Lag B’Omer Date: May 10

Lag B’Omer is celebrated by Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.

The party celebrations for Lag B’ Omer open with a traditional bonfire in commemoration of the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai author of the Zohar.

Lag B’Omer History

According to the Torah, Jewish people are obligated to count the days from Passover the Shavuot, known as the counting of the Omer. An Omer is a unit of measure referring to the second day of passover when an Omer of barley was brought to the temple as an offering, therefore the omer became a measure.

Many Jewish people anticipate the day of Lag B’ Omer as it is observed on the 33rd day and the mourning practices of the counting of the Omer are lifted and the party celebrations begin.The Jewish people recite blessings and state the day and week of the counting. The counting is intended to be a reminder of the link between Passover which commemorates Exodus and Shavuot which commemorates the giving of the Torah. This also reminds the Jewish people redemption from slavery was not complete until the Torah was received.

During the period of the counting weddings, party celebrations, singing and cutting hair are not permitted as this is a time of partial mourning. On the 33rd day to remember a break in the plague Lag B’ Omer was instated as a small holiday to lift the prohibitions for one day.

Lag B’Omer Traditions and Activities

The bonfire symbolizes the great light of the Rabbi and many dance and sing in circles surrounding the flames. Lighting candles is also another Lag B’ Omer tradition.

Many recognize Lag B’ Omer as an outdoor festival, and party celebrations commence with singing, family picnics, dinner dances and outings. Many wedding celebrations take place on this day and haircuts are booked in advance to coincide with Lag B’ Omer.

The party celebrations for Lag B’ Omer open with a traditional bonfire in commemoration of the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai author of the Zohar.

Independence Day: April 19

Independence Day is a public holiday in Israel’s.

Israel conducts its annual celebration of the establishment of the State of Israel and its independence from foreign rule in 1948. The date of Israel’s Independence Day celebration, locally known as Yom Ha-Atzmaut, may vary and fall between April 15 and May 15 as national holidays are based on Hebrew Calendar (5th day of Iyar, Hebrew Calendar).

History of Israel’s Independence Day

According to the Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel’s War of Independence is the costliest and has caused so much human lives and damage to public property than any other wars it got involved in the past. Among the many members of its military forces more than 6,000 were killed with more than 15,000 were left wounded and debilitated. The war started on 1947 and ended on 1949.

Since Britain’s plan did not materialize, it handed the decision of land partition and the creation of a Jewish state to the United Nations leading to the creation of Resolution 181 a resolution which aims to create a separate state for Jews and Arabs in the Palestine region. The partition was not well received among the Arab community and from which it started another war – the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Forces from various Arab countries in the middle east including Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon launched an offensive against British Mandate of Palestine territory in what is now known as Israel. The war only ended in 1949 when the Armistice Agreements was signed. It however did not end the conflict between the Jews and Arabs in the region.

The armistice agreement was signed by countries opposing the creation of a Jewish state with signatories including the government of the following Arab countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The result of the war heavily impacted the Arabs of the region many of them content themselves on the small portion of land provided to them under the agreement.

Many believed that accepting the initial proposal of the United Nation in the Resolution 181 would have been better for the Arab (of Palestine) as the war initiated by the Arab countries involved during the Arab–Israeli War further worsened the situation. The State of Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, the day that marked the end of British mandate in Israel and Palestine.

Israel’s Independence Day: Traditions, Customs and Activities

Independence Day in Israel is celebrated with grand fireworks in capital Tel Aviv following a ceremony at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. Military parade is also conducted in the morning with soldiers holding the Flag of Israel and creating formations likened to Israel’s symbols such as Menorah and Star of David.

International Bible Contest is also conducted along with Israel Prize where people with notable contribution in society area awarded.

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National Sovereignty and Children’s Day: April 23

National Sovereignty and Children’s Day is a public holiday in Turkey.

Every year on April 23, Turkey commemorates the opening of the country’s National Assembly in 1920 when Turkey was in war and campaigning for its national independence and the abolition of the Treaty of Sèvres, an agreement between the Allied countries after the end of World War I partitioning the then Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey).

This day is a special day dedicated to the children and to remind every Turkish citizen that the children are the future of the Turkish Republic.

History of Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children’s Day

During his death, Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president (October 29, 1923), part of his possessions were willed to his sister, and adopted children. Some parts were also dedicated to support the education of the children of İsmet İnönü. Ataturk believes that the children are the hopes of the next generation and that the able citizens of today should protect and secure their future by giving them the right education and imbue them with Turkish values.

In 1922, Ataturk said:

”The most important thing is to teach our children and youths to maintain Turkish liberty and their own will and struggle with the enemies who attack our national traditions”

April 23, 1920 is the date when Ataturk established the Grand National Assembly amidst the infighting against UK, France, and Italy’s military forces to form the Republic of Turkey. The celebration was initially dedicated for the observance of this event but later added Children’s Day upon the recommendation of the Institution of Children’s Protection of Turkey.

Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children’s Day: Traditions, Customs and Activities

During the holiday, some of the most important activities during the holiday include replacing some members of the Grand National Assembly in Ankara and symbolically rule the country for a day. This symbolical bequeathal of responsibilities to children is a reminder of the important role of children in shaping the values of the future generations of the republic.

Some governmental organizations, such as the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, invite children representative from other countries to showcase artistic performances unique from their country of origin. These children are held in care in foster homes or host families all throughout Turkey.

In all major cities and towns across Turkey, children participate in folk dancing, parading in national costumes, while waving Turkey’s national flag.

Government officials usually take this time to sign laws and executive orders that concerns children’s welfare in terms of promoting their legal rights and education.

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Yom Hashoa Memorial Day: April 19

Yom Hashoa Memorial Day is celebrated as a public holiday in Israel

Yom Hashoa Memorial Day is the Jewish observation of the Holocaust where almost 6 million Jews were killed in a systematic genocide by Germany which was under the government of Adolf Hitler.

The full name of the holiday is Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura which means Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day and is celebrated every 27th day of the month of Nisan which falls after the seventh day of Passover.

History of Yom Hashoa Memorial Day in Israel

The Germans regarded the Jewish as the lowest class of people and believed that they are useless to the society so they treated them with abuse, torture and discrimination. During this period of the Holocaust, the Germans thought there were the superior.

The Holocaust was a period from 1933 to 1945 under the ruling power of the dictator Adolf Hitler shortly after the war in Europe. It was an orderly and practical mass killing that was sponsored by the Nazi regime and the administration of Hitler. Almost six million Jews were killed during this tragic moment. Almost one-third of the population of Israel was murdered and over 1.5 million of them are children.

After the catastrophic period of the Holocaust, the Jews decided to allot a memorial day to pay tribute to all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. The commemoration date was decided by the Israeli Parliament on April 12, 1951. The 27th day of Nisan was chosen by the government as the mourning day. From that day forward, it has been religiously observed by Israel and by all Jewish communities throughout the world.

The history of the Jews was a combination of distress, discrimination, misery, joy and liberation. For them, it is because of these past experiences that shaped their nation and tradition which led them even closer to God.

Yom Hashoa Memorial Day Traditions, Customs and Activities

During this memorial day of the Yom Hashoah, people spend the day with by lighting candles while saying their prayers and some even singing praises and worships.

Part of the tradition is they light six candles as a representation of the six million who died on the Holocaust. Holocaust survivors also held speeches and messages that talks about their experiences about the tragic event at the same time be grateful about their survival.

In most parts of Israel, it has been a yearly tradition that every ten in the morning of the memorial day, they would sound a siren that signals people to stop on whatever they may be doing and spend a short period of time to remember and pray for the Holocaust victims.

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FAO Day: April 17

FAO Day is a public holiday in Iraq.

Food and Agriculture Organization Day (FAO) is celebrated in Iraq to mark the organization’s goal of assuring food security, disseminating effective farming methods and providing machineries and technologies for better farming and livestock-raising techniques. This holiday is celebrated every 17th of April yearly.

History of Iraq’s FAO Day

Iraq is one of the countries in the United Nations which maintain membership with Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). FAO operates as one of the United Nations’ agencies that is tasked to create agendas, policies, and actions to prevent and, eventually, end world hunger. The organization also seeks to modernize the field of agriculture, forestry, livestock raising/animal farming, including fisheries across all member countries, both the developing and developed ones.

FAO-Iraq is active in cross-country agricultural expedition on improving the country’s food security and responding to its citizen nutrition demands especially in poverty-stricken areas by implementing policies that drives food production in the household level.

Iraq’s FAO Day: Traditions, Customs and Activities

Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture usually holds agenda during the celebration with topics covering important issues surrounding food security in Iraq and important bills and laws passed concerning food manufacture in the country and the impact of environmental crisis that regularly strikes the region such as drought. The working class usually takes their day off during the holiday.

It is also during this time when FAO-Iraq awards personalities, usually farmers, in the important role they play in supporting food security all throughout Iraq.

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Independence Day: April 17

Independence Day is a public holiday in Syria.

Syria gained independence from France on April 17, 1946. Every year, the people of Syria marks this day as a celebration for the anniversary of their independence from foreign rule.

History of Syrian Independence Day

Syria was under the control of the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) before World War I. After the fall of the empire, France tagged Syria under its sphere of influence through the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. France eventually put the country under its mandate after the war Battle of Maysalun involving King Faisal I and the French military forces in the region. The conferring of mandate to France to rule over Syria was recognized by the then League of Nations In 1920.

