How is night an appropriate symbol

In his book The Sign of the Cross: From Golgotha to Genocide , Dr Daniel Rancour-Laferriere, an expert on Christianity, suggests that Hitler's decision to use the hakenkreuz as a symbol of the Nazi party "may have been due to his childhood upbringing at the Benedictine Monastery in Austria, where he repeatedly saw the hooked cross in many places".

In Hinduism the swastika cross has for many centuries been a symbol of religious devotion Credit: Alamy. But over the decades, the swastika has become a contentious and controversial cultural icon. In his book The Swastika and Symbols of Hate, Heller says: "The swastika is an ancient symbol that was hijacked and perverted, twisted into the graphic embodiment of intolerance.

New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky introduced a bill in the New York Senate in , which would require schools in the state of New York to teach that the swastika is an example of a hate symbol.

Due to the bill's national implications, organisations including the World Hindu Council of America urged the New York Senate to differentiate between the original swastika and the Nazi hakenkreuz. Director of advocacy and awareness for the World Hindu Council of America VHPA Utsav Chakrabarty said , " We acknowledge the horrid way the swastika has been misused and misinterpreted… For the past 70 years, the swastika continues to remain a vilified and maligned symbol.

This must be corrected. Instead of censoring the symbol, we must celebrate the positive history of it. An ancient mosaic in Uzayzy, Jordan, shows a version of the sacred emblem Credit: Alamy. Even members of the Jewish community have highlighted on several occasions the way in which the sign has been misused.

The participants recognise that this symbol is, and has been, sacred to Hindus for millennia before its misappropriation , " said the declaration made at the Second Hindu Jewish Leadership Summit in Jerusalem held in February Swastikas have however been allowed in the filming of historical movies and the making of video games.

There have been some attempts to redeem its image by artists down the ages. The symbol was included by pop star Madonna in a video in , accompanying the song Nobody Knows Me.

Madonna later said that she used it to show growing intolerance of people to other communities and people. She painted a gold swastika on a wall above a black Nazi swastika painted on the floor. The anti-Semitic use of the swastika did not end with World War Two. Even today racist neo-nazi gangs use the sign to desecrate Jewish graves or houses of worship. Some people feel that its taboo status has enhanced its appeal for hate groups. In , a year-old Indian student in the US , Simran Tatuskar , faced a backlash on social media after she attempted to portray the swastika as a peaceful symbol that should be included in the school syllabus.

This awakening is often the climax of the story. Usually the hero descends into a real of psychological pit and is forced to discover the blackest truths, quite often concerning his faults. Once the hero is as this lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility. The experience involves a loss of innocence and bliss. The fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience and moral transgression. Thus, morning and springtime represent birth, youth, or rebirth; evening and winter suggest old age or death.

Walden , The Terminator ,. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds. This wound also indicates a loss of innocence. These wounds always ache and often drive the sufferer to desperate measures. Symbolic Archetypes. Light vs. Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.

Water vs. Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. Water is used in baptismal services, which solemnizes spiritual births. While water symbolizes life, rebirth, and purification, death symbolizes the opposite. Innate Wisdom vs. For children, night can also be seen as a time when shadows appear and when monsters are lurking. Again, the symbolism is appropriate with regard to what is happening in the book. Elie, a child himself, is facing the monsters of Dr.

Mengele, the SS officers, etc. Thus, like a long and fearful night for a child, Elie is left to deal with monsters all his own. And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven Helaman At the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came….

And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given…. And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word 3 Nephi , 19, The birth of the Savior was accompanied by light, and not just any light.

Unusual light, shining in the middle of the night. Light when there should be darkness. Why is this a fitting symbol? Because that is what Christ does for us.