Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as "Holy Week"—it contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are identical or very similar.

Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church, and decorating Easter eggs (symbols of the empty tomb).

The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection, traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide.

Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades. There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally.

The 2018 Chinese New Year begins on Friday, February 16. Chinese New Year takes place on a different date each year, because it is based on the lunar calendar.

New Year's Day normally falls between January 21 and February 20.

The global celebrations are an explosion of light and sound, involving bell ringing, lighting firecrackers and watching traditional lion dances. Chinese families gather together for a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, and clean their houses to sweep away bad fortune on New Year's Day.

Traditionally, kids would be given red envelopes stuffed with 'lucky money' and positive wishes on New Year's Day.

2018 is a Year of the Dog. In Chinese astrology, each year is related to a Chinese zodiac animal according to the 12-year cycle. 2018 is an Earth Dog Year.

Years of the Dog include 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, and 2030... The Dog occupies the eleventh position in the Chinese zodiac, after the Rooster, and before the Pig.

For more information on Chinese New Year please CLICK HERE

Diwali is the Indian “festival of lights”—a holiday that celebrates the triumph of good over evil. This year, Diwali will be celebrated on November 12. Though technically religious, it’s also become a cultural event in North America that’s celebrated with sweets and special foods.

What Is Diwali?

Diwali (also called Divali or Deepavali) is a “festival of lights” that celebrates the triumph of light over dark and good over evil, and the blessings of victory, freedom, and enlightenment. The name comes from Sanksrit dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” On the night of Diwali, celebrants light dozens of candles and clay lamps (called diyas), placing them throughout their homes and in the streets to light up the dark night.

In most of India, Diwali consists of a five-day celebration that peaks on the third day with the main celebration of Diwali. In other places where Diwali occurs, usually only the main day is celebrated.

Who Celebrates Diwali?

Diwali is primarily celebrated by followers of the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths. However, the holiday is celebrated throughout India, Singapore, and several other South Asian countries as a national holiday, meaning that people outside these religions may participate in Diwali celebrations, too. Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and elsewhere around the globe also regularly celebrate Diwali.

When Is Diwali?

Diwali occurs annually in autumn (or spring, in the southern hemisphere), during the Hindu month of Kartik. (To put it in Western terms, Kartik begins around mid-October and ends in mid-November.) Specifically, Diwali occurs on the darkest day of the lunar month, which is the day of the new Moon.

Image Attribution: Yair Aronshtam from Israel, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Hanukkah (also spelled “Chanukah”) is an eight-day winter “festival of lights,” which begins each year on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.

Because the Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the dates of Jewish holidays according to the Gregorian calendar change from year to year. For this reason, the beginning of Hanukkah can range from late November to late December.

In short, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a group of Jewish warriors defeated the occupying Greek armies. The festival celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and of spirituality over materiality. 

In 2023, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Thursday, December 7th and continues through Friday, December 15th. The first candle is lit on the Chanukiah (menorah) on the first night of Hanukkah.

Passover is a Jewish festival celebrated in commemoration of the release of the Hebrews from the brutal slavery of the ancient Egyptians. The festival holds great significance for the entire Jewish community residing across the world.

Passover, which is also known as Pesach, falls on the 15th day of the Nisan month in the Hebrew calendar and lasts till the 21st or 22nd day. This date corresponds in the month of March or April as per the Gregorian calendar. Observed with much pomp and show, Passover celebrations revolve around holidaying, feasting and merry-making. People meet one another and exchange greetings.

This year Passover is celebrated between April 10 and 18th. 

On behalf of British Columbia golf, "May you be blessed with Happiness, prosperity, peace and good health on Pesach and always. Happy Passover!"

Dawn Coe-Jones Is Shown Here At The 2008 Canadian Women's Open At The Ottawa Hunt Club - Image Courtesy Ian Hutchinson

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Dawn Coe-Jones, a B.C. Junior Girls and Women’s Amateur champion who went on to win three times on the LPGA Tour, died early Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 56.