The next wave of protests which call for the independence of Syria from France followed. One of the most prominent was that of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash in 1925 starting from Druze Mountain spreading to major cities and towns and other parts of Lebanon located West of Syria.

The camp of Sultan Pasha was victorious in the battles that were fought on July 21, 1925 (Battle of Al-Kabi), August 2, 1925 (Battle of Al-Mazra’a) including those of the battles of Salkhad, Suwayda, and Almsifarh. However, overwhelming French forces armed with modern military weapons weakened and destroyed his Al Atrash’s troops leading to the fall of his command in 1927.

Al Atrash’s was sentenced to death by France but managed to flee to nearby states. In 1937, he went back after being pardoned for political crimes charged to him right after the Syrian French Treaty was signed.

The next sign of the country’s serious engagement in obtaining independence from France started in 1936. Under the Treaty of Independence of Syria in September 1936, Hashim al-Atassi became the first president. France, however, didn’t honor it because they refused to amend the terms listed on the treaty. The fall of France in the Second World War was marked with a change in control in Syria from France to the latter’s Vichy government, ruling from July 1940 to August 1944. The next phase of France reoccupation of the country happened on July 1941. However, Syria pronounced itself as a free state on the same year.

France conferred independence to Syria three years later but it wasn’t until April 1946 when France fully evacuated its military forces from the country finally giving it the independence the people have been wanting for the long time.

Syrian Independence Day: Traditions, Customs and Activities

The ceremonial hoisting of flag is observed during the celebration of the anniversary of Syria’s Independence Day on memorial parks to honor those who died in the wars fought against the French forces to liberate the country from foreign rule.

Independence Day is one of Syria’s important national holidays so most people are on day off. Spectacular fireworks light up the sky of major cities and towns in Syria as an observance to the event.

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Liberation Day: April 9

Liberation Day is celebrated as a public holiday in Iraq

April 9 is Iraq’s celebration of its Liberation Day. This is a day in their history where the country was finally freed from the ruling power of the tyrant Saddam Hussein. This holiday was officially declared by President al-Maliki when the US troops finally conquered Baghdad and captured Hussein during the Iraq War on 2003.

History of Iraq’s Liberation Day

The Iraq War which was declared by the United States started on March 20, 2003 with the purpose of capturing Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein. Hussein became a threat to the country’s economic stability and it was believed that he and his troops were possessing weapons of mass destruction which they will use on future attacks to other nations. Allegedly, there were also some issues who came out stating that Saddam Hussein was in connivance with the al-Qaeda.

And on 2001, after the September 11 Twin Tower bombing in the United States, US President George W. Bush finally made a one big decision to stop terrorism and bring down the administration of Saddam Hussein. Over the years, the US and its allied nations have concluded that Iraq was responsible for the terror attacks and biological warfare that happened in the past. Not to mention the thousands of civilians who were killed during Saddam’s era.

Because of this, the United States established a military operation to bring down the seat of President Saddam Hussein and incarcerate him. The US military troops were successful to bring down and disarm the country’s capital, Baghdad on April 9, 2009 which liberated the whole of Iraq. However, President Hussein was then still nowhere to be found.

Weeks after the Fall of Baghdad, Hussein was still missing in action and even the military can barely tell his whereabouts. He became one of US’ most-wanted Iraqis. On July 2003, there was an encounter with Hussein and his family members in which Hussein’s two sons and grandson were killed during the gunfight with the US army. Hussein however, was captured alive on December 14, 2003.

The Iraqi people celebrated with joy as the country was disarmed and Baghdad fell into the rescue of the Americans.

Iraq’s Liberation Day Traditions, Customs and Activities

As a way for the Iraqis to rejoice and celebrate for their liberation, they give respect and honor during the 9th of April every year for their liberation. The day was previously called National Sovereignty Day which later on was changed to Liberation Day.

The Iraqis can’t help but feel emotional during the commemoration of their liberty. For the Iraqis, the day of their liberty is like waking up from a long and tragic nightmare that lasted for so many years.

The government organizes several memorial activities during this day to pay tribute to the victims and heroes of the Iraq War.

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Passover Date: Sunset on April 6

Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival.

Passover is a festival celebrated by the Samaritans and the Jews remembering the escape of the Hebrews from enslavement in Egypt.

Passover in Israel is a seven-day festival of which the first and the last days are considered as holy days with abstention with work, special prayers to the Lord, and holiday meals. The other days in the middle are festival days known as Chol HaMoed. However, the Diaspora Jews historically have celebrated this festival for eight days.

History of Passover

As the story of Exodus goes in the Bible, God imposed ten plagues (calamities) upon Egypt in order to make the pharaoh free the poorly treated Hebrew slaves. The tenth and likely worst plague was the death of all the first-born children of Egypt by an Angel of Death sent by God. The Hebrew were asked to mark the doorsteps of their houses with spring lambs blood, and upon seeing this the Angel of Death would spare the first born children of the Hebrews and “pass over” to the next Egyptian residence, hence the name “Passover”.

