eHealth Technologies’ DEI Committee would like to highlight two observances in January:
January 14: Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is observed with social festivities such as colorful decorations, rural children going from house to house, singing and asking for treats in some areas, melas (fairs), dances, kite flying, bonfires, and feasts. Many observers go to sacred rivers or lakes and bathe in a ceremony of thanks to the sun. Every twelve years, the Hindus observe Makar Sankranti with Kumbha Mela – one of the world’s largest mass pilgrimages, with an estimated 60 to 100 million people attending the event. At this event, they say a prayer to the sun and bathe at the Prayagaraj, a confluence of the River Ganga and River Yamuna. The bathing is believed to result in merit or absolution of past sins.
A shared cultural practice found amongst Hindus of various parts of India is making sticky, bound sweets, particularly from sesame (til) and a sugar base such as jaggery. This type of sweet is a symbol of being together in peace and joyfulness, despite the uniqueness and differences between individuals. For most parts of India, this period is a part of the early stages of the Rabi crop and agricultural cycle, where crops have been sown and the hard work in the fields is mostly over. The time signifies a period of socializing and families enjoying each other’s company, taking care of the cattle, and celebrating around bonfires. In Gujarat, the festival is celebrated by flying kites.
January 27: International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Every year around the 27th of January, UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of Holocaust victims and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence. The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945. It was officially proclaimed the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust by the United Nations General Assembly in November 2005.
The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, with universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. Member States share a collective responsibility for addressing the residual trauma, maintaining effective remembrance policies, caring for historic sites, and promoting education, documentation, and research, more than seven decades after the genocide. This responsibility entails educating people about the causes, consequences, and dynamics of such crimes to help strengthen the resilience of young people against ideologies of hatred. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, and as we are witnessing a global rise of antisemitism and hate speech, this has never been so relevant. Remember to forget intolerance of any group, as this may lead to group-targeted violence against any people at any time.