But before we get to talking of pagan festivities, let’s take a little detour to another springtime celebration: Passover – I promise, if you stick with me, it will all tie in together in the end.

The Time of Year Easter is celebrated is related to the celebration of Passover

Around the Spring time, Jews celebrate the holiday of Passover
(in Aramaic: פסחא or Pascha). Part of the Passover story is that the blood of sacrificial lambs was used to indicate to God to pass-over the God-abiding Jewish houses, to protect them from the plague that God cast over the area. Early Syrian Christians living alongside the Jews saw a connection between the blood of the sacrificial lambs in the Passover story and the figurative sacrificial lamb of Jesus Christ, so they celebrated the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ at the same time of the year as the Jewish celebration of Passover.

This ancient Easter-Passover-connection explains why in many non-English countries, the word for Easter is a variant of the word “Pascha” (Passover).
Examples of these related names for Easter:
Bulgarian: Paskha
Danish: Passke
Dutch: Pasen
Greek: Pascha
Italian: Pasqua
Finnish: Pääsiäinen
Indonesian: Paskah
Portuguese: Páscoa

How celebrating Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection at this time of year led to the naming of “Easter”

Ok, so what does this Passover connection have to do with pagans and the very different looking word “Easter”?

Well, around 325 AD, Christian bishops held a council (“the Council of Nicaea”) to help set a standard date to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Prior to this council meeting there had been some confusion amongst Christians regarding when the holiday should be celebrated and Christians in different countries held the celebration at different times. The Passover-related date that was being used in Syria and Alexandria, helped determine that the celebration should be held in the spring time.

It would seem understandable that the fact that spring time and the Spring Equinox is a time of rebirth for plants and flowers may have helped tie in the symbolic link to resurrection, though this is speculation and there is no evidence that the bishops in the council took this into consideration.

In any case, the result of this council meeting was that the holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ should be celebrated in the spring time, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

Meanwhile, in Northern Europe and in Anglo-Saxon England, another festival was being held around the Spring Equinox: The festival of Eostre.

Thanks to an ancient English scholar called Bede, who lived around 673-735 AD, we know that Anglo-Saxon English pagans worshipped a pagan goddess called “Eostre” (sometimes called Estre, Estara, Eastre or Ostara) and Eostre’s festival was celebrated in the Springtime during the Spring Equinox. Eostre was the goddess of dawn (the rebirth of a new day), fertility and spring (rebirth of plants & flowers), and it is believed that the word Easter originates from her name.

It is likely that since the Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection was also celebrated during this time of year, Christians who were living alongside pagans, were influenced in seeing this time of year as being the time of the festival of Eostre. And so the name of this Christian holiday that was celebrated alongside Eostre’s festival, came to be called Easter.

These days, with an emphasis on saving energy and on being more aware of our environment, inventions like LED Christmas lights are being used more and more. Because LED lights use up less energy, don’t get hot like traditional lights and last longer, their use has changed the face of Christmas lighting and lighting in general. But when did the idea to put lights up for the holidays first arise?

History of Christmas lights

The idea of using lights as decoration at Christmas was something that had been taking place for some time.

The first illuminated Christmas trees were lit with candles, but even before the age of Christmas, light played an important part in ancient festivities that took place around this time of the year. Sun-worshiping pagans lit candles during the festivals of the Winter solstice, which coincide with the modern Christmas period, because they hoped that providing light from candles and bonfires would encourage the sun’s warmth and light to return after the cold, dark winter.

With the Christianization of pagan holidays, the candle-lighting tradition was incorporated into Christmas customs although it seems that this tradition really regained major popularity after the 18th century.

Around the 18th century it became a popular tradition in many Protestant upper-class German homes to honor Christmas by decorating their Christmas trees with many small miniature candles. The candles were sometimes glued to the tree with melted wax and at other homes they were attached to the trees with pins.

Because of the fire hazard that the flickering candles presented, by the early 1900s lantern-like glass balls were used to hold the illuminated candles, and after the invention of the light bulb, eventually the glass balls of light evolved into the traditional Christmas lights we know today. In spite of the modernization of Christmas lights there are still some places in the world that continue to utilize the old-fashioned candle lights.

What do the Christmas lights symbolise to Christians?

Regardless of their pagan origins, the Christmas lights have amassed new symbolism and meaning since becoming a Christian Christmas tradition. What do the Christmas lights symbolise in Christianity?

I did have a chuckle when I heard the joke that the Christmas lights are put up to help Santa Claus find your house and easily locate the tree in order to put presents under it, but the Christmas lights also have a more meaningful religious symbolism:

• Symbol of the starry night on which Christ was born:
  Some people like to think of the lights representing the Star of Bethlehem, the sign that marked that Christ was born.
• Symbol of the light of Christ:
  In Christian tradition, candles are a symbol for Jesus and the light he brings to earth even in the darkest times. Some believe that the light is symbolic of the eternal light of Jesus’ spirit that is particularly kept in mind over Christmas. Different colored candles also represented different qualities, for example a white candle represents the purity of Christ whilst a pink candle represents joy.
• Symbol of the light, hope and good in the world:
  The Christmas lights also served to remind good Christians to provide light to others.
• Symbol of following the enlightened path:
  Some suggest that the Christmas lights are a reminder to follow the way of Christ. The path of lights that wind around the tree leading to the star at the top may be symbolic of the enlighted path to salvation.

Credits:
Article contributions from Robert Lobitz

Related Articles
You may enjoy the other articles in the culture section of saywhydoi.com, especially the Christmas articles like:
- Why do we put up Christmas wreaths?
- Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th?
- Why do we eat Turkey at Christmas?
- Why are robins on Christmas cards?

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Most of us have heard of people who have made religious pilgrimages but for those who are not particularly religious or those who know little about the details of a pilgrimage, the idea of what drives a person to walk for days to get to a holy site can be quite mysterious when in our day and age they could get there through modern transportation. Why do people go on pilgrimages?

Reasons for pilgrimage:

The motivation is usually different for each person, but there are some basic common underlying themes behind why people go on pilgrimages:

1.) Pilgrimage as an act of penance for sins

You know how some people say “I’d do anything for you to forgive me!”? Well, pilgrimages are some people’s way of “doing anything” for the sake of forgiveness.

People who are truly sorry for something they’ve done may demonstrate how rependant they are by dedicating time and effort to go on a long pilgrimage which usually includes many hours walking on foot. Although many modern religions no longer promote suffering as a means of repentance, some religions still abide by these ancient customs, seeing the suffering of a person as they go on a gruelling journey as a form of penance for their sins. The idea is that God will see this action as a clear sign that they are sincerely sorry and can then be forgiven. God’s forgiveness is sought in the hope of improving their chances of going to heaven.

