Examples of lunar festival

The Islamic calendar began when the Prophet Mohammed and his followers left Mecca to live in Medina in 622 C.E. The Muslim calendar is based on the lunar cycle. The first day of each month is determined by the sighting of the new moon. The crescent moon remains a powerful symbol of the faith.

Eid ul-Fitr is an important festival in the Islamic calendar, which comes at the end of a month long fast called Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset.

Eid ul-Fitr is a time for new beginnings and a time of peace and begins with prayers in the mosque. People wear new clothes and the Iman leads special prayers, which generally includes the historical background and spiritual significance of the festival. Before leaving the mosque everyone gives a special payment called Zakat-ul-Fitre. The amount of a Zakat is set every year and is usually the cost of a meal. The mosque collects enough money to provide a festive meal for the poor and homeless. After leaving the mosque everybody returns home for the celebration of rich festive food and the exchanging of gifts. People are joyous and happy as they celebrate the completion of the Ramadan fasting and being nearer to God.

Jewish Festivals

The Jewish calendar in use today is lunisolar. The years are solar and the months are lunar. The Jewish Era in use today is dated from the supposed year of creation, which is calculated to coincide with 3761 BC. Central to Jewish belief is the faith in one God who created heaven and earth and all that they contain. He took the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt and revealed his divine teachings or Torah to them and brought them to the Holy Land.

The Sabbath is the most important day in the Jewish calendar. Special rituals mark the beginning and end of the Sabbath, which begins on Friday evening at sunset and ends late on Saturday evening. The Sabbath symbolises the seventh day on which God rested after completing the creation of the universe. People who strictly observe the Sabbath refrain from all kinds of work and observe the Sabbath at home and in the synagogue through worship, study and visiting friends and relatives.

Jewish Holy Days always commence immediately before dusk and end at nightfall the following day. Work of any sort is prohibited on Holy Days including creative activity, travelling, engaging in commercial transactions and operating equipment, even telephones.

The two most important festivals in the Jewish calendar are Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur - the day of atonement.

Rosh Hashanah: On these two days of the New Year, God in Heaven symbolically judges Jewish people. The Ram's Horn, the Shofar, is blown to awaken the people to repentance. Most Jews will attend the synagogue.

Yom Kippur is the 10th day from Rosh Hashanah and the Day of Atonement. A fast is observed from the eve of the day to nightfall on the day itself. During these 25 hours no food or drink should be taken and most Jewish people spend the day in the synagogue in worship and contemplation.

Hindu Festivals

Most Hindu festivals are based on the lunar calendar and the dates vary from year to year.

Holi, the festival of colour, takes place around February/March. It is celebrated on the full moon. A large bonfire is lit the night before to celebrate the victory of good over evil. The next day from early morning to noon people throw coloured powder or spray coloured water on their friends and relatives. This custom is derived from the playful stories of Krishna and Radha who splashed each other on the banks of the river when enjoying fresh spring weather. Krishna is identified as the eighth incarnation on earth of the Hindu god Vishnu. Krishna is very popular and is seen as an approachable god whose emotions and behaviour resemble those of mankind. In the evening people exchange sweetmeats and good wishes. The children and young people touch the feet of their elders to express their reverence.

Easter

There are many Christian festivals yet only one remains a lunar festival - Easter. This annual festival is the most important in the Christian Church and commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. It is the last moveable feast in the Christian calendar.

Easter is the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21st, the vernal equinox, when day and night are equal. Easter is based on the Jewish celebration of the Passover or 'Pesach' and takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eoestre.

Many people celebrate Easter by giving gifts of chocolate Easter eggs. This is a modern interpretation of ancient practices. The egg is an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. In old Russia, it was the custom to place Easter eggs on graves as magic resurrection charms. These were coloured red for life and life's blood. In Germany on Easter Eve children were told that the 'hare' would lay eggs for them if they were good. The hare was the moon's sacred animal in both East and West, and Eostre was a northern form of Astarte who, in Egyptian tradition, was said to have laid the Golden Egg of the Sun.

