A Diversity Message From Neil Meltzer - January
Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that we're already welcoming another brand new year - one that I hope is full of promise and joy for each of you. There is much to be thankful for as well as to anticipate as we welcome in 2017.
Some of the many celebrations across the world this month include World Religion Day, which falls on January 15, encourages interfaith understanding. Founded in 1947 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i, World Religion Day is an opportunity for churches and organizations around the world to host interfaith events where people can become better educated about different religions. The Baha'i faith emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind and emerged in 19th century Persia. Followers believe in three core principles: the unity of God, the unity of religion and the unity of humankind.
January 16 is a federal holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a Baptist minister and leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He is best known for his role in advancing civil rights by using nonviolent civil disobedience, culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr. King successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law until his assassination in 1968. Beginning in 1994, his birthday celebration has been combined with a day of service to encourage citizens to give back to their communities in honor of Dr. King, who once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"
January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The General Assembly of the United Nations designated this day - the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi-German concentration and extermination camp - as an opportunity to commemorate the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who perished at the hands of Germany's Nazi regime during the Second World War. The Holocaust was a defining era in the history of humanity. In a continent-wide program of destruction of all Jewish communities that fell within its grasp, the Nazis also persecuted and killed millions of other people because they were considered "racially inferior" or for political, ideological or behavioral reasons. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to us to teach younger generations the lessons of the Holocaust to help prevent such acts from occurring again.
January 28 is the Chinese New Year. Also, known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, it marks the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar. Chinese communities around the United States celebrate the New Year, which can last for days, by sharing dinner together, decorating their homes and by taking part in parades that feature floats and firecrackers. Throughout the festivities, Chinese-American families spend time together and exchange gifts, including money wrapped in red and gold packages usually given to children. Each Chinese New Year is associated with an animal, this year it's the rooster.
At LifeBridge Health we celebrate both what makes us diverse and unique, and what makes us the same - our shared purpose of caring for communities together.
- Written by Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health
Some of the many celebrations across the world this month include World Religion Day, which falls on January 15, encourages interfaith understanding. Founded in 1947 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i, World Religion Day is an opportunity for churches and organizations around the world to host interfaith events where people can become better educated about different religions. The Baha'i faith emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind and emerged in 19th century Persia. Followers believe in three core principles: the unity of God, the unity of religion and the unity of humankind. January 16 is a federal holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a Baptist minister and leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He is best known for his role in advancing civil rights by using nonviolent civil disobedience, culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr. King successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law until his assassination in 1968. Beginning in 1994, his birthday celebration has been combined with a day of service to encourage citizens to give back to their communities in honor of Dr. King, who once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"
January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The General Assembly of the United Nations designated this day - the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi-German concentration and extermination camp - as an opportunity to commemorate the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who perished at the hands of Germany's Nazi regime during the Second World War. The Holocaust was a defining era in the history of humanity. In a continent-wide program of destruction of all Jewish communities that fell within its grasp, the Nazis also persecuted and killed millions of other people because they were considered "racially inferior" or for political, ideological or behavioral reasons. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to us to teach younger generations the lessons of the Holocaust to help prevent such acts from occurring again.
January 28 is the Chinese New Year. Also, known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, it marks the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar. Chinese communities around the United States celebrate the New Year, which can last for days, by sharing dinner together, decorating their homes and by taking part in parades that feature floats and firecrackers. Throughout the festivities, Chinese-American families spend time together and exchange gifts, including money wrapped in red and gold packages usually given to children. Each Chinese New Year is associated with an animal, this year it's the rooster.
At LifeBridge Health we celebrate both what makes us diverse and unique, and what makes us the same - our shared purpose of caring for communities together.
- Written by Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health