Religious Holidays
Islam
Hajj (Pilgrimage)
The hajj or pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam prescribed by Mohammed. It requires Muslims to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Even though it is required, it gives consideration to those who are physically and financially incapable of making a trip and puts emphasis on those physically fit and financially capable to comply. As stated before, the dates of the hajj change year after year because the dates in the Muslim calendar are not fixed and constantly change every year. For example, if the hajj will be in 1422 AH (After Hegira) in the Muslim calendar, called Dhul Hijjah (1), the last month of the Islamic year, it would be February 14, 2002 in the Gregorian calendar. If the year is 1430 AH, the hajj would be around November 2009 (Gregorian), and so on (Caner Caner, 2002, 154).
The Hajj intgends to reenact the experiences of Abraham who is regarded as a (minor) prophet by the Muslims, who is known among them for his selfless sacrifice that has no parallel in the history of mankind. During the days of the Hajj, millions of pilgrims congregate in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to pray together, eat together, remember historical events, and celebrate the glory of Allah. This entails wearing simple white raiment, regardless of social standing to denote equality of everybody before Allah. Part of the hajj is venerating the Kaaba in the center of the Mosque where the black stone is enshrined. According to legend, Ishmael, the patriarch of the Muslims and his mother Hagar were dying of thirst when this huge stone hurtled down from heaven and from where it struck, water flowed, saving them from death. The pilgrimage rites run for 5 days, between the 8th - 12th days of the lunar month (Esposito, 200, 24).
The hajj culminates in a journey to Arafat outside Mecca. At dawn, pilgrims will make their way from Mecca to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafat and the Plain of Arafat. This site is considered holy because it is said that this is the place where Mohammed made his final address in the final days of his life. During the entire day, from dawn until sunset, Muslim pilgrims spend it in earnest supplication and devotion, praying for the atonement of their sins as they seek Allahs mercy, chanting prayer and remembrance, for those who could not actually take part in the pilgrimage, especially this part of the celebration, they make up for it by spend this day in fasting and devotion. When the hajj is finally over, Muslims observe the Eid-ul-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice (Caner Caner, 2002, 15 Huda, 2010).
Ramadan
The Ramadan is also part of the Five Pillars of Islam and is widely recognized the world over. It is the name of the month and period where every Muslim is expected to fast every day during this period, from sunrise to sunset for about a month. This is in commemoration of the time the Prophet Mohammed received the first verses of the Quran from heaven through divine revelation. As stated before, the very core of the observance of the holiday is fasting. Besides being a religious ritual, it is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of Allah. Despite being mandatory, exceptions are made for children, the elderly and infirm, and pregnant women, women during the period of their menstruation, and women nursing their newborns.
Fasting is not limited to meals but also to abstain from other earthly indulgences as well from gambling to sexual activities. This is also intended to teach or instill a sense of spiritual and moral purity among Muslims as well through self-restraint and good works and lieu of these worldly indulgences, prayer is strongly encouraged. The celebration of Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the Ramadan and is very festive in celebration. This is the time where Muslims make themselves as presentable as they can, putting on their best clothes, visiting and feasting with relatives and donating food to the poor (Caner Caner, 2002, 156-157 Esposito, 200, 114).
Judaism
Passover
The Passover is one of the most important holidays observed by the Jews. Strangely enough, this is usually observed nearly alongside the Christian observance of Lent. The dates in observing the Passover is not fixed and changes every year. This is mainly celebrated to commemorate the emancipation of the Hebrews from bondage in Egypt. According to the Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus, as God was about to unleash the last of the Ten Plagues the killing of the firstborn, He instructed Moses on how the Hebrews can be spared from the plague. This was dony by slaughtering a lamb and smearing its blood on every Hebrew doorpost. As the Angel of Death came to smite the firstborn all over Egypt, it passed over the houses with the blood-stained marks and it was only after this that the Egyptian Pharaoh relented and freed the Hebrews (Ex. 1229-32 NAB).
The first two and last two days of Passover are the most important for the Jews and are observed as Full Festival days, where professionals take the day off work and there is no school for children, and is observed by special prayers and holiday meals. The intervening days are festival weekdays where everybody goes about their usual business. During the festivities, Jews from all over prepare their best begininng with the cleaning up of their houses. The first 2 nights of the 8-day holiday are celebrated with Jewish households preparing lavish meals called Seders in which the stories and history of Passover are celebrated and during this time, they would use utensils specially reserved and meant to be used during this celebration while putting away the ones used regularly (Epstein, 1969, 60).
This is also the Feast of the Unleavened Bread which had its origins in the departure from Egypt. The Hebrews were in such a hurry to leave that they did not wait for the yeast to make the bread rise and it is during this occasion, a special bread called Matzo is prepared and eaten and it is also during this period, Jews will not eat any other bread except this one. The final two days are observed with special prayers. There is a slight difference though in the observance of the Passover in countries with a large Jewish population, especially in the United States and Israel. Whereas in the first and last two days are strictly observed in the US, In Israel, only the first and last is a Full Festival day (Stevens, 2009).
Hannukah
This Jewish holiday is celebrated alongside Christmas in December. This is celebrated to commemorate the victory of the Maccabee rebels over their Syrian overlords who ruled oppressively following the death of Alexander the Great. The Syrian king Antiochus despised the Jews and tried to impose paganism upon them so brazenly that he had his armies desecrate Jewish shrines and even went too far to lay waste to their temple. This prompted a man named Matthias, along with his five sons to take up arms and lead a rebellion which successfully drove out the Syrians. They reentered the holy temple in Jerusalem, cleaned it up and relit the menorah, the 9-branched candelabra with what little oil that was found. Given this amount, the lights would only last for a day amazingly, this little oil kept the menorah candles burning for 8 days. Henceforth Hanukkah became a dual celebration of victory over tyranny and oppression and to commemorate this miracle of lights. (Epstein, 1969, 38)
Hanukkah is a happy holiday, especially for children. Besides the lavish feast prepared in every household, children would play the dreidel, a top-like device with Hebrew letters etched on the sides, nun, gimel, hay, and shim. When read all together it means, a great miracle has happened here. A game is played with the dreidel, where the letters have a different meaning. Each player starts with the same amount of candies, chocolate coins (gelt), or other tokens, all placed in a pot. Players take turns spinning the dreidel, waiting to see which letter lands face up. If the letter nun turns up, it means nisht, do nothing gimel means gants, take everything. hay is for halb, take half what is in the pot and shin is for shtel, add to the pot. The game ends when a player gets all the tokens (Epstein, 1969, 39).
Many traditional Hanukkah foods are cooked in oil, in commemoration of the oil that burned in the Temple. The foods served varies differs between the Jews of the US and Israel. In the US, the most popular delicacy is latkes, or potato pancakes, a custom that may have originated in Eastern Europe and was brought to the US by the early immigrants. In Israel, the most popular food served during Hanukah is sufganiya, which is like a jelly donut cooked in oil (Epstein, 1969, 39).
Eating dairy products, particularly cheese, is another Hanukkah tradition. This is done to commemorate the deed of Judith, another heroine of Jewish lore. According to legend, she saved her village from the Syrians by feeding wine and cheese to the Syrian general Holofernes until he became so drunk that he collapsed she took advantage of his condition by taking his sword and decapitating him. The next morning, Syrian troops saw the headless body of their general. Their morale shattered, they fled, never to terrorize the village again (Epstein, 1969, 39).
Christianity
Lent
This 40-day observance usually takes place during the Spring Solstice and varies every year. This is held to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross in order to save mankind from sin from which the wages results in spiritual death. Among Catholics, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday where the faithful go to church to hear mass and the priest would mark their foreheads with ash from burned palm fronds. During this day, fasting and abstinence from eating meat is followed, as well as every Friday during Lent. The final week of Lent is called Holy Week which is the climactic period of the Lenten season. It starts on the first Sunday called Palm Sunday to commemorate the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem where he was welcomed by people with palm fronds. After a few days of preparation, the climax of Holy Week comes with Maundy or Holy Thursday to signal the start of Christs suffering following the Last Supper with his disciples.
The following day, Good Friday, marks the day Christ died on the cross which coincidentally falls alongside the Jewish Passover celebrations (Hudson, 2004, 142-144). During this day, meat is absolutely forbidden among Catholics and the day is spent in prayer and reflection, particularly on the Seven Last Words of Christ as he was dying on the cross. In Catholic countries, there would be no work or school and a procession would take place to commemorate Christs journey to Calvary (in Israel, it is Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows) and his burial in a tomb. This is a usually somber period. After three days, the festive mood comes back with the celebration of Easter Sunday to commemorate Christs resurrection from the dead, a sign that he has triumphed over it. This day also marks the end of Lent as well and everything goes back to normal.
Christmas
Among Christians, except the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Christmas season usually takes place between November to January though it officially celebrated every December 25. This marks the birth of Jesus Christ who was sent to this world to redeem mankind. The days preceding Christmas is called Advent and when this comes, one can feel the festive mood brewing all around as everyone prepares for the Christmas celebrations (Johnson, 2007). On the spiritual aspect of Christmas, it is spent mostly on reflecting and seeking atonement of sins committed in the past. In Catholic countries, midnight masses are held, beginning December 16 and would go on until the 25th. It is said that those who attend these masses consecutively will have their wish come true. Caroling is also very common with people going door to door singing Christmas songs as part of sharing good cheer. Christmas is also a time when friends and relatives come together for the giving of gifts and feasting where every household would prepare their best meals. For Catholics, Christmas officially ends on January 6 on the Feast of the Epiphany to commemorate the visit of the three wise men to the child Jesus (Hudson, 2004, 142).
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