"Wait, what?" all of you back in the states are thinking. "The Holiday season doesn't start until November or December. Maybe the end of October if you count Halloween for some reason. What is she thinking?!"
Not to fear! I have not gone crazy or completely lost track of time. Over here, though, this week is kind of a big deal.
For Muslims, today was the last day of Ramadan! To celebrate the end of the fast they basically have a 3 or 4 day party. (Which also means that the school I've been volunteering at is closed for the rest of the week.)
For Jews it is the beginning of the high holy days. Tonight begins the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which, with my basic Hebrew, I think literally means "Top of the Year." It's their New Years celebration. From here there are nine days until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). They have a tradition of some sort where they say that the very righteous and very wicked are judged tonight (the sort of year they'll have, rewards, punishment, etc.). However, the average, on-the-border type person has nine days to repent and convince God of their goodness before Yom Kippur. So these first couple days are quite celebratory, but I think the mood shall get more solomn as the Day of Atonement approaches and the people want to make sure they are right with God. It is good to have a reminder like that built into your holidays. Of course, we should always be striving to be right with God, but it is too easy to forget or place less emphasis upon it. If you have done that this year, take some time now to get right with God!
The celebration of this holiday also means that two of my classes (History of Israel and Hebrew), both taught by semi-orthodox Jews, are cancelled tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Hooray for more time to read! :) And write papers!
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