December 01, 2015 - December 25, 2015

Feast of Feasts in Haifa

Holidays and Events of Israel A holiday of holidays that combines Christian Christmas, Jewish Hanukkah and Muslim Ramadan, which in December are celebrated in different countries. The center of festive events is the Arab-Jewish quarter "Wadi-Nisnas."

In this country it is strictly forbidden to work on holidays and even on Saturdays. Even food Jews are not cooked during the weekend.

On holidays Jews do not observe mourning. Even the seven-day mourning for the deceased is transferred to the next day after the holiday.

All Jewish holidays begin in the evening, with sunset, because it is believed that at this moment a new day is born. There is one more peculiarity: on holidays, Jews do not observe mourning. And even a seven-day mourning for the deceased is transferred to the next day after the holiday.

The main holiday of Israel happens every week and it is called Shabbat. This is Saturday and according to the Jewish calendar the last day of the week.

Every Friday evening, always before sunset, the hostess of the house lights up special candles and says a blessing. After that, it is considered that the Sabbath has begun. On this day, Jews, beautifully dressed, arrange three festive meals, the first two begin with a special prayer - Kiddush: they consecrate the wine. And after they start eating, cooked until Saturday.

There are as many as four New Years in the Jewish calendar! At the same time, none of them falls on January 1. Yes, Jews are a people who love holidays, it's obvious.

On hearing at all, even very far from the Jewish culture, - Hanukkah. It is a holiday of candles, which are lit in honor of the miracle that occurred at the consecration of the church in 164 BC. Lasts Hanukkah 8 days, children at this time of vacation, it is customary to give them toys and give money. In January, the rainy season ends in Israel and the Jews celebrate Tu B'Shvat. Otherwise - New Year trees. The festive meal consists of cereals and fruits.

In the New Year trees on the tables are necessarily present wheat, rye, maslins, dates, grapes, figs, pomegranate. According to different traditions, on the table there should be 7, 15 or even 25 kinds of fruits. What's interesting is, they need to be in a certain order.

In modern Israel, another tradition has appeared in the celebration of Tu B'Shvat: this week, on which the holiday falls, thousands of families go on hikes in nature, massively plant trees. Tu B'Shvat is noted not only by the Israelis, but also by the Jews of America.

Speaking of mourning dates, the "blackest" day for Jews is the Ninth Ava. This date is a symbol of all the misfortunes that have fallen to the lot of the Jewish people. On this day, they do not eat anything, do not drink, do not wear leather shoes. And most importantly, this is the only day of the year when an Israeli does not have the right to study the Torah, because studying is considered a source of joy.