Ram Navami:
Researched by Prisha P.
Religion: Hinduism
Date This Year: April 5
What Is This About?
On Ram Navami, a common Hindu ritual is fasting. Priests in temples tell the story of Ram’s birth and everybody sings prayers. It is celebrated on the ninth day (Navami) in the Chaitra month (first month of the Hindu lunar calendar) in ‘Shukla paksha’ or waxing moon.
Why is celebrated?
Ram Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of the god Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya.
Who is Ram?
Ram is the seventh avatar of Vishnu (a god who maintains the law of the Universe), one of the oldest avatars of Lord Vishnu having a human form.
Passover (Pesach) :
Researched by Prisha P.
Religion: Jewish
Date This Year: April 10 – April 18
What is it about?
Passover is about the ancient Jews being freed from slavery from the ancient Egyptians. Moses the person who led the ancient Jews out of Egypt and into Israel. On this day Jews have a big family dinner (a Seder). The family reads out prayers from the a special book called a haggadah. The Seder includes a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt and eating special foods with significance for telling the story. This story is in The Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament).
Why is it celebrated?
The Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt.
Good Friday :
Researched by Prisha P.
Religion : Christian
Date This Year : April 14
What is it about?
Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus.
Why is it celebrated?
Good Friday is celebrated commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. The holiday is observed during Holy Week on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.
Easter:
Researched by Nandika K.
Religion: Christianity
Date This Year: April 16
What is about?
Easter is celebrated to commemorate Jesus’ is resurrection, or coming back to life. It is a holiday that is very important to the Christians.
How is it decided when Easter is celebrated?
In 325 BCE, the Council of Nicaea (an important meeting of about 300 bishops from across the Roman Empire meeting to discuss issues) decided that Easter would be held on the Sunday following the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox. Since then, the date Easter has fallen on depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21, for the vernal equinox.
How did Easter start?
The exact roots are unknown, though, some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, the Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Others trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada Alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing worn by people who were baptized (purification of thought and character) during that time.
Beginning of Ramadan:
Researched by Nandika K.
Religion: Islam
Date This Year: May 27 – June 25
What Is This About?
Ramadan (a.k.a. Ramadhan or Ramzan) is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a time when the Muslims pray, fast, and give to charity and practice self-accountability. According to Islamic belief, Muslims worldwide observe it as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. Fasting is one of the five fundamental principles of Islam. Each day during Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. They are also supposed to avoid impure thoughts and bad behavior. Muslims break their daily fasts by sharing meals with family and friends. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a three-day festival commonly known as Eid al-Fitr that is considered one of Islam’s major holidays.
How is it decided when the Beginning of Ramadan is celebrated?
Hilāl (the crescent) is usually a day or more after the astronomical new moon. Since the new moon marks the beginning of the new month, Muslims can usually safely estimate the beginning of Ramadan. However, to many Muslims, this is not in accordance with authenticated Hadiths [A collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad that, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran], stating that visual confirmation per region is recommended.
Shavuot:
Researched by Nandika K.
Religion: Jewish
Date This Year: May 20 – June 1
What is About?
Shavuot is one of the three biblically based pilgrimage holidays known as the Shalosh regalim. It is associated with the grain harvest in the Torah. Shavuot is one of the less popular Jewish holidays to secular Jews in the Jewish diaspora, while those in Israel as well as the Orthodox community are more aware of it. According to Jewish law, Shavuot is celebrated in Israel for one day and in the Diaspora (outside of Israel) for two days. Reform Judaism celebrates only one day, even in the Diaspora. In Biblical times, this holiday was an agricultural festival—a time for our people presenting the first-fruits of the crops to God.
Credits :
Easter www.google.com/search?q=good%20friday&espv=2&rlz=1CADEAC_enUS710US710&biw=1366&bih=631&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjcpYjDmr3QAhUB1CYKHe4QCPAQ_AUIBygA&dpr=1&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=how+is+it+decided+when+easter+is, https://www. google. com/search?q=vernal%20equinox%202017&rlz=1CADEAC_enUS710US710&oq=vernal%20equinox%202017&aqs=chrome. . 69i57j0. 3729j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=easter+2017 http://www. history. com/topics/holidays/history-of-easter
Beginning of Ramadan https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fasting_in_Islam https://www. google. com/search?q=Beginning%20of%20Ramadan&rlz=1CADEAC_enUS710US710&oq=Beginning%20of%20Ramadan&aqs=chrome. . 69i57j69i59l2. 356j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ramadan#Beginning
Ram Navami DK Smithsonian Ancient Civilizations https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Rama_Navami
Passover http://www. cs. ox. ac. uk/craig. tranfield/faith/passover https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&ssui=on&q=why%20is%20ram%20navami%20celebrated
Shavuot https://jewsforjesus. org/havurah-v02-n02/celebrating-shavuot-with-the-mishpochah https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Shavuot
Grover Middle School's Jagazine 