November 2011 saw the simultaneous presence of two major festivals, one religious and the other national, but Christian origin. From November 6 to 9 Muslims around the world celebrated the Feast of the Sacrifice, while the United States of America have set their Thanksgiving Day November 24, fourth Thursday of the eleventh month of the year, as is normal (Canada is instead celebrated in October). Festivals related to two great religions distinct but where you can find common traits, as well as in social values aggregating all holidays related.
The Feast of the Sacrifice, in Arabic "Eid al-Adha" and turkish "Kurban Bayramı", lasts four days, from the 10th to the 13th of the Muslim month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the one dedicated to the pilgrimage; being the Islamic lunar calendar shorter than the Gregorian, according to the latter the holiday falls about ten days earlier than last year. The event is linked to the episode is that the Koran Bible where the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) demonstrated his total obedience to God preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Ismail in the Quran) by the will of the Lord, that last moment stopped him trading his son with a ram. In fact, during the party in question, Muslims emulate Abraham sacrificed in the name of God an animal, usually a lamb or mutton. For the occasion, therefore, the authorities Events include areas specifically dedicated to slaughter animals according to Islamic law.
In Thanksgiving Day, "Thanksgiving Day" in English, Americans give thanks to God for his goodness and for all the resources granted, with particular reference to the harvest just ended, while commemorating the first English settlers in the New World. The tradition began in 1621 in fact, when the Pilgrims, Puritans Christians recently arrived in Massachusetts, decided to call a party to thank the Lord for the fruits of their first harvest. The most beautiful aspect of the first Thanksgiving Day was that they were also invited the Native Americans, who had helped the settlers letting them know the area's resources, including maize and turkey, animal then became a symbol of the holiday. In 1789 George Washington wanted the festival to become national, officially extending it to all federal states. It was during the nineteenth century that the Day of Thanksgiving today acquired popularity in a transversal to all social classes, up to secularize.
During the Feast of Sacrifice, Muslims donate much of the meat sacrificed to the poor, relatives and neighbors, keeping a portion for himself to be consumed with guests and family during meals celebratory; Moreover, families, dressed to the nines, in turn visit the homes of loved ones and go to the cemetery to pay homage to their dead. They give sweets and small gifts, especially to children, and men, the morning of the first day, I used to go to the mosque for collective prayer ritual.
As for the customs for Thanksgiving, everyone knows that the US households organize lunches abundant with turkey, stuffed in various ways, its central element, in addition to food-based ingredients discovered by the early settlers. As the Feast of the Sacrifice, the Americans offer the turkey meat to the neighborhood and deprived people. The President of the United States makes a solemn speech to the nation, repeating every year the ceremony of granting pardon to two turkeys, and then eat your lunch with the soldiers. The festivities take place also in the streets, the place for parades and demonstrations banner of the collective. The day after the feast, called "Black Friday", traditionally opens the period of pre-Christmas shopping, so that the joy of Thanksgiving Day will continue until Christmas.
It is not my intention to take care of its more religious of the two parties, the way in which Muslims and Christians honor God in these anniversaries. What I want instead to focus is the considerable social importance of the Feast of the Sacrifice and Thanksgiving. In fact, these days allow communities to establish stronger ties keeping alive traditions positive on which they are based. Families get together and people meet, consuming special meals together; you swap the meat with neighbors and above all we remember the poor, making their charity with the flesh itself (some people manage to eat only at this time of year). For American Muslims and the two parties, which as we have seen have many elements in common, they must then be lived in the name of sharing and solidarity.
These social characteristics are found in all the festivals of religious nature, related to Christianity, Islam but also to other denominations of the planet. Entire nations who rediscover shared values, such as brotherhood, rivivificano interpersonal relationships both small and large-scale and dust off the common cultural memory of the bases for their very existence. Whether you believe in the transcendent or not, no one can deny the benefits that these days give joy to the inhabitants of the Earth, including atheists and agnostics.
The Feast of the Sacrifice, in Arabic "Eid al-Adha" and turkish "Kurban Bayramı", lasts four days, from the 10th to the 13th of the Muslim month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the one dedicated to the pilgrimage; being the Islamic lunar calendar shorter than the Gregorian, according to the latter the holiday falls about ten days earlier than last year. The event is linked to the episode is that the Koran Bible where the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) demonstrated his total obedience to God preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Ismail in the Quran) by the will of the Lord, that last moment stopped him trading his son with a ram. In fact, during the party in question, Muslims emulate Abraham sacrificed in the name of God an animal, usually a lamb or mutton. For the occasion, therefore, the authorities Events include areas specifically dedicated to slaughter animals according to Islamic law.
In Thanksgiving Day, "Thanksgiving Day" in English, Americans give thanks to God for his goodness and for all the resources granted, with particular reference to the harvest just ended, while commemorating the first English settlers in the New World. The tradition began in 1621 in fact, when the Pilgrims, Puritans Christians recently arrived in Massachusetts, decided to call a party to thank the Lord for the fruits of their first harvest. The most beautiful aspect of the first Thanksgiving Day was that they were also invited the Native Americans, who had helped the settlers letting them know the area's resources, including maize and turkey, animal then became a symbol of the holiday. In 1789 George Washington wanted the festival to become national, officially extending it to all federal states. It was during the nineteenth century that the Day of Thanksgiving today acquired popularity in a transversal to all social classes, up to secularize.
During the Feast of Sacrifice, Muslims donate much of the meat sacrificed to the poor, relatives and neighbors, keeping a portion for himself to be consumed with guests and family during meals celebratory; Moreover, families, dressed to the nines, in turn visit the homes of loved ones and go to the cemetery to pay homage to their dead. They give sweets and small gifts, especially to children, and men, the morning of the first day, I used to go to the mosque for collective prayer ritual.
As for the customs for Thanksgiving, everyone knows that the US households organize lunches abundant with turkey, stuffed in various ways, its central element, in addition to food-based ingredients discovered by the early settlers. As the Feast of the Sacrifice, the Americans offer the turkey meat to the neighborhood and deprived people. The President of the United States makes a solemn speech to the nation, repeating every year the ceremony of granting pardon to two turkeys, and then eat your lunch with the soldiers. The festivities take place also in the streets, the place for parades and demonstrations banner of the collective. The day after the feast, called "Black Friday", traditionally opens the period of pre-Christmas shopping, so that the joy of Thanksgiving Day will continue until Christmas.
It is not my intention to take care of its more religious of the two parties, the way in which Muslims and Christians honor God in these anniversaries. What I want instead to focus is the considerable social importance of the Feast of the Sacrifice and Thanksgiving. In fact, these days allow communities to establish stronger ties keeping alive traditions positive on which they are based. Families get together and people meet, consuming special meals together; you swap the meat with neighbors and above all we remember the poor, making their charity with the flesh itself (some people manage to eat only at this time of year). For American Muslims and the two parties, which as we have seen have many elements in common, they must then be lived in the name of sharing and solidarity.
These social characteristics are found in all the festivals of religious nature, related to Christianity, Islam but also to other denominations of the planet. Entire nations who rediscover shared values, such as brotherhood, rivivificano interpersonal relationships both small and large-scale and dust off the common cultural memory of the bases for their very existence. Whether you believe in the transcendent or not, no one can deny the benefits that these days give joy to the inhabitants of the Earth, including atheists and agnostics.