It was only after the tenth plague that the pharaoh released the Hebrews from enslavement. It is said that when the pharaoh released the Hebrews, they left their houses in such a hurry that they couldn’t even wait for their bread to rise. In remembrance of this, leavened bread is never eaten during Passover, and the festival is referred to by many as the “Festival of Unleavened Bread”. Matza is the token symbol of this festival.

Passover Traditions, Customs and Activities

On the tenth of Nisan, an unblemished lamb is chosen and kept separately. On the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan, the lamb is slaughtered, and on the evening of the fifteenth it is cooked without removing its organs, served with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. After sunrise the next day, anything remaining from the lamb is burnt in sacrifice. This sacrifice is performed only in Jerusalem.

During the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Chametz (breads, cakes, fermented and leavened products) of any sort is not to be eaten during the seven days of this celebration. To make sure that that the households are clean from any traces of Chametz, a spring cleaning is done. Every morsel of Chametz is removed, and all the vessels and dishes which contained it are washed and cleaned thoroughly. All remaining Chametz is burnt before the start of the holy days.

In its place, Matzo, the unleavened bread which is the symbol of this festival, is made in all the houses and enjoyed with almost all food during the Passover celebrations.

The firstborn of the Jews are to fast on the first morning of Passover in remembrance to God sparing the lives of the first born during the tenth plague. The firstborn fast till the Morning Prayer on the first day of Passover.

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Islamic Republic Day: April 1

Islamic Republic Day is celebrated as a public holiday in Iran

The country of Iran holds a yearly gathering every April 1st in remembrance of the country’s Islamic Republic constitution that was officially proclaimed on 1979. Islamic Republic Day is one of Iran’s most historic celebrations. It was proclaimed to be a national holiday approximately two months after the success of the Islamic Revolution on 1979.

History of Iran’s Islamic Republic Day

The Iranian people were unified by a common purpose were able to oust the Pahlavi administration and restored the Islamic laws and the country’s sovereignty. This regime was established under the ruling power of the British and was supported by the Americans as well.

The Iranian Revolution started on 1978 all aiming to bring down Shah, the King. Because of this revolution, followed by a series of rallies and strikes, the Iranian economy deteriorated so badly and the country underwent a national economic catastrophe. The country then conceded and declared its government to be neutral against any war which subsequently resulted to the abolishment of the Pahlavi Dynasty.

On the 30th and 31st of March which is the 10th and 11th of Farvadin to the Islams, the government passed a referendum aiming to replace the monarchy with an Islamic Republic. The referendum was a success since almost 98.2 percent of the people voted for its approval.

April 1, 1979 was the official affirmation of Iran as an Islamic Republic and since then, the 1st of April has been observed yearly by the people to commemorate the Islamic Republic Day.

Iran’s Islamic Republic Day Traditions, Customs and Activities

The people look to this day with honor and salutation because it is considered as one of the triumphs and accomplishments of Iran as a nation. Several rallies and activities are also held nationwide during this special day. Some civic groups organize educational campaigns that educates the youth about the history and culture of the country.

Declared as an official non-working public holiday, the Iranians also celebrate the Islamic Republic Day as a family day or a chance to meet up and be reunited with friends and loved ones.

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Mothers’ Day of Syria: March 21

Mothers’ Day is a public holiday in Syria.

Syria dedicated the 21st of March every year as a celebration to honor all mothers in the country. The country believes in the special role of motherhood in nation building and celebrates this special day as a way to give thanks to all mothers who secure the continuity of the Syrian race and allot time to thank mothers for the love and care they give to their children.

History of Mothers’ Day In Syria

The custom of ancient Greece has a lot to do on all the celebrations of Mothers’ Day all throughout the globe. The ancient Greek followed an old tradition of worshiping Cybele, a mythological idol that stands as mothers of all gods and goddesses. This tradition to the worshiping the deity that represents motherhood spread to most countries in Europe and West Asia to which Syria is included.

Mothers’ Day in Syria: Traditions, Customs and Activities

The celebration of Mothers’ Day in Syria is done in much the same way as other countries in Europe the Americas. The only difference is that, Syrian’s would of course cook traditional Syrian cuisine and delicacies followed by children dancing with their mothers. Mothers’ Day cards are popular including the practice of giving flowers to all moms. Telephone communication companies during this time are loaded with phone calls coming from family members wishing their moms on this special day.

It is interesting to note that, in the borders shared between Syria and Israel, the religious communities called Golan Druze, are sight of a hill called “Shouting Hill”. It’s a place where students from Israeli-controlled Golan Heights are allowed both by the Israeli and Syrian army to literally wave and “shout” happy mothers’ day at their mothers standing on the other side of the hill during the occasion.

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