BCer's Stuart Macdonald (L) And Seann Harlingten (R) Both Survived The Pressure Of Q-School To Obtain Solid Status On The Web.com Tour For 2018 - Images Courtesy PGA TOUR Mackenzie-Tour Canada

Calgary's Ryan Yip And Toronto's Albin Choi Also Earned Status As All Four Canadians In The Final Stage Of Web.com Q-School Finished Inside The Top 45 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

If there were any doubts about whether he could make birdies when it mattered most, Stuart Macdonald erased them on the back nine of the fourth and final round of the Web.com Tour qualifying school.

With the butterflies in his stomach in full flight, the 23-year-old rookie pro from Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf & Country Club, calmly made six birdies on his final nine holes to earn Web.com Tour status for 2018.

No sweat? Not really.

For Immediate Release via LPGA Tour

Canada’s Brooke Henderson has been granted immediate status on the LPGA Tour. Read the statement by the tour’s commissioner Michael Whan and one from Brooke below.

Brooke Rivers (AJGA File Photo)

VICTORIA, B.C. – Brooke Rivers’ debut on the international golfing stage is off to a splendid start as the 14-year-old from Brampton, Ont. helped put Canada on the board Thursday at the Astor Trophy.

Rivers, who is about to enter Grade 9, won both of her matches Thursday at Royal Colwood Golf Club as Canada earned half a point by tying its matches with Australia.

Rivers teamed with Noémie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., to win their foursomes match 2&1 over Australians Amelia Mehmet-Grohn and Kirsty Hodgkins. After a quick lunch, Rivers then went out and beat Australia’s Emily Mahar 2-up in their afternoon singles match.

In the latest edition of The ModGolf Podcast, creator and host, Colin Weston, interviews Andy Walker, the Director of The UGA Academy & Player Development.

Walker explains how the state-of-the-art facility in Florida he calls The Wakanda For Golf aims to teach this game at the highest level "...with resources that include biomechanics and short game area to learn how to score develop emotionally, physically and mentally.”

We will introduce players of African decent to the industry because not all of them are going to play on tour. We want to flood the industry with qualified professionals that go into the management side of the game, or golf architecture, club design, agronomy. All the different opportunities with the PGA and on The PGA Tour.”

Nanaimo’s Manpreet Lalh And Jason Yu Of Vancouver Earn Spots In U.S. Junior Amateur

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Luna Lu fired her career-low competitive round and that meant everyone else was playing for second place at a U.S. Junior Girls qualifier at Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby.

Lu, a former B.C. Junior Girls champion, shot a bogey-free six-under 66 to win the qualifier by five shots and earn a spot in the U.S. Junior Girls Championship, which goes July 15-20 at El Caballero Golf Club in Tarzana, Calif.

Inaugural Event To Host Up To 10,000 Athletes From Around The Globe

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA – Be part of history as Vancouver welcomes up to 10,000 masters aged athletes to the first ever America's Masters Games. Relive the thrill of hosting a major international sport competition from Aug 26 to Sept 4 2016.

2500 volunteers are needed to stage this spectacular event of inspiring ceremonies and celebrations in Canada Place (Jack Poole Plaza), exciting competition in 24 different sports at venues across the city and memorable social interactions with people from around the world.

With The Masters about to tee it up in a couple of days, we thought it might be interesting to read why one prognosticator includes at least one Canadian in his top 10 picks for players 'Most Likely To Win The Masters'- ed.

By Rich Hunt/golfwrx.com

Each year for the Masters, I create a filtering process to help determine the players who are most likely to win the green jacket based on criteria that have strongly predicted outcomes at Augusta. I usually get the list down to roughly 20-25 players.

Last year, Dustin Johnson was one of my 21 players who could win the Masters. Dustin was at 9/1 odds. The other top finishers, like Cameron Smith and Sung Jae Im, were filtered out unlike previous years where players that were in contention were typically shortlisted. My theory on that is that due to the tournament being played in November, the course was not playing as firm and as fast as it normally does, and that allowed players who typically do not get through my filter to get into contention.