2.) Pilgrimage as an act of devotion to God in exchange for a miracle

Those who seek something that seems very difficult or almost impossible to achieve, like receiving a healing from a long-term incurable problem like illness or infertility, or finding success in a field of their life which up until now has evaded them, be it work, romance or anything else, may all look for a miracle from God. In exchange for the miracle, they demonstrate their devotion to God by going on a pilgrimage. Henry VIII is said to have made such a pilgrimage (to Walsingham) when he implored God to give him a male heir.

Many stories of miracles occurring to pilgrims during or after a pilgrimage exist. One source for example, notes that the Catholic Church recognizes 65 miracles to have taken place at the pilgrimage hotspot, Lourdes.

3.) Pilgrimages in order to touch a holy relic which can bring good fortune

Many of the religious sites sought out by pilgrims were made were popular because they housed some religious relic, such as a cloth soaked in the blood of a saint, or a piece of a saint’s skeleton, or a part of Jesus’s cross. Some believed that coming in close proximity to artefacts touched by holy people could rub some luck off on them, especially if the artefact belonged to someone with traits that are desired, such as being famous for great courage or for healing abilities.

4.) To experience the joyous feeling of spiritual connection and being close to God

Some people go on pilgrimages simply because it is an opportunity for them to enjoy the feeling of connection with God and all His creations.

Joy can be experienced in every little thing that is usually taken for granted. The joy of waking up to a fresh day, delighting in the observation of your life-giving breath, experiencing all the wonders around you – the trees, flowers, sky, mountains, the unique aromas in your surroundings, the sounds, the sensation of the soft breeze on your skin.. Pleasure can be felt as you observe yourself, your environment and the people around you, feeling how everything is connected by being one creation of God.

It can make you realise how we are all equal and no-one is superior or inferior to one another. On a pilgrimage, there is a feeling that all are equal in the eyes of God, regardless of their status in the everyday world. This can bring a wonderful sense of “togetherness” and belonging.

All this awareness and appreciation can be tremendously exhilarating and fill you with a delicious feeling of bliss.

5.) Pilgrimages as a form of escapism from distractions to give an opportunity to reflect and to receive God-given guidance

A pilgrimage is an opportunity to have some quiet time away from the demands of daily life, to reflect. In everyday life people are often preoccupied by their relationships, work, leaky roofs and other niggling troubles. As a result many find little time to take a step back and reflect on the most important things in their life. By presenting a break from such worries, a pilgrimage gives a person a much needed chance to clear their head, focus positively and gain a renewed perspective on life.

Devout pilgrims would consider any new insights and solutions gained on a pilgrimage to be God-given. It is generally believed that without the distractions of the mundane it is easier to hear Divine guidance.

6.) Pilgrimages as an adventure

A more modern, non-religious reason for pilgrimages is because it can be seen as a fun adventure. It provides an opportunity to meet people of your faith, have an enjoyable time stretching your legs, exercising those muscles and being out in the great outdoors.

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If you’re British or are familiar with British customs, you’ll know that in the UK there is a different date for Mother’s Day celebrations than in the States. What’s more, traditionally the British day of celebration is not known as Mother’s day, but rather as Mothering Sunday. With all these differences, it’s not surprising that the history of Mothering Sunday is a very different one from the American Mother’s Day. This article explores the story behind the origin of Mothering Sunday.

When is Mothering Sunday?

Whilst the American Mother’s Day which occurs in May, Mothering Sunday usually takes place in March. The exact Mothering Sunday date is always the fourth Sunday of Lent, which means that it falls on slightly different days each year. If you want to pencil it into your diary, Mothering Sunday falls on the following dates in the coming years:

• 2012 :: 18 March
• 2013 :: 10 March
• 2014 :: 30 March
• 2015 :: 15 March
• 2016 :: 6 March

Why is Mothering Sunday celebrated on this date?

Historical records seem to suggest that Mothering Sunday has been celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent since at least the 16th century, however, it is likely that it was celebrated long before then because the history of its celebration may well date far earlier than this.

To further understand its allocated date of celebration, let’s journey into the history of Mothering Sunday.

The first Mothering Sunday may have been for a Greek or Roman mother goddess

Some suggest that the modern British Mother’s day celebrations evolved from a far earlier pagan celebration of a different kind of mother: a mother goddess.

Many early civilizations had a “mother goddess” figure that was honored and celebrated at certain times of the year. In Ancient Greece the Mother of the Gods (or the Magna Mater) was called Rhea, and it may be that celebrations held for this goddess around the 6th century BC were the earliest form of “Mother’s day” celebrations.

Later, around the 3rd century BC, the Greek traditions were adopted by Ancient Romans, and similar celebrations took place in honor of Rhea’s Roman equivalent, the mother goddess, Cybele. Interestingly enough, the celebrations for Cybele occurred in March, around the same time that we celebrate Mothering Sunday today.

Romans celebrated Cybele in a festival called: Hilaria. Why did they celebrate on this particular date in March? Because it was around the time of the Vernal Equinox, (where Vernal Equinox literally means: Vernal = Spring; Equinox = equal night and day). It was a celebration of the first day which had a longer day than night, marking the end of the gloomy winter, and the onset of a more joyous, sunny spring.

From “Mother’s day” celebrations of Mother goddesses to celebrations of the Holy Mother and the Mother Church

Many festivals celebrated by the Ancient Romans were converted into Christian celebrations when Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire and of most of Europe. This adaptation of existing Roman festivals was done to help the people adapt more easily to the new Christian religion.

The Roman festival of Saturnalia became Christmas, the Roman celebrations of Juno Februa and Lupercalia eventually became Saint Valentine’s Day, and although the evidence is not unequivocal, it is possible that Cybele’s Hilaria celebrations became Mothering Sunday. In order to make the festival more Christian, the heads of the church may have deemed this “mother goddess” celebration to be an appropriate time at which to replace pagan customs with their own, honoring Mother Mary and the Mother Church. (Mother Church was the term given to the biggest church in the area, often where local Christians would have been baptised.) The date of the celebration was also Christianized to relate directly to Easter and Lent, setting the date of this new festival to fall on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The church services held on this day are likely to have been themed around a Motherly theme, talking about Mary’s maternal love, and of maternal love in general.

Mother Church congregations became an occasion for family reunions with an emphasis on the maternal member of the family

By the 16th century, it was customary to visit the Mother Church for a special service on Mothering Sunday. Visiting the Mother Church on this day was colloquially known as “going a-mothering”.

Although this was a holy day and had little to do with celebrating mothers in any way, the congregating of people at their Mother Church celebrated the joyous coming together again of families. In those days it was common for children as young as ten to be put to work as apprentices, maids and domestic servants, working and living in various country manors, sometimes a fair distance from home. Being given a day off for a reunion with their mothers (and the rest of the family) was an exciting occasion (particularly since some sources suggest that for many working children this was amongst the only days off they had).

On their way home from their work posts, some children would pick flowers to give as a gift to their mothers.

