It marks the beginning of the High Holy Days period. It is a day of judgement for the year that has past and a day of preparation for the year ahead. The synagogues are filled beyond capacity for the services held during this festival time. As a symbol of sweetness for the year ahead special sweet foods are eaten in the home. Each day of the festival a ram’s horn called the Shofar is blown.
It was to be a joyous celebration, to be observed throughout the generations. The feast would lasted for 8 days and on that last day; part of the ritual involved a priest taking water from the pool of Siloam and then take it into the altar and pour it onto the altar. Many believe this was when Jesus spoke “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink, He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water’” (John7:37-38). The Feast of Tabernacles was basically a fall festival, celebrating the abundance of God’s blessings in connection with the ingathering of the fall harvest. It is also a memorial of the Exodus, when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, living in tabernacles, or tents, en route to the Promised Land.
After a number of Jews were enslaved in Egypt and once freed, Moses helped them escape through the dessert and after over 40 years of traveling in the dessert they finally made it to the promise land by Yahweh which was Canaan. The struggle to get to their God’s promise land makes it a holy place. And finally for Muslims, the Holy land contains some Muslim Mosques and the Dome of the rock where it is believed that this is where Muhammad was ascended into heaven. And that makes this one of the holiest places for Muslims. The three major monotheistic religions are sometimes described as branches of the same family tree.
Yom Kippur is one of two holidays referred to as “The High Holy Days”, with the other being Rosh Hashanah. Together the two are the important holidays of the Jewish year and it is sometimes referred to as the “Sabbath of Sabbaths.” Rosh Hashanah celebrates the New Year while Ten days later, Yom Kippur begins the New Year with a day of atonement for all wrongdoings. ("Yom Kippur - Holidays - HISTORY.com," n.d.) The days leading up to Yom Kippur from Rosh Hashanah are called “The Days of Awe,” know as being a period of judgment, repentance and forgiveness. These days are ripe with tradition, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, every synagogue in the world will be the sounding the shofar which is a horn typically from a Ram; “You shall observe it as a day of sounding the horn” (Leviticus 23:24). Though the Bible is not so specific as to say why this is done one of the leading reasons believed is to remind us of the horns that blow on the Day of Judgment.
Squanto Report Squanto is a Native American who lived in the early seventeenth century in what is now the Northeast United States. When the English came to this area of America to settle, they became very fond of Squanto and used him as a translator due to his unique knowledge of the English language acquired through an earlier voyage to Europe. Squanto helped the Pilgrims adapt to their new surroundings by providing them with the knowledge. Thanksgiving The First Thanksgiving When the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock almost four centuries ago, settlers laid the foundations for a republic. Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday celebrated every year always on the fourth Thursday in November.
The Kaparot Ceremony is usually done during the Ten Days of Repentence before Yom Kippur. Kaparot means atonement. It is preferred to perform this ritual before dawn, the day before the feast of Yom Kippur. The act of Kaparot involves reciting the following text: Children of man who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in misery and chains of iron --- He will bring them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and will sunder their bonds.
Andrew Murphy, director of operational development, said: "This week was another strong one in the steady build to Christmas. Sales beat last year's figures by 9%. Our new-format shop in Poole opened to enthusiastic customers. Meanwhile, seasonal purchasing kicked off strongly in some parts of tbe country, but with tbe staggering of half-term, tbe full effect won't be clear until next week. "We continue to keep a watchful eye on our two-year comparisons, which remind us we are not yet trading at a level tbat could allow us to relax or believe tbat sustained growth will come easy at any point in the near future."
Each of these holidays carry with it certain customs and traditions of what must be done, what can be eaten, and how each Jew must pray. Pesach, Passover And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the LORD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17 Passover is the first of three major holidays celebrated by the Jewish religion. It represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but the focus is more on the Exodus from Egypt after many years of slavery.
THE TWELFTH NIGHT Twelfth night is a name commonly given to the Christian Feast of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on the 6th of January and which commemorates the coming of the Magi- the 3 wise men to where Christ was born. They brought with them the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, which were appropriate for an infant king. Winter festivals Almost all societies and cultures find it necessary to have some kind of holiday in the middle of winter. The ancient Romans used to hold an annual ‘Saturnalia’ for about a week in the middle of December. During this period all forms of public order were suspended, the law courts and schools were closed, trading ceased and no criminals were executed.
[35][36] It was held on or about 31 October – 1 November and kindred festivals were held at the same time of year by the Brittonic Celts; for example Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany). Samhain and Calan Gaeaf are mentioned in some of the earliest Irish and Welsh literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century,[37] and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween. Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833, shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in Ireland. Samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.