Before I discuss my picks for this year’s Masters....

Click HERE to see full article

Medalists In The Golf Competition At The Invictus Games In Toronto Include 5 Canadians - Image Courtesy Invictus/Twitter

Written by Terry Lenyk/ Golf Canada

TORONTO – The inaugural adaptive golf competition of the Invictus Games took place Tues, Sept. 26, at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, where Canadians claimed five medals.

The competition was contested over 18 holes using modified Stableford scoring using Handicap Factors/Index.

Claiming gold in the men’s competition with a 38-point total was David Scott of the United Kingdom. Canada’s Étienne Aubé claimed silver with 37 points. Canadians Dan Graham and Jay Nickol earned bronze with 35 points, as did American Josh Lindstrom.

September 13, 2014
Tyler Costigan (Golf Canada)

KARUIZAWA, Japan – Team Canada made it interesting down the stretch but could not catch the Americans, falling short by two strokes to finish second at 36-under par at the 2014 men’s World Amateur Team Championship at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.

September 6, 2014
(Golf Canada) 

Team Canada had history in their sights but it wasn’t meant to be as Australia, with a combined 131 from world no. 1 ranked Minjee Lee and Su Oh in the final round, came from seven strokes back to win the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship (WWATC) at 29-under-par 547 at Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course.

Canada, which led on each of the first three days and was vying for its first Women’s World Amateur victory, finished second at 27-under 549 to capture the silver medal.

Canada's World Amateur Men's Team From L-R: Jared du Toit, Garrett Rank And Hugo Bernard - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – On the strength of Garrett Rank’s 69 (-2), the Canadian contingent climbed inside the Top-10 for the first time in Saturday’s final round of the 30th World Amateur Team Championship to close the tournament in a tie for ninth at 12-under par.

Playing on the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club, Rank, 29, led the Canadian trio to a team score of 2-under par on the day, coupled with Jared du Toit’s even-par 71. Collectively, Rank was the leading Canadian at the event. The Elmira, Ont., product finished at 1-under par (74-72-70-69) to hold an individual share of 35th.

Kimberley, B.C., native Jared du Toit finished two strokes behind Rank at 1-over par (71-70-75-71). The 21-year-old Arizona State senior closed at T44. Teammate Hugo Bernard of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., was disqualified because of a scoring error in his final round.

Felix Bouchard Of Otterburn Park, Que. And Brady Mckinlay From Lacombe, Alta., Won The Tailhade Cup For Canada's 4th Ever Win At The Event - Image Credit: Argentina Golf Association

By Terry Lenyk/Golf Canada

(Buenos Aires, Argentina) – Felix Bouchard of Otterburn Park, Que. and Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta., led Team Canada to victory in the 51st edition of the Tailhade Cup at Los Lagartos Country Club.

With a total of 422 strokes, Canada clinched their fourth title, finishing four strokes ahead of Denmark and Switzerland. Their strong performance was attributed to Bouchard and McKinlay’s combined rounds of 142, 137, and 143 strokes.

Click HERE for complete story.

Team Canada L-R Back Row: Jeff MacDonald (Coach), Cooper Humphreys, Ethan Wilson, Jean Phillippe Parr, Felix Bouchard, Robert Ratcliffe (Head Coach), L-R Front Row: Jennifer Greggain (Coach), Michelle Liu, Yeji Kwon, Nicole Gal - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Via Golf Canada

VICTORIA, B.C. – Team Canada’s National Junior Squad boys and girls teams both finished with top spots on the leaderboard at Royal Colwood Golf Club to secure the opportunity to play in the 2022 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup.

Courtesy PGA of Canada

The following countries are tentatively committed to play in the 2019 Women’s PGA Cup: Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, Sweden and the United States.

The PGA of America announced recently the formation of an international event, the Women’s PGA Cup – a first-of-its-kind team competition for Women PGA members from around the world.

The PGA of Canada is pleased to be taking part in this landmark event. The inaugural competition will be played October 21-26, 2019 in the United States.