Questions re Jewish and Muslim holidays

[bain_sidhe]

I'm preparing a calendar, and I want to include the major holidays for all the major religions (I know, I know, define "major" - in both cases.) The thing is, there are a lot of "festivals" that don't seem to be major holidays or religious observances in a lot of religions. I think I've got the Pagan/Wiccan set down (there are eight, right?), and, of course the Christian set are found on most US calendars, but I don't know enough about either the Jewish or the Muslim faiths to determine which are "major religious observances" and which are just festivals - and many calendars don't include any non-Christian holidays. Plus the lists I've found disagree. So, here's what I have so far as "major" - any additions or quibbles from those more knowledgeable?

JEWISH HOLIDAYS FOR 2005:

January 25
Tu B'Shevat / New Year of Trees

March 25
Purim / Feast of Lots

April 25
Pesach (Start of Passover)

May 27
Lag B'omer

June 13
Shavu'ot (Pentecost)

August 14
Tisha B'Av

September 5
Month of Elul Begins

September 24 to September 25
First Selichot Service (at midnite)

October 4
Rosh Hashanah

October 13
Yom Kippur / Atonement Day

October-18
Sukkot

October 25
Simkhat Torah (Rejoicing the Law)

December 26 2005 to January 1 2006
Chanukkah

*********

MUSLIM HOLIDAYS FOR 2005:

January 19 to January 22
Eid ul Hajj

January 21
Id al Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)

February 19
Ashoura

April 21
Mawlid an-Nabi

September 1
Lailat - Ul - Isra' Wal Mi'raj (The Prophet's Night Journey to Jerusalem & Ascension)

September 1
Lailat - Ul - Qadr (The Night of Power)

October 4 to November 3
Ramadan (month of fasting)

October 28
Quds Day

November 3
Id al Fitr (End of Ramadan)

[Bridget Burke]

1. You left out "National Gorilla Suit Day"

For all of us Don-Martin-ites.

(sorry for the flippancy; this sounds like a fine project)

[bain_sidhe]

2. Also, "Talk like a pirate day"

I felt bad about leaving that one out, matey!

[bain_sidhe]

3. Kick before it falls off... any Jewish/Muslim people here?

:kick:

[H2O Man]

4. Interesting project!

Two thoughts: (1) most agricultural societies had at very least one "holiday" or festival per lunar month. When we think of our Thanksgiving, for example, it is the harvest festival, shared in common with the Native Americans of the northeast. But they had, and still have, 13 holidays, which include such wonderful things as the mid-winter festival and the strawberry festival. (2) "Pagan" festivals that number 8 are a sure sign of modern interpretation. There is nothing wrong with that, though it is sparse. A serious study of Celtic culture, however, shows many more: 4 in January; 3 in February; 5 in March; 5 in April; etc, for a total of 52. (August has the most with 8)

Life is to be enjoyed, and in order to enjoy life, one must celebrate. I realize that you are looking for a more modest approach; however, when folks refer to 8 Pagan holidays, it is not accurate.

[bain_sidhe]

5. Yeah, there are actually way more holidays

than I can fit in the space available. It's a fairly standard weekly "engagement-style" calendar, with days/dates and space for notes on right side and some information on the left side (this one is a writer's calendar, and the left side will have either writing exercises or writing advice - but I'm thinking about doing other varieties after I get this one laid out, just changing out the information on the left) - and people also have to have room to write their own notes. I did one for Science Fiction/Fantasy writers last year, which wasn't very successful, but I'm looking to expand the market by offering a more general writing version this year. (You can see the 2004 one at http://www.writersweek.com, if you'd like to get a better idea - not just you, anybody reading this, of course.)

Back to your Pagan/Celtic holiday point... I'm trying to stay away from what might be considered "sectarian" holidays - For instance, Catholics celebate a lot of holidays that other Christian flavors don't (and vice versa, I'm sure). One of the problems with the term "pagan" is that there are different varieties of "Pagans" too. technically it means just "not Christian," but generally (and in this instance) it's used to refer to some form of either Wicca or Celtic Reconstructionist (Druidic-inspired, mostly). So when I decided to go for "major" observances, I'm trying to stick with ones that most versions of a particular religion agree on. For "Pagan", I have the four major "sun" holidays (the solstices and equinoxes) and the four major "'tween" holidays - Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas/Lughnassadh. Are there others that you'd consider pan-Pagan/Celtic?

**edit: tyop**

[H2O Man]

7. Yes.

All 52 I mentioned fit into the early Celtic ceremonies. Many became incorporated into the Christian calendar, if not as actual holidays, then as the "minor" days. For example, "Candlemas" is approximately the middle of the first week in February. Various communities had different names, but it always was a search for even the smallest hint of the end of the winter.We call it "ground hog day." Same idea.

I have a fairly large library of books on Celtic history ( and pre-history). But I'm thinking about your interest in the calendar .... which I think is great .... You might try contacting the Cahill & Company Publishers. I'm going to give you the address, and hope it's right (best of luck!): 145 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 10522. They put out a "Druid Calendar" some 20 years ago. It's similar to what you are describing, although you are going a few steps farther.

[bain_sidhe]

6. One more kick for the night crowd

before I give up...

:kick: