Are you celebrating this Spring?

Are you celebrating this Spring?

Whether or not you follow the Christian religion, chances are you’ll have seen at school, in supermarkets and on TV Easter-themed activities, but what is it that is being celebrated? Where does the chocolate come in?

Easter (10th – 13th April 2020)

Easter celebrations centre around Easter Sunday, also known as Resurrection Sunday, which is the day that Christians believe that Jesus returned to life after being crucified. Prior to Easter is Lent, a time of observance, it’s a traditional time for fasting or practicing abstinence. Historically, Christians would give up meat, fish, eggs and fat until Easter Sunday, but these days, it is more common to give up just one luxury, like chocolate.

The final week of Lent, the one leading up to Easter Sunday, is known as the Holy Week and churches and schools all over the country celebrate at different points during the week, particularly on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

The story of Easter is that Jesus was resurrected on the third day after his death. This was discovered on the Sunday, when Mary Magdalene went to visit his tomb to find that he wasn’t there. He was then seen later that day by Mary and his disciples and over the next forty days by many others. In the UK and other mostly Christian societies, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are all bank holidays and most shops and businesses close. A Sunday lunch consisting of roast lamb is common and families exchange Easter eggs.

How do the eggs come into it? Well, eggs are symbolic of a new life, which sums up what happened to Jesus after his resurrection. Historically, eggs are forbidden to eat during Holy Week (traditionally, they were given up for Lent, remember!), instead they were saved and given to children at the end of the week, which is how the tradition of gifting eggs came about.

So this year, wish your friends and family a Happy Easter before you start eating those eggs!

Obviously not everyone in the UK celebrates Easter as Jesus doesn’t feature in all religions. At this time of year, there are a number of religious and cultural celebrations taking place, including Passover and Ramadan.

Passover (8th – 16th April 2020)

Passover aka Pesach is a major Jewish holiday and usually takes place around the same time that Christians celebrate the Easter you might be more familiar with. Unlike Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, this celebration commemorates the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. The celebration is also called the Festival of Freedom and the Festival of Spring, both of which mark freedom, hope and new life.

According to the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament and the Torah, the Children of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for over 200 years. God had promised them that they would be released, but the Pharaoh refused, leading God to send down ten plagues which only affected the Egyptians.

The final plague was known as the Plague on the First Born where an angel came to Egypt to kill every Egyptian first born son. In order to keep the Israelites safe, they were given specific instructions to follow, which included brushing the blood of a lamb onto doorframes, causing the angel to pass over. Following this, the Pharaoh summoned Moses and ordered him to remove all the Israelites from Egypt.

Passover tends to fall around the same time as Easter in the Western calendar with celebrations lasting for seven to eight days, depending on where in the world you live.

During Passover, homes must be cleaned from top to bottom, all first born males fast on the first day to celebrate their escape from the Plague, this is followed by the Seder, where friends and family gather for a ritual Seder meal. Special plates and cutlery are used and there are certain foods that are included in the menu, including unleavened bread or matzo which is eaten to remember when the Jewish people fled Egypt, bitter herbs like horseradish, to remind them of the bitterness of slavery, potatoes are dipped in salt water to recall the tears shed by the slaves and the food is eaten in a reclined position to represent freedom.

The full menu usually includes Matzo, lamb bones,  greenery, four cups of wine, plus an extra one for the prophet Elijah, a door is also left open for him, and Charoset (a paste made of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine) and eggs. Yes, eggs are important here too!

You can wish those celebrating Passover well by saying Chag Sameach (Happy Holidays) or Chag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover Holiday.)

Ramadan (23rd April – 23rd May 2020).

Like Easter and Passover, the exact date of Ramadan changes every year, because of the various calendars used by the individual communities, it does however, always take place during the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar.

Ramadan is an important festival for Muslim communities and is part of the remembrance celebrations of when the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed on what came to be known as Laylat al-Qadr, which translates as the Night of Power.

The origin of the story of Ramadan surrounds the life of Muhammed, the founding prophet of Islam. It is said that when the Prophet was forty, he embarked on a solitary existence for a month at a time to gain inner peace by retreating to a cave. One year, during his usual monthly trip, he was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who gave him a message to read before proclaiming him the messenger of God and thus making him a Prophet. From then on, Muhammed received further messages from Gabriel and all following holy scripture appeared to him during Ramadan, making them the 30 holiest days in the religion.

As such, the holiday is all about getting closer to God. While most people know it for fasting (which does happen), the main purpose is about developing self-control and learning and practicing charity. It is much like the Christian practice of abstinence during Lent, those observing Ramadan try to give up bad habits during the holiday and focus on doing good deeds and helping people in need. The fast allows Muslims to empathise with those that are less fortunate and the community comes together to donate clothes and food and to host Iftars for the less fortunate.

What’s an Iftar? Well, the majority of people taking part in Ramadan fast between sunrise and sunset, instead eating one meal before sunrise, known as the Suhoor, and one after sunset, the Iftar. Many Muslims like to start these meals by eating dates as it is said the Prophet Muhammed did.

The end of Ramadan is marked by Eid ul-Fitr, or the Festival of Breaking the Fast, a huge celebration which not only marks the end of fasting, but also thanks Allah for the strength he gave them during the previous month. During the festival, Muslims dress in their finest clothes, give gifts to children and donate to charity, the community comes together in their local mosque for special services and to share food, the first time they will have done so in daytime for a whole month!

If you know anyone taking part in Ramadan, don’t forget to tell them Ramadan Mubarak (Happy Ramadan) or Ramadan Kareem (Have a generous Ramadan.) On the last day, this changes to Eid Mubarak.

Buddha’s Birthday (30th April 2020.)

Buddha’s Birthday or Vesak is a Buddhist festival that commemorates the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism and marks his enlightenment. It is a time for reflecting on his teachings and what it means to follow Buddhism. Much like the celebrations of Easter, Passover and Ramadan, the date of the celebration changes due to the way the Western calendar differs from the traditional Asian ones, but it usually falls in April or May.

Unlike Passover, Easter and Ramadan, Buddhism does not have one single God, it does though believe in the teachings of the Buddha, a prince born into a wealthy family who realised that wealth and luxury didn’t bring him happiness leading him to travel the world as a homeless holy man where he saw much suffering and injustice. His enlightenment occurred six years after his travelling and is when he officially became the Buddha.

Depending on where in the world you are, the celebrations surrounding Buddha’s Birthday changes as each culture has its own traditions for the day. It is celebrated throughout the world with the festivities differing slightly in each. Many Buddhists will spend the day in their local temple and generally stay there throughout the day and night. As Vesak is celebrated on the first full moon of the month of Vesakha, many of them choose to sit and reflect by the light of the moon.

Across many countries, the day is a public holiday and depending on where you are you’ll find monks carrying flags, lotus flowers and candles as well as visiting temples which have been decorated for the occasion to pay their respects. Families decorate their homes with lanterns and wear white as part of the festivities, as well as sending cards and small gifts to each other. Many people take part in meditation and charitable acts as a way to celebrate. They may also take part in a Bathing the Buddha ceremony, where water is poured over the head to remind people to get rid of negative thoughts.

Are you taking part in any celebrations this Spring? You can let us know on Twitter or Facebook, @ukfamilymatters

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