hermits, especially in Syria and Egypt, under Muslim rule. They believed in a deeply spiritual and mystical (even 'Platonic') way of life and many of their ways became part of early Sufism.
Some of these teachings were summarized in texts (in Arabic initially). Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwais al-Qarni, Harrm bin Hian, Hasan Basri and Sayid ibn al-Mussib, who are regarded as among the first Sufis in the earliest generations of Islam. Harith al-Muhasibi was the first one to write about moral psychology. Rabia Basri was a Sufi known for her love and passion for God, expressed through her poetry. Bayazid Bastami was among the first theorists of Sufism.
Sufism already had a long history when some teachers began to set up formal schools or orders ("Tarika" or "Tariqah") in the early Middle Ages. Almost all existing Sufi orders today trace their roots and chain of transmission ("silsila") back to Muhammad, via one of these orders.
The main idea in Sufism is that people can have 'personal knowledge' or oneness with God in their lives. In order to be one with God, you have to destroy your idea of yourself, or your ego. This is known as "fanaa" (annihilation). Apart from saying Sufi prayers, that vary according to different orders, you should be humble, considerate, and only act in order to control your desires.
After "fanaa" is achieved, the you are reborn to live with, in, through and for God, ("baqaa", permanency). This is the state where you have achieved the divine love of God, and come ever closer to a unity with God. You should now strive to be one with God. A person who has crossed the various Sufi 'stages' and achieved this sort of mystic union with Allah, is called a "Wali" (a saint or friend of God) and the state is termed "Wilayat" (friendship/union).
In Sufism there exist many different orders ("tarikas"), that were founded from the 12th and 13th centuries until today/contemporary times. Some of the major Sufi orders are:
Some of the major, notable Sufis in history, from the 'classical age' of Sufism, include:
Modern practitioners, who have achieved the degree of "sheikh" (Master/Preceptor) and are accounted to have a high spiritual status, are still found in various places.
Sufi practices are usually defined within the basic tenets of Islam, the "Sharia" (or "Shariah") although some orders include singing and dancing in the love of God, something some Muslims frown on. Hence some Muslims of a more orthodox mind-set believe that any actions outside the scope of "Sharia", or Sufi activities practised by non-Muslims are 'wrong'. However the underlying message and aim of the quest for the love of God is true for all humanity. For a non-Muslim the most important ideas in Sufism are love for fellow human beings (which reflects one's love of God) and living ones life in such a way where all actions are against the self. This automatically starts him on the path of "fanaa". In terms of discipleship and training, almost all the major Sufi orders are themselves quite willing to take students who are not Muslims.
There are some Muslim schools of thought, such as the Wahhabi for example, who oppose Sufism because they feel it obliterates the difference between God and man and bypasses the common method of salvation as prescribed by their interpretations of "Sharia". Although there are non-Islamic versions of Sufism too (generally defined as 'Universal Sufism') puritanical and rigid people in Islam tend to view them with considerable hatred and anger. As a result, we often see a great deal of misunderstanding and conflict regarding Sufism and Sufic practices.
Historically speaking, orthodox Islam, especially fundamentalist groups like the Wahhabi and Salafi have been the most intolerant and violent against what they think of as 'Deviant Sufism'. In the past centuries, severe persecution has been carried out by them against the Kharijites, the Ismaili Shia cult (sometimes termed the 'Assassins'), the Ahmadiyya movement and several other groups and individuals with Sufi-like mystical tendencies and practices. During the time of the later Mughal Empire in India, even the early "gurus" of Sikhism were persecuted by orthodox Islamic "mullahs" (theologians) since they had chosen to incorporate some of the ideas and poetic verses of the Sufi saint Baba Farid into their holy scriptures. In more recent times, over the last two decades, considerable persecution has been made of the spiritual reformer and sage Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi and his followers in Pakistan. He was opposed and threatened and forced to flee the country and his books banned there, and anyone publicly supporting him is liable to immediate arrest.