3 Religions and 3 Holidays in Israel
Israel is considered a holy place by all three major Abrahamic religions- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
There are so many different traditions and so much cultural diversity and history crammed into one tiny country. I loved getting a small taste of that during my years living there, and experiencing holidays was one fun way to do so.
One of my favorite Jewish holidays is Purim- which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people as told in the Book of Esther.
Some other traditions include exchanging gifts of food and drink (called mishloach manot), reading the Book of Esther (and booing/making noise whenever the name of the bad guy of the story, Haman, is said), and donating to charity. There’s also a lot of alcohol that goes on. ;)
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| Michloach Manot I got while working at a Jewish school- nicest people ever! |
One year, my parents happened to visit me during Purim and we were in Jerusalem for the holiday. It was so fun to see the costumes, parades, dancing, and celebrations taking place all over the city.
And it was just a little bit funny to see people stumbling drunk through the streets of the Old City since Jerusalem usually comes across as a very buttoned-up, very serious religious place.
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As someone who grew up not knowing anyone who didn’t celebrate Christmas, I was curious what the Christmas season would be like in a place where the majority of the population don’t celebrate. There was surprisingly a lot of Christmas spirit to be found!
The city where I lived, Haifa, has a large Russian immigrant population. After the fall of the Soviet Union, 1 million people with partial or full Jewish ancestry chose to make the move (since 1970, you only need 1 Jewish grandparent to be able to immigrate to Israel easily).
As you can imagine, many immigrants with only partial Jewish ancestry celebrate Christmas- hence the reason why you can find Christmas decorations in Haifa.
My favorite place to go during the holiday season was the beautiful German Colony neighborhood. This part of Haifa was built by German Protestants in the late 1800s. In December it’s a monument to religious coexistence. A Christmas tree and lights, a menorah, and a crescent (not visible in every picture) to represent Islam are all displayed together with the incredible Baha’i Gardens in the background.
Interesting fact: Haifa is one of the only mixed Jewish/Arab cities in the country.
One December, I went to Nazareth with a friend because we heard they had a Christmas market. After living in Europe the words “Christmas market” make me very excited, so I had to check it out.
Considering Nazareth’s religious significance to Christians (birthplace of Mary), it makes sense that there is an Arab Christian population in the city and that some celebration takes place there.
Our first stop was the Basilica of the Annunciation, which is the biggest church in the Middle East. Tradition says that it was built over Mary’s actual house. We enjoyed seeing the massive nativity scene.
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| Grotto inside the church that supposedly contains the ruins of Mary's house. |
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The Christmas market and a very impressive tree were found next to Mary’s Well, the spot where first century residents of Nazareth got their water and where tradition says the Angel Gabriel met with Mary.
Unlike Purim and Christmas, Ramadan lasts for a whole month! During that time, observant Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
When it falls in the summer (the date changes year to year because it’s based on a lunar calendar and not the Gregorian solar calendar), I can’t imagine what it’s like to go the whole day without water while trying to work in hot 100+ Middle Eastern weather.
You might encounter some (understandably) grumpy people during Ramadan. I noticed two different types of coping mechanisms while shopping at Arab markets. Note that there are no price tags, you have to haggle. Half of shop owners will give you worse prices than usual because they’re in a bad mood, and the other half are too tired to argue with their usual amount of gusto and might give you a great deal.
I once saw a fist fight break out when someone drank water in front of that was fasting. After that I always tried to be very subtle while drinking and never had any problems. :)
At sunset, the mood in the city changes and you can feel a sense of relief in the air! Families gather to feast together. I’ve actually heard from several people that they gain weight during Ramadan because they’re so hungry after not eating all day that they overdo it at night.
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| Family picnics |
Eid al-Fitr is the special celebration to mark the end of the month. One summer when I was living in nearby Haifa, I decided to spend the weekend in Jerusalem to see the lights and decorations in the Old City. It’s already a magical place on a normal day, so I couldn’t miss it!
These are the typical crowds- the area around Damascus Gate (one of the entrances to the Old City) is usually a total zoo.
But when I walked through the Muslim Quarter just after sunset, the streets were much quieter than usual due to so many people happily eating and celebrating with family.
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