Others would bring home a cake from the manor house where they worked. The most common cakes that were thought to have been made were fruit cakes known as simnel cakes, which are to this day the traditional Mothering Sunday cake that is made.

In some churches, the happy reunion was integrated into the Mother-themed church service where the spring flowers that were picked by the children would be blessed by the church before being presented to the mothers. To this day, flower bouquets are amongst the most common gifts given to mothers on Mothering Sunday.

By the 1940s Mothering Sunday Traditions underwent a transformation to resemble the American Mother’s Day

Somewhere along the line between the 16th century and the early 20th century, Mothering Sunday celebrations began to fade and celebrations became more subdued. But around the 1940s two main things occured which led to the revival of Mothering Sunday and its rebirth as the official Mother’s day celebration we know today:

The first thing that happened was that in the United States, a lady called Anna Jarvis campaigned for an American celebration of mothers throughout the country. Her success resulted in the first national American celebration of Mother’s Day in 1908. Some of her enthusiasm made its way to Britain to a woman called Constance Penswick-Smith who, inspired by Anna Jarvis, campaigned for the closest British equivalent Mother’s day celebration, Mothering Sunday, to be revived. Constance’s Mothering Sunday Movement campaign lasted a good few years, all the way from 1914 to the early 1920s. Although this served to prick up a few ears, nothing much changed in Britain. What did make a huge impact on the resurgence of celebrating Mothering Sunday in Britain, was the second event that happened around this time: World War II.

During World War II, English, American and Canadian soldiers worked alongside one another and had a chance to socialize and talk. One thing that they all had in common was missing their mothers, wives and girlfriends back home. With this newly realized appreciation for their mothers in the darkness of war, at some point (perhaps even on American Mother’s day itself) conversation turned to the American tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day. Inspired by the American celebrations, the British soldiers brought back with them a new found eagerness and desire to celebrate their mothers using the closest thing they had to Mother’s Day: Mothering Sunday.

By the 1950s, Mothering Sunday was once again celebrated throughout Britain with great enthusiasm; an enthusiasm that may have been helped by the exuberant marketing of the festival by merchants selling Mother’s Day related gifts.

A merging occurred between new American traditions and old Mothering Sunday traditions as British mothers began being shown love and appreciation on Mothering Sunday. The merging of traditions was so strong that people even began calling Mothering Sunday, “Mother’s Day”.

Today many people believe that Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day are one and the same thing, and although the two celebrations have distinctly different origins, they share the same principles at their core: a celebration and appreciation of mothers, be they holy, human or otherwise.

Other articles that may interest you
Check out more articles in our culture section including:
- Why do we have birthday cakes? A Short History of Cakes
- Why do we have the engagement and wedding ring custom?
- Why do people go on honeymoons? And why is it called a honeymoon?

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If you’re ever in Britain around Christmas time, you’ll find pictures of robin red breasts adorning Christmas cards, ornaments, stamps, chocolate boxes, shop windows and Christmas wrapping paper. Their images can even be found decorating Christmas cakes. How did the humble European robin become the Christmas robin?

Why Robins are on Christmas cards

Although robin folklore existed for many years, the robin became far more widely associated with Christmas after it was depicted on Christmas cards in 19th century England; a tradition that has been retained to this day. (1)

Why are robins on Christmas cards? It’s all inspired by the robins who used to deliver the Christmas cards in 19th century Britain.

In the 1800s, British postmen wore bright red uniforms. They wore red in honor of the crown since red is considered both a Royal color and an important color on the English flag. (Incidentally, this may also be one of the reasons why British post boxes were eventually standardized to be red). The postmen in their red-breasted coats resembled the much-loved British bird, the robin red-breast, earning Victorian postmen the nick-name: Robins.

Around Christmas time, people would eagerly await the Robins’ delivery of Christmas cards from near and far. Some greeting card artists were inspired by this to illustrate their cards with the joyous delivery of letters, and instead of drawing a postman, one artist decided to draw the Robins’ namesake, the robin birds, delivering letters in their little beaks. The trend caught on and survives to this day despite the fact that the postmen’s red coat uniforms and the postmen’s Robin nickname have long been retired to the history books.

Robin Folklore

Aside from the postman-robin association explaining the robin’s presence on Christmas cards, the robins already had a rich association with Christmas because various folklore stories exist surrounding the Christmas robin. Below are three of the most popular Christian tales of robin folklore regarding how the robin got its red breast:

1.) The kind-hearted Robin who got its red breast tending to baby Jesus’s fire

One tale from robin folklore is that when Mary was giving birth to Jesus, the fire that was burning to keep the stable warm and comfortable was about to go out. Just as Mary was starting to worry about the chill of the night descending upon her and her newborn, a tiny brown bird alighted by the fire, singing and flapping its little wings. The flapping made the embers glow brightly, re-igniting the fire. In some versions of this tale, the little bird also brought small twigs in its beak to help feed the fire.

As the robin flew around, tending to the fire, the flames crackled and snapped, and a stray red-hot ember flew from the hearth, landing on the brown bird’s breast, making it glow bright red. When Mary saw all this, she declared that the red breast was a sign of the bird’s kind heart and that the bird and all its descendants would wear a red breast proudly for evermore. (2)

2.) The robin who got its red breast trying to help Christ at the crucifixion

Another story about how the robin got its red breast is based on Christ’s crucifixion. The story goes that as Christ was dying on the cross a little brown bird flew beside him, trying to comfort him with its song. The bird clamped its little beak on Jesus’ thorny crown, trying to remove it, and although the bird was not strong enough, in its passionate attempts pulling on the thorns, a little bit of Christ’s blood stained the bird’s breast red. (3)

3.) The robin who got its red breast when giving water to souls in Purgatory

A less popular bit of robin folklore tells of the robin who was kind enough to fetch water for the souls in Purgatory or hell. As it flew in this fiery place, its breast was accidentally scorched, giving the robin its red breast. (1)

Today the robin is considered by some to be Britain’s favorite bird. (4) With the existence of so many positive tales about the robin red breast in folklore and also in everyday life with its cheerful song and its role in keeping gardeners company, it is easy to understand why the robins were well-liked enough to be retained as decorations for Christmas cards and decorations well after their original meaning was forgotten. Well… forgotten until now!

References
(1) de Vries, A. 2004. Elsevier’s Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery. Emerald Group Publishing.
(2) Egan L.B. 1988. A Christmas Stocking: A Child’s Treasury for the Festive Season. Simon & Schuster Ltd
(3) Cooper J.C. 1992. Symbolic and Mythological Animals. Harpercollins
(4) British Bird Lovers website

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(Other spellings and names for the holiday: tu b’shvat, tu bishvat, tu be shevat, tu b shvat, Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot‎)

What is Tu b’shevat?

Tu b’shevat (ט״ו בשבט) literally means “the 15th of Shvat”, a date in the Jewish calendar, which usually falls in January or February. This name alone reveals little about what this holiday celebrates, but Tu b’shevat does have a few other names which are more revealing: it is also called the New Year for the Trees (Rosh HaShanah La’Illanot), or the Jewish Arbor Day.

New Year for the Trees? It may sound a bit funny, but really it’s just a celebration of the year’s first signs of spring, where the earliest trees start blooming in Israel. This was a hopeful sign of the new fruit-bearing year. It was therefore an important part of the agricultural calendar.

Judaism isn’t the only religion to celebrate the fertility of the Earth. The Romans had several similar celebrations including Saturnalia (celebrating the agricultural god Saturn for bringing an end to the worst of the Winter. This is part of the story behind why Christians put up wreaths and evergreen things at Christmas), and the festival of Juno Februa on the 14th of February which celebrated purification from the barrenness of winter.

The Jewish calendar has four new year celebrations and perhaps this isn’t so strange if you consider that we have more than one “new years” in the secular calendar too, like the 1st of January as well as the new school year.

What are the four Jewish new years?
1.) Jewish New Year: This is in September/ October (the main Jewish New Year, known as “Rosh Hashana“) which marks the start of the Jewish calendar and the anniversary of the world’s creation.
2.) New year for the trees: Tu b’shevat, the agricultural new year.
3.) New year for the ancient kings of Israel, which occurs in March/ April. It also celebrates the anniversary of the Israelites freedom from Egypt (also known as Passover or Pesach).
4.) New year for the animal tithes which happens in August/ September. This new year is usually no longer observed these days.

* * *

How is Tu b’shevat celebrated?

There are several Tu b’shevat activities:

1.) Tu b’shevat seder

Because it is seen as a New Year, Tu b’shevat follows the same tradition of celebration as the other new years: celebrating with a festive meal (known as a “seder”).

Tu b’shevat foods:

Since the holiday celebrates the trees in particular, fresh and dried fruit as well as nuts are the main focus of the tu b’shevat seder.

Popular foods are dishes that contain any of the Seven Species (known as “shivat haminim”) which are seven species of fruit and grains mentioned in the Bible in Deuteronomy 8:8, said to represent the Land of Israel. These seven foods are: barley, dates, grapes, figs, olives, pomegranates and wheat. Carob and other fruits and nuts are also widely eaten as tu b’shevat foods.

Some examples of tu b’shvat dishes include:

• Barley dishes: e.g. Barley soup, Barley Pilaf
• Date dishes: e.g. Morrocan style tagines, stuffed dates (stuffed with nuts), Date and nut squares, desserts made with date syrup
• Grape dishes: e.g. Stuffed grape vine leaves, chicken casserole with grapes, sole Veronique, grape juice, grape salads
• Fig dishes: e.g. fig, pecan & cheese salad, fig and almond balls, cinnamon figs
• Olive dishes: using olive oil in cooking and as dressings on salads. You can also add whole olives to cooked like tagines and casseroles.
• Pomegranate dishes: e.g. Pomegranate and pinenut salad, pomegranate and apple salad, or pomegranate juice.
• Wheat dishes: e.g. bulgar pilaf which can be mixed with raisins and almonds; whole wheat bread, or kubeh made with bulgar wheat.
• Other fruit dishes: Most fruits that are eaten are in their dried form, from earlier harvests, but occasionally fresh fruit is eaten too.
  - Seven Species Salad
  - Tagines with dried fruit and nuts
  - Baked apples
  - Fruit compotes
  - Fruit cakes or crumbles
  - Fruit salads (or if you want to really get into the spirit of the 15^th of Shvat you can do a 15 fruit salad )
  - Fruit leathers
• Nut dishes: e.g. almond chicken, ground almond stuffing balls, ground almond vegetables, Almond cake, Nut cookies, Marzipan
• Carob dishes
• Etrog: Some have a custom of eating a pickled or sugared etrog on tu b’shevat.

2.) Tu b’shevat songs

There are several Tu b’shevat songs on the subject of the blossoming of the trees. Below is a list of some of the common ones with linked youtube videos for each song. The first two songs are the most well-known and they are most often sung by children:

• Ha Shkedia Porachat (The Almond Tree is Blossoming)
  
• Cach Holchim hashotlim (This is how the planters go)
  
• Etz HaRimon (The Pomegranate Tree)
• Etz haAlon (The Oak Tree)
• Derech Eretz Hashaked  (The way of the almond tree)
• Ki Tavo’u el Ha’aretz – כי תבואו אל הארץ

3.) Planting trees

A custom that arose in the early 1900s was to celebrate the New Year of the Trees by planting trees, particularly in Israel. Outside of Israel, people often send money to charities in Israel that plant trees for them. This tradition has helped turn Israel’s landscape to a far greener one than it would have been naturally.

Environmental organizations have used the opportunity to bring awareness to various green, nature-friendly causes, making Tu b’shevat a type of Jewish Earth day.

4.) Taking a walk in nature and seeing the blossoms first hand

5.) Tu b’shevat crafts

Some parents make tree-inspired tu b’shevat crafts with their children in honor of the holiday. Trees and plants can be painted, sculpted or even made with buttons.

A few good resources for tu b’shevat crafts are given below:

• Creative Jewish Mom Tu b’shevat craft ideas
• Challah Crumbs Tu b’shevat craft ideas
• Making tree art – gaining inspiration from artists like:
  - Megan Aroon Duncanson
  - QiQi
  - Karla Gerard
  

  - Lauren Alexander
  - Karen Tarlton

When is tu b’shevat?
2012: February 7th eve to February 8th eve
2013: January 25th eve to January 26th eve
2014: January 15th eve to January 16th eve
2015: February 3rd eve to February 4th eve

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What is the bindi?

By bindi I’m referring to that red dot seen most commonly decorating the foreheads of Indian women, or to be more precise by Hindu women. Because of the many dialects spoken throughout India, bindis are otherwise known by many other names including bottu, kumkum, pottu, sindoor, teep, tikli, tika, tilak, tilaka, and tilakam.

The word “bindi” comes from the word “bindu” which means “drop” or “dot” in Sanskrit; an apt description of this spot of color.

The color is made from several possible substances:

• Powder: The ancient custom is to use powder which is applied to the forehead with a skilful finger to make the bindi. The substances used to make this powder have varied through time but are usually one of the following:
  - Kumkum: This is a powder made from red turmeric. Turmeric is one of the most traditional substances used for bindi creation, and in the past was combined with lime and other herbal ingredients to make the base for the bindi paste.
  - Sandalwood paste
  - Ashes (called vibhuti)
  - Clay
  - Zinc oxide: Powder made from Zinc oxide and dye
  - Vermilion: This is a powder containing cinnabar which is a source of mercury sulphide, a dangerously toxic compound. Sometimes it contains lead tetroxide which has been shown to be carcinogenic for lab animals. Mercury and lead-filled vermilion is dangerous and should not be used.
  - Saffron ground together with kusumba flower
• Sticker: A sticker made from paper or rexin is often used today because it is easier to apply than the traditional powder.
• Any natural materials at hand: In ancient times leaves, seeds, fruit and even soot were used to create bindis. Leafy bindis were called Patrachhedya, Patralekha, Patrabhanga, or Patramanjari but are not really used today.

Now we understand the “what” but we don’t yet have the “why”. Why are these Indian forehead spots worn in the first place?

Why do Indians wear bindis? What is the bindi meaning?

There are an abundance of theories regarding the meaning behind the ancient tradition of wearing a bindi. Here are some of the theories unravelling the mystery of the Indian forehead spot:

Theory 1: A remnant of an old Aryan marriage tradition

Although the bindi is worn on an everyday basis by many women, it is also worn in the Hindu marriage ceremony. After marriage many women choose to wear a red bindi which has led to the misconception that it is only married Hindu women who wear one. In fact this isn’t the case and although perhaps married women wear them most often, the bindi can be worn by men and women, single or not.

Why the association of wearing a bindi with marriage? One theory goes back to around 1500BCE, at the time when a light-skinned Indo-European race called the Aryans, are said to have conquered India. One of the alleged Aryan wedding traditions was for the marriage to be sealed with blood: The groom would apply a drop of his own blood onto his new bride’s forehead as part of the ceremony. The theory is that over time this tradition was modified to apply red powder instead of blood. This ancient marriage-association of the red spot may explain the tradition of there being a high prevalence of married women wearing a red spot on their forehead.

It is interesting to note that Korean weddings also have a similar tradition of the bride wearing a decorative forehead spot. The origin of this tradition is unclear but some sources suggest that Aryans may have reached some Korean settlements at some point in history.(1)

Theory 2: It is worn to strengthen the brow chakra

Around 3000BC, the seers of ancient India wrote the scriptures known as the Vedas, and in these they described the existence of areas of concentrated energy within the energy field of the human body. These energy centers were named “chakras”. There are seven main chakras that run along the center of the body, and the sixth one (called the “brow chakra”, ajna, or “third eye chakra”) occurs exactly where the bindi is placed.

Every chakra is believed to have different properties, and the bindi is believed to strengthen the brow chakra’s beneficial qualities which include the following:

• Access to inner wisdom: There is a spiritual belief that we all have inner wisdom within us (although we do not always access it unfortunately because we are often distracted by the chattering mind). This inner wisdom is sometimes referred to as the “inner Guru”. The brow chakra is thought to be the seat of your concealed wisdom and the command center of the inner Guru. Placing the bindi here aims to help you access the inner Guru, to facilitate your ability to see the world with wiser eyes and interpret the things you see in a truthful, unbiased manner. Given that it enables this spiritually heightened way of seeing the world through wisdom and truth, it becomes clear why this chakra is sometimes called the “third eye”.
  Because the “inner Guru” is so wise that it can find solutions to everything, strengthening this chakra with a bindi is also thought to protect against tricky situations and bad luck.
• Helps you overcome the ego: The “ego” is our “false self”. By this I mean it is what our mind thinks we are, rather than who we really are. The mind gives us all sorts of labels depending on our jobs, our familial role (e.g. daughter, mother, aunt etc.), our personality (introverted/ extroverted, perfectionistic, jealous etc.) and other labels that are not relevant to who our true selves are deep inside.
  The inner Guru helps you to avoid getting caught up in all these false labels and hold on to your true self.
  There are certain times where strengthening this inner Guru and suppressing the ego is particularly important:
  

  - Helps married women let go of their attachments to their old life: This may be another reason why the bindi is worn in the marriage ceremony and thereafter by married women. In accordance with ancient tradition, when a Hindu woman gets married, she gives up her name and her old living arrangements when she moves into her new husband’s house. It is human nature (or rather the ego’s nature) to attach your identity to things like names and houses, so strengthening the brow chakra with a bindi can help overcome such attachments to ease the transition.

  - Removing ego for important people: Sometimes people in highly respected places, like priests, royalty and important politicians may wear a bindi to remind themselves not to be carried away by the ego’s label of them as “important people”.

  - Helps you meditate: The inner Guru’s ability to help quieten the ego also helps silence unnecessary, unhelpful thoughts and emotions, or the “chattering mind”. This comes in useful during spiritual practices and meditation.

  - Helps promote peace of mind: Because the bindi aims to quieten the ego with its often critical thoughts and negative emotions, it helps promote inner peace and aids in concentration in general, on any task at hand.


• Access to spiritual planes: The chakras that are higher up in the body are said to be more closely connected with subtle energy where deities and other powerful spiritual powers dwell. Along with the other reasons described, this is another one of the reasons you’ll often see Hindu priests wearing a bindi-like mark on their forehead. Marking this spot is also common for both men and women during many religious times in Hinduism including during ritual worship (called Puja). Superstitious folk believe that the third eye’s spiritual nature means that a bindi in this location can protect one from negative energies.
• Access to kundalini energy: According to Vedic scriptures, each chakra center contains special energy called kundalini energy. When a chakra is open it can leak out energy. The bindi is said to protect against energy loss and strengthen the energy in the third eye and of the body in general.

Theory 3: Ancient practice of differentiating different castes or groups

One theory is that the bindi was used to help distinguish between different castes. The Indian caste system is a social stratigication that generally categorizes people by their ancestral’s professions, denoting if they came from a line of scholars, warriors, farmers, artisans and so on. Each caste had different degrees of power and prestige and the caste to which they were born into was believed to give a rough idea of the person’s social standing, financial status, and even their intellectual ability. Different colors and shapes of bindi may have been attributed to certain castes; a useful visual tool for a culture that placed great importance on mixing with the “right” people in society. There was a time when if a man came in contact with the lowest group in the social hierarchy (“the untouchables” who didn’t even have a caste) he’d quickly go to clean himself thoroughly!

Castes aside, facial markings were also used to identify different religious subsections. To this day bindi-like forehead smears and facial markings are used by followers of different subsects of Hinduism. For example followers of Lord Vishnu have one mark whilst followers of Lord Shiva, Devi Shakti and Goddess Shakti have a different marking.

Theory 4: Bindi are simply a body decoration fashion statement
Whilst it is likely that the bindi has more meaning than being a body ornament alone, for some people today it serves the purpose of beautification more than anything else. This is especially the case when worn by Westerners who have not been educated in the Vedic scriptures.

Why are the bindis red?
Most often, the bindi are red dots. Why red? There are many possible meanings of the color red, but in the context of bindi it is thought to represent the following in particular:

• Love
• Honor
• Prosperity
• Strength (“Shakti”)
• Passion – In Hindu philosophy of religion there is a term, “prakriti” which means “nature”, and it is believed that nature is made up of three main components: goodness (“sattva”), passion (“rajas”), and darkness (“tamas”). Each of these has as color: White for goodness, red for passion and black for darkness. Being the color of passion, red is associated with love and fertility.

If the Aryan origins story has some truth to it, the bindi’s color may simply be because it was the closest color to the original blood spot that was placed on the forehead in Aryan wedding ceremonies.

Another story is that there was an ancient practice of making blood sacrifices to the Gods, but that over time this custom transformed into one of offering red gifts and wearing red, which may explain why red is the most often seen color of the bindi.

Although red is the most commonly seen color for bindi, there are other bindi colors available with different meanings.

Other bindi colors

• Black bindi: The second most prevalent bindi color is black. Unmarried women and widows are most likely to be seen adorned with this. Once a wife is widowed, it is culturally unacceptable for her to wear a red bindi anymore and instead she can only wear a black one.
• Whatever color bindi that matches their outfit! In modern times bindis have become more a fashion accessory than a strictly religious piece. Decorative bindis can be found in an abundance of colors and shapes to suit any mood and outfit.

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When September rolls round you know the autumn is approaching, the beginning of the school year is near and for Jewish people, September means that Rosh Hashanah is soon to be upon them.

What is Rosh Hashanah? “Rosh Hashanah” literally means “head of the year” because it marks the Jewish New Year. But why do Jewish people celebrate their New Year in September or October rather than in January? And what exactly is involved in a Jewish New Year celebration?

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Why is the Jewish New Year date in September or October?

Whilst Rosh Hashanah doesn’t occur on the first month of either the Christian or Jewish calender, it does occur on the first day of Tishrei (the 7^th month of the Jewish calendar).  Since the Jewish calendar is lunisolar and differs from the Western calender it means that the date of the Jewish New Year changes every year, but it is always between the 5^th of September and the 5^th of October.

So why is the Jewish New Year celebrated on the first of Tishrei? Because according to rabbinic tradition it is believed that the creation of the world was finished on this date, and what better date to celebrate the beginning of a new year than the anniversary of the creation of the world?

Interpretations differ but some say that Tishrei 1^st marks the completion of the creation of the World or Universe whilst others say it marks the completion of the creation of Man (or more specifically Adam and Eve).

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Besides being the New Year, what is the meaning of Rosh Hashanah? What exactly is meant to happen on the anniversary of creation?

Rosh Hashanah is not just an anniversary. As well as being an anniversary, it is also Judgement Day. (Cue lightening and ominous thunderclaps!)

It is interesting that the astrology’s zodiac signs associate September time with Libra, the scales, because Jewish people believe that in this time of year God brings out his “day of judgement” scales to weigh up each person’s good and bad deeds.

The religious theory is that on Rosh Hashanah, if God deems a person to be extremely good, He writes their name down in His Book of Life and Blessing, whilst those who are deemed extremely evil have their names written down in the Book of Death and Misfortune.

What is the significance of your name appearing in either of these books? It is believed that those inscribed into the Book of Life and Blessing are destined for Heaven whereas those who don’t make it into this book are setting themselves up to go elsewhere. Some also believe that your coming year may be impacted depending on how you have been judged by God.

Most people are neither extremely good nor extremely bad, so their names do not become written down in either of these books on Rosh Hashanah. Instead, for the average Joe, God assigned a ten day period of grace. During this time peopel can repent for their sins, ask forgiveness and commit to changing their ways to be worthy of being inscribed in the Book of Life and Blessing rather than in the Book of Death and Misfortune.

The tenth day is marked by the solemnest Jewish holy day of the year: Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentence. On this day the Jewish people believe God makes his final judgement regarding which book a person should be allocated. These ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are therefore a time of introspection, repentence and planning to make positive change over the coming new year and beyond.

If you’ve ever heard Jewish people wishing each other a Happy New Year or good wishes for Yom Kippur you might have heard the sayings:

• L’shana tova tikatvu, which means “May you be inscribed for a good year”
• Gmar chatima tova, which means “May you have a good signing” (in the books).

Some other more common blessings which don’t mention the inscription are “Shana Tova!” which means “Have a good year!” or “Shana tova ve metuka!” which means “Have a good and sweet year!”. (An alternative way of saying the latter is: “Shana tova u’metuka”).

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How to celebrate Rosh Hashanah:

How are you supposed to celebrate Rosh Hashanah?

1.) Sounding the Shofar

One of the famous traditions of Rosh Hashanah is blowing on a ram’s horn trumpet called a shofar.

Why is a shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah?

The shofar is blown because the Bible says that’s what you’re meant to do (It quite literally says: “In the seventh month on the first day of the month shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns.” Leviticus. XXIII, 24). However, that aside, there is more reason to sounding the shofar than this. The Bible doesn’t specify the reason, but scholars have suggested several theories why the shofar is sounded. Some of them include:

• Reminder of Judgement Day: Before Rosh Hashana the shofar is blown to remind people of the coming Judgement by God.

• Call to battle: Sounding a shofar was done in ancient times to call people to battle. On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is sounded to call you to battle against your inner enemies, an internal fight against your darker side.
• Call to move forward: It’s symbolic of moving forward into a new year because in the days when the Israelites were wandering through the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land they were urged on and directed by the sounding of the shofar. In a similar way Rosh Hashana urges you forward and directs you towards a better direction.
• Reminder of the Biblical story of the Near Sacrifice of Isaac: One of the famous Biblical tales is that Abraham almost sacrificed his precious son, Isaac to God, but that God stopped him, telling him that human life is sacred and human sacrifices should not be made in the name of God. Instead God sent a ram which Abraham sacrificed, and the ram’s horn shofar is a reminder of this story, reminding us that in life, sometimes sacrifices are made for the sake of doing the right thing, but it is also important to remember the limits of acceptable sacrifices made in the name of God.
• Call to remind of God’s presence: There is a passage in the Bible that says that when the Israelites gathered around Mount Sinai to receive the holy scripture, the Torah, a shofar was sounded to announce that God was in their midst. Similarly, on Rosh Hashana, the shofar reminds Jewish people that God is always nearby, an ever more important thing to remember on Judgement Day.

The Shofar Sounds

There is a special way to blow a shofar:

• Long unbroken sound: At first, a long unbroken sound is made. Some interpret this as indicating the wholeness and complete happiness which life can bring.
• Intermittent toots (“broken” sounds) of the shofar: Some say the broken sounds that follow the initial unbroken tone indicate that life also has moments of pain. The sound of the shofar here is reminiscent of broken weeping.
• Final unbroken tone: The shofar ritual is finished with another long note, indicating that even if there is pain, there is still hope to be whole again, so people are encouraged not to give up when times are hard.

One hundred shofar tones are sounded each day as part of the shofar blowing ritual.

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2.)  Rosh Hashanah food

a.) Apple in honey

One of the Rosh Hashanah traditions is to eat an apple dipped in honey. This is a tradition that is thought to have arisen in late medieval times by the Ashkenazi Jews.

The significance of the apple is under debate, but possible reasons for why it is eaten include:

(i.)  Symbolism:

• It symbolizes a wish for a sweet new year ahead. Even if the apple is a little sour, dipping it in honey expresses a hope that the bitterness can be turned to sweeter times.
• When an apple is sliced horizontally, the seeds and patterns inside the apple form a 5-pointed star and 10 little holes. In Hebrew, each number stands for a letter, and the numbers 5 and 10 spell out one acronym for the word “God” (hey, yud). This makes the apple particularly appropriate as a reminder of God’s presence.

• When an apple grows from a tree, first comes the first sign of fruit, and only then the leaves surround it, the bloom intensifies and the fruit grows. This is paralleled with the need to show your bud of righteousness as you observe God and try to be good. This must be done before the full beautiful bloom and growth of the fruit can come.
• One theory that is not true but is still a nice one, is that the apple represents the weakness of man because many lay-people think that the apple was the temptation from the Tree of Knowledge which got Adam and Eve booted out of the Garden of Eden. By dipping the apple in honey it symbolizes that personal weaknesses can be overcome. However, since the apple is likely not to have been the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, this theory is unlikely to be true.

(ii.) Practical reasons like the fact that it’s easily obtainable throughout the world.

Sephardic Jews sometimes make a fruit compote called mansanada with apples.

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b.) Rosh Hashanah honey cake (and other honeyed foods)

Like the apple dipped in honey, honey cake and other honeyed foods are traditional on Rosh Hashanah to mark a hope for a sweet year ahead.

Note that in Biblical times, the tradition would have referred to honey made from fruit (like date syrup) rather than bee-honey which was very expensive and rare.

Aside from honey cake, other traditional sweet dishes often eaten at Rosh Hashanah include challah bread dipped in honey, honeyed chicken with almonds, teiglach and tzimmes.

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c.) Round challah

Whilst during the year a braided loaf of challah is eaten, on Rosh Hashana the challah is often round.

Why a round challah?

The round challah may symbolize several possible things:

• Cycle of the year: It may symbolize the cycle of the year that has passed and the new cycle that is about to begin.
• The circle of life: It also symbolizes that like a circle, although it is the end of a year, it also carries a wish for a good long life, like a circle that doesn’t have an end.
• Crown of Judgement: As God is responsible for judging on Rosh Hashanah, a round challah may symbolize a crown, reflecting His king-like role in judging His people.
• Reminder to change negative behaviours and habits: The word “shana” (as in Rosh haSHANA) has several meanings including “year”, “repeat” and “change”. The round challah may reflect these meanings in one visual symbol, effectively saying that it’s a good time of year to break out of the cycle of repetitive negative behaviours, and that it’s an opportunity to establish new positive patterns.

Carrots which carry a similar meaning to the circular challah, are also often eaten on Rosh Hashanah. They also carry connotations of a wish to be abundant and multiply. Some believe that the round sliced carrot “coins” symbolize this abundance and prosperity for the coming year.

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d.) Pomegranate

If you look at Rosh Hashanah cards you’ll often notice a picture of a pomegranate decorating them. This is because the pomegranate is one of the traditionally consumed foods in the Jewish New Year. Why a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah?

• Many seeds wishing fruitfulness: The many seeds of the pomegranates symbolize fertility and fruitfulness for the year ahead. A pomegranate to commemorate the new year is not only a Jewish tradition. In Mediterranean countries like Greece they also have pomegranates as part of their new year rituals, where the abundance of seeds is a symbol for good fortune and prosperity.
• 613 seeds for 613 good deeds: It is thought that there are 613 seeds in a pomegranate, the same number as the number of good deeds which are written in the scriptures (these good deeds are called “mitzvot”). By eating pomegranates you are effectively saying “in this year ahead may you do as many good deeds as are seeds in this pomegranate”. Others believe that even more importantly, eating a pomegranate reminds God of all the good deeds we’ve done over the past year and in the past.

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e.) Animal heads

To celebrate the “head of the year”, animal heads like fish heads, and head-parts like tongue are sometimes eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Fish heads are popular because fish is another symbol of fertility and abundance, a good thing to eat if it brings these things in the new year. Some Jews eat Gefilte fish on the Jewish New Year.

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f.) Foods whose names imply wishes for a good year ahead:

There are many other symbolic foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah each with its own meaning, including:

• Dates: The word for dates relates to the word תם “tum” which means “to end”, signifying and end of negative influences in life for a good year ahead.
• Black-eyed beans symbolizing good fortune and abundance. This meaning comes from the words for black-eyed beans: “rubiya” or “lubiya” which are cognates of the Hebrew word “harbeh”, meaning “many”, or abundance.
• Leek: Sephardic Jews in particular eat leeks in the form of fritters called keftedes de prasa. Leeks are also related to removing the negative in life because the word for leek (כרתי) is related to the word כרת “karat” which means “to cut”.
  Greens are often associated with money, a good omen for wealth.
• Gourd or pumpkin: Especially in Sephardic tradition, pumpkin-filled pastries are eaten called rodanchas. The word for gourd is קרא related to the word קרע “kera” which means “to rip”, symbolizing removal of negative things in life for the coming year.
• Beetroot: The word for beetroot in Hebrew is סלק “selek” which is related to the Hebrew word סלק “salek” meaning “depart”. This signified a wish to let all the negative influences in a person’s life depart.

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3.) Tashlich (or Tashlikh)

Tashlich comes from the Hebrew word “Tishalch” which means “to send away”, and the ritual involves a display of “sending away” your sins.

People go to places of flowing water like a river or sea and empty their pockets into the water with a declaration that their sins are being carried away. Sometimes small pieces of bread or pebbles are put in the pockets beforehand so that you have something physical to send into the waters.

The Tashlich tradition is a ritual based on the words of the prophet Micah who said: “And you will cast all of your sins into the depth of the sea”.

Tashlich is not essential in order to repent and throw away our sins, but it can help some people to admit to anything they may have done wrong and it can help them along their path towards repentance. Tashlich alone does not make everything ok however. For that to happen people need to truly make a commitment to never repeat the same sins again. Only then does repentance really mean something.

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When is Rosh Hashanah in the coming years?

2016:   2nd October, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5777)

2017:   20^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5778)

2018:   9^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5779)

2019:   29^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5780)

2020:   18^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5781)

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Why do Jewish people eat challah?
Is honey good for you?

* * *

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Every March 17^th, many places around the globe celebrate St Patrick’s Day with parades, costumes, wearing green, glugging down Irish beer and  generally having some good old craic! Why do we wear green on this day? And more importantly, what are we actually celebrating?

St Patrick’s Day History

Why do we celebrate St Patrick’s day? Basically it’s because we’re celebrating the bringing of Christianity to Ireland.

St Patrick was a British priest living in the 4^th Century. It is said that around 432AD he had a vision in a dream that he would go to Ireland and preach to the Irish to Christianize the pagans who were living there. He embarked on a 30-year missionary operation to convert the pagans to Christianity, and in spite of some problems with the druids, he eventually succeeded gloriously. He was strategic in his efforts and preached to highly influential, powerful people and to nobles whose example was likely to be followed, to help bring on a smooth shift into the new religion.  It is largely thanks to him that to this day Ireland is a strongly Christian country, decorated with beautiful churches, monasteries and religious art. For this reason, St Patrick is known as the Patron Saint of Ireland, and for this reason his death-day anniversary is celebrated every March 17^th.

Why do people wear green on St Patrick’s day?

On St Patrick’s day you might see people wearing green clothes, drinking green beer, and if you’re in Chicago you’ll even see the Chicago River being dyed green in honour of St Patrick’s day! Why green on St Patrick’s day?

The Chicago River has been dyed green every year since 1962 in honour of St Patrick's Day.

Image by Mike Boehmer

Possible Reason 1: Green is associated with Saint Patrick because of the green Shamrock he used to teach about Christianity:

The connection of St Patrick’s Day to the color green may be linked to the role of the shamrock in Saint Patrick’s life story.  Legend has it that Saint Patrick used a green shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to the pagans. It illustrated the idea of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as *one* entity, one God. This is just like how the three leaves are part of one shamrock – but you need all the parts to make it complete.

Possible Reason 2: St Patrick’s day celebrates an Irish tradition and green is the color that is most representative of Ireland:

Because St Patrick’s day culturally evolved into a celebration of Irishness more than of Christianity, this may have led to celebrating with a color that represented the “Emerald Isle” most fittingly. People say that the Irish landscape has 40 shades of green with its lush pastures throughout its countryside, so no color is more appropriate in representing Ireland really!

Possible Reason 3: Green on the Irish flag represents Catholicism, and Saint Patrick was Catholic

The color green has been used historically to represent various groups in Ireland, particularly the Irish Catholic nationalists of the south, and eventually this color was adopted as part of the official country’s flag in 1919. The Irish flag is a tri-color of green, white and orange. The green is said to be representative of the Catholics in the country, the orange signifies the Protestants, and the white stands for the peace between them. It is appropriate then that St Patrick’s day, a Catholic celebration, is represented by the color green.

If St Patrick’s day is such an Irish-centred celebration, why do we celebrate it all over the world?

It is likely that the reason the celebrations reached far and wide is due to Irish immigrants spreading their traditions where-ever they went, as they tried to rekindle a taste of home. The fun of the celebrations was so enticing that, as the cheeky Irish saying goes: “There are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish and those who wish they were!” Judging by the global celebrations of St Patrick’s Day, there may indeed be some truth to this saying!

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Once a year it is customary to stuff our faces with pancakes. Yes, I’m talking about Pancake Day! Or as it’s more correctly known by it’s Christian name, Shrove Tuesday. But how did “Pancake Day” arise? Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?

Pancake Day is always the day before Ash Wednesday, where Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian period of Lent. To understand why we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, it’s important to understand one thing about Lent: Lent has traditionally been a period marked by abstaining from certain foods. There were different variations of the fasting custom but one of the most popular ones was abstaining from animal products, such as meat, lard, eggs, and dairy. Sometimes sugar was also removed.

Hold on: eggs and dairy? This is beginning to sound a lot like the ingredients for pancake mix! In preparation for the period of Lent, Christian households wanted to finish off all the produce they would be unable to use over Lent, and because pancakes required many of these soon-to-be-forbidden foods, since their invention around the 1400s, a pancake feast was common in many households on the Tuesday before Lent began.

In many countries pancakes are the traditional food to be eaten, but different Christian countries around the world have varying traditional foods which they eat with the aim of using up all their animal products, eaten every Shrove Tuesday (and sometimes on the related pre-Lent feast day, Fat Thursday). For example:

• In Sweden they make a sweet bun called “semla” or “fettisdag buller“, which is made with butter, milk and eggs, filled with marzipan, topped off with whipped cream, and served with a steaming mug of hot milk. Estonia, Finland and Denmark have a similar Shrove Tuesday traditional food.
• In Germany they make a diamond-shaped, deep-fried pastry called a fasnacht which is made from milk, lard and mashed potatoes.
• In Portugal, they eat Malasadas, which are doughnuts made from lard or butter, eggs and sugar amongst other ingredients. Sometimes they are filled with cream, and they function very well in helping to use up animal products that are lying around.
• In Scotland they eat bannocks of eggs and meal, and rather than calling the day Pancake day, they call it “Bannocky Day”.
• In Italy, they have a special dove-shaped pastry called a “colomba“.
• In Iceland, they feast on salted meat which is another animal product traditionally abstained from during Lent.
• In Poland it is customary to eat special doughnuts called “pączki” and a special crispy pastry called “faworki” on Fat Thursday.
• In France, traditionally, Lyon cold meat shops sold a special crispy pastry similar to the Polish “faworki”, called “bugnes” on Fat Thursday in the buildup to Lent.

With all this eating, it’s not surprising that Pancake Day is also known as Fat Tuesday (“Mardi Gras” in France, “Terça-feira gorda” in Brazil and Portugal, “Fettisdagen” in Sweden) and Bursting day (Sprengidagur in Iceland)!

Why aren’t you supposed to eat animal products during Lent?

Ok, so the great pancake feast is all to do with using up foods which are forbidden during Lent. But why aren’t you allowed to eat these foods during Lent in the first place?

The 40 day self-denial of selected pleasures (like animal products) in the countdown to Easter, is meant to be a spiritual experience in which Christians empathize with Jesus in the story of “the temptation of Christ“. This story is described in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and they speak of Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days and nights after being baptized. During his time in the wilderness, he was subjected to temptations by the devil, but Jesus held strong and didn’t give in to temptation. Fasting from certain foods during Lent is a symbol of self-control against temptation, and the idea is that by imitating Jesus, you draw closer to him so that you can learn to think and act like him, to live a better life.

Some believe that you don’t need to fast to demonstrate self-control nor to learn Jesus teachings or live a better life. As one article put it, “Fasting, of and by itself, cannot produce godly self-control.”

In any case, the tradition of fasting during Lent is far less common today than it was in the past.

The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday however is still going strong! And in some places, it has even lead to offshoot traditions like the “Pancake Day Race” in which contestants must run whilst tossing a pancake in a frying pan!

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- Why do Jews eat Challah, the special Jewish Bread?
- Why do we celebrate Boxing Day?
- Why do we eat Turkey at Christmas?

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