You are here: Home / Archives for Daily Life / Holidays

Holidays

Christmas in Bethlehem

December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Christmas is a time of joy, of being together with family and loved ones, of giving and receiving.

Here in the land where Jesus was born, Christmas is not an official holiday, but is very much celebrated by the Christian communities, as well as visitors.

 

Manger Square Bethlehem

Manger Square at Christmas

The main mass takes place in St. Catherine’s Church Bethlehem, and in the Grotto of Nativity in the Church of the Nativity. The celebrations start long before the mass, with the arrival of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Click here for full details. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christian, Holidays, Jerusalem, Recent Articles, Videos Tagged With: , ,

The Highways Are Empty

September 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jerusalem on Yom Kippur

This was by no means my first Yom Kippur in Israel. I have seen major cities die from all traffic on this day, but it was the first time I was able to experience the completely empty highways.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day for Jews all over the world. In English it is usually called The Day of Atonement. It is best known as a full fasting day, lasting from sundown to sundown. It is a complete fast, meaning you can’t drink or eat anything for the 25 hours that it lasts. You are supposed to spend the day in the synagogue.

Now in Israel this is taken very seriously. In fact the whole country closes down, and I mean completely. It is more closed on this one day, than on any shabbat through the year. When I say closed down for Yom Kippur it means not just no work, for anybody, but it means no radio, no television, no entertainment of any kind, and it means no cars on the road. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holidays, Recent Articles Tagged With: , , , ,

Rosh Hashana, What Is It?

September 8, 2010 By 2 Comments

Rosh Hashana, literally head of the year, is accepted as the New Year within the Jewish calendar.

Jewish concept of a new year is somewhat different from Christian concept. Rosh Hashana is part of a longer period known as the High Holidays. It begins about a week earlier, includes Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth.

Since Rosh Hashana symbolizes the beginnings, a traditional belief has it that this day is the sixth day of Creation (the day man was created and all creating completed). Rosh Hashana is also seen as the day of God inscribing you into the Book of Life, which is sealed on Yom Kippur.

A period preceding Rosh HaShana is known as Shlihot (forgiveness). For many this entails getting up earlier than usual, as the shlihot prayers are usually said at midnight or before sunrise. There are areas in Jerusalem where this has become a great tradition, attracting Jerusalemites from all its neighborhoods. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Food, Cooking, Wine and more, Holidays, Recent Articles Tagged With: , , ,

Costumes and Parades – Purim

March 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Megillat Esther

Purim is the lightest and most fun of all Jewish holidays. That does not mean that there is not a lesson to be had, but at least on the days of Purim we are allowed to go outside our normal behavior, dance, make parades, have parties and other fun activities.

The holiday or festival of Purim celebrates the story as related in the Book of Esther. The story takes place in ancient Persia empire. The king, Ahashuerus, had an advisor,vizier, Haman, who plots the extermination of the Jewish people there. Ahashuerus makes some bad decisions due to his excessive drinking, i.e. being drunk. Luckily one of his wives, Queen Esther learns about Haman’s plot and that Ahashuerus has given permission to carry out the plot. Esther turns to her her uncle and foster parent, Mordecai, and together they foil Haman’s evil plans to exterminate the Jews.

The day following the defeat of Haman was declared a day of festivities and rejoicing. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holidays, Recent Articles, Slide Shows Tagged With: ,

Tu B’Shvat, Tree Planting, Dried Fruits

January 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

The almond trees are blooming, filling the landscape with more color of pink and white on green and brown. It is a sign for the end of winter and the coming of spring. It is Tu B’Shvat

It is mid-winter.
Good winters are filled with cold and rain, and hopefully snow in the higher regions of the country. In this coldest, darkets time of the year, Israel celebrates the holiday of Tu B’Shvat, the Festival of the Trees.

This is not a religious holiday like most of the other Jewish holidays. What this means is that it is not a holiday stipulated in the Tanach (Hebrew bible) and so there are no particular religious ceremonies to keep. In modern Israel work and school continue as usual.  The holiday usually falls in late January or early February. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: , , , ,

A Different Look at Christmas and Hanukka

December 18, 2009 By 2 Comments

Holidays are serious business. If you celebrate Hanukka, there’s getting the Hannukiah and the candles or oil lamps and   making sure it’s done at the right time. Then of course there is the food and no Hanukkah is complete without your latke (potato pancake) and soufganiot.

If you celebrate Christmas, it’s all about getting the decorations in place, about lighting the Christmas tree, about getting all the presents and in time. And of course it’s about Christmas dinner and pudding, depending on where you live.

And what if one of you celebrate one holiday and your partner the other? That can be serious business.

So why not take a different look at all this. Look and listen to what Walter, Peanut,  Ahmed and Jeff Dunham have to say on these holidays and some good advice.

SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL

 

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

 

Filed Under: Have a Laugh, Holidays Tagged With: , ,

Hanukkah – Festival of Lights

December 13, 2009 By 3 Comments

During the darkest time of the year, mid-winter, is when Jews all over the world celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Dedication.

Hanukkah is the celebration of a miracle that took place in the year 165 BCE during the purification of the Temple in Jerusalem following the successful rebellion by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Greeks.

From around the year 200 BCE the land of Judea has been under the rule of the Seleucid Greeks. The first ruler Antiochus III was benevolent towards the Jews and had granted them the right to live according to their ancestral traditions. However, his son Antiochus IV Epiphanes turned this around, banned the daily sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem, in effect outlawing Judaism. He also banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed in the Temple, and had a statue to Zeus installed in the Temple. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: , , , ,