The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1984 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
8.67Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Red Hats
(Turkish adherents of the
afavis):
Red Hats
(rebels in China):
Red heifer
(Heb.,
parah adummah
). The animal used in Jewish ritual purification of persons or objects defiled by contact with a dead body (Numbers 19. 1–22). The tractate
Parah
in the
Talmud
discusses the laws of the red heifer.
Red letter day
.
Important feast or saint's day (in Christianity), printed in
calendars
in red.
Red Sea, crossing of
(Heb.,
keriyat yam suf
; possibly ‘reed’ rather than ‘red’). The miraculous event which enabled the Israelites to escape from the pursuing armies of the Egyptians at the beginning of the
Exodus
.
Red Turbans
.
Rebel and millenarian bands, associated with the
White Lotus
, which appeared during the Yuan dynasty (1260–1367) in China. The ‘turbans’ were in fact sashes, but were sometimes worn round the head. They believed in the imminent return of
Maitreya
, and went before him to prepare his way.

Other books

Photo Play by Pam McKenna
Apocalypse Rising by Eric Swett
The Road to Nevermore by Christopher Lincoln
MadetoBeBroken by Lyra Byrnes
The Duality Principle by Rebecca Grace Allen
Kisscut by Karin Slaughter
Among the Gods by Lynn Austin
The Sniper's Wife by Archer Mayor