Religious Festivals – May 2020
Within our Nurseries we look to celebrate the festivals of all religions. This teaches the children about all of the different religions.
Celebrating Eid al-Fitr – 23rd May 2020
The most important Muslim Festival will take place on 23rd May this year – that is the Muslim Festival of Eid al-Fitr. Eid celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan, where adult Muslims fast each day giving them time to focus on prayer, spiritual reflection and charity.
Eid means “festