Religious Holidays

Holi

Festival of Colors

Time: Spring

marks the happy transition from harsh, dark winter to brighter, warmer springtime

Bonfires, Spraying of Colored Powders,

Diwali

Festival of Lights

Time: Fall

Celebrating the win of good over evil. Light over dark

Family gatherings, glittering clay lamps, festive fireworks, strings of electric lights, bonfires, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship to Lakshmi

Sabbath

Observed from sundown of Friday through sundown on Saturday

Day of rest in remembrance of the 7th day of creation when God rested

Traditionally observant Jews avoid specific types of work.

Rosh Hashanah

(Jewish New Year)

Celebratory in that it marks the new year

Solemn in that it begins a period of reflection on the past year and the need for penitence

Begins a 10-day observance called the Days of Awe

Takes place in autumn

Yom Kippur

Day of Atonement

Most solemn holy day in the Jewish calendar

Stresses repentance to God

Day of prayer and strict fasting

Ends 10-day period known as the Days of Awe

Sukkot

Commemorates the 40 years the Jews spent wandering in the desert after God freed them from enslavement in Egypt (the Exodus event) and before they arrived in the promised land

Fall festival, begins five days after Yom Kippur

Passover

A joyful 8-day holiday celebrated in spring

Commemorates the Exodus event when Moses led the Israelites out of enslavement in Egypt under Pharaoh to freedom

during the tenth plague the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the Israelites, leaving the first-born sons of unharmed

Primary ritual of Passover is sharing the Seder meal

The seder meal includes symbolic and traditional foods, such as matzoh

The text read aloud at the meal is called the Haggadah, which consists of a retelling of the Exodus story as well as blessings and prayers

Shavuot

Commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai and, by extension, to the whole Jewish people 

Hanukkah

Commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Hellenist Empire (Seleucid Greeks) desecrated it and suppressed the practice of Judaism

Purim

Commemorates the time when in the 5th century BCE, Esther saved the Jewish community in Persia from being exterminated by Haman, who wanted to kill them because of his hatred for their leader, Mordecai

Eid al-Fitr

Festival to celebrate the end of Ramadan or Breaking the Fast

dressing up, decorating the home, visiting the mosque, and celebratory meals with family and friends

Celebrates the end of fasting and thankfulness to God for self-control during the previous month

Eid al-Adha

3 day festival celebrated at the end of the Hajj

Commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God

Sacrifice an animal (sheep of goat) and then share it with the poor