Shrove Tuesday is a time to confess sins before the solemnity of Lent which, historically, is a special period of penance for repentant sinners received back into the community. Lent was preceded by merrymaking, and people used up all the rich food in the house in preparation for the fast. Pancakes were a good way to use up food, and pancake races are a traditional sport.
The Mardi Gras carnival is now celebrated on an extravagant scale on this day.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. This is a period of 40 weekdays, until Holy Saturday, which remembers the 40 days that Christ spent in the wilderness being tempted. Various degrees of fasting used to be practised but now people usually give up luxuries, give to other people and spiritually prepare for Easter.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, and celebrates the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, when he was welcomed by crowds waving palm branches. Crosses made from palms are often distributed to the congregation on this day. Churches are usually decorated with palms and willow and processions are made around and between churches, carrying and handing out branches or palm fronds.

Maundy Thursday begins a special commemoration of the last acts of Jesus's life and remembers the Last Supper which Jesus shared with his disciples where he gave the commandment to 'Love one another', washed their feet and instituted the Eucharist. In England, the monarch or his/her representative washed and kissed the feet of the poor and gave them money up until the time of Queen Anne. The Georges discontinued the washing giving an extra gift of money in its place.

Good Friday is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ. It is a day of fasting, abstinence and penance in some churches whilst in others it has become a feast day. It is called Good Friday because Christians believe that because Jesus died for mankind, everything will be right between them and God. His love and sacrifices are remembered. Services are usually held in churches, sometime between noon and 3pm when Jesus died on the cross. There are often united services, processions and passion plays portraying the Easter events.

It is traditional to eat hot cross buns on this day. These buns may be descendants of the cakes offered by the Greeks to the goddesses Artemis and Hecate of the Moon. These round cakes symbolized the full moon and were decorated with 'horns' that formed a cross shape and represented the four quarters of the lunar cycle.

Holy Saturday is the last day of Holy Week, once known as the 'Great Sabbath', it commemorates the period during which Jesus lay in the tomb after he had been taken down from the cross. The forgiveness of sins is traditionally a focus for this day.

Easter Sunday is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and there is often a midnight mass where the priest lights one large candle from which the many smaller candles are lit and pass on the flame, while the people say or sing 'Christ is Risen'. Dawn services and outdoor services are quite common on Easter Day. This is traditionally the day when new members are baptised into the Christian community and comes at the end of Lent.

Chinese Moon Festival

The viewing of the harvest moon takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month. The festival celebrates a good harvest and people pray to the moon for protection from storms. The festival is also celebrated in Japan where it is called Tssukimi. There is feasting and music as people spend the night watching the moon. Scholars write poems and compose songs in praise of the moon. People assemble in gardens, at windows or on verandahs to view the harvest moon.

One of the major features of this festival are the candlelit lantern processions which greet the full moon.

The Moon festival falls in the middle of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar which place sit in September. It is also called the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. This month and its moon are very important as it is the brightest moon of the year and it is possible to see details on the moon which are not normally visible.

There are popular stories associated with the moon which are told and acted out at this festival.

One popular story is of Sheung Ngao, a kind and beautiful princess who is married to a cruel king. One day the king ordered his soldiers to find the pearl of immortality so that he could live forever. The pearl was found and the king prepared to eat it. However Sheung Ngao was so horrified at the thought of the wicked king living forever that she quickly swallowed it herself. The furious king tried to kill her but the gods lifted her up and carried her to the moon where she lives to this day.

This festival is also known as Chung Ch'in or the festival of the Moon Goddess. Special moon cakes are made to be eaten and as offerings to the goddess. This festival is 600 years old. Children are allowed to stay up late and go with their families high on the hills, where they light lanterns and watch the full moon rise before eating the moon cakes.

In the weeks before the Moon Festival you will also find moon cakes for sale in Britain. They are often decorated with a design of the Moon Rabbit or Moon Goddess. These are customarily served 13 on a plate to stand for the 13 months of the Chinese year. The cakes are also significant because at one time when planning to overthrow an oppressive regime, messages were hidden in the cakes by women and spread from house to house, resulting in a mass revolt and the successful uprising against the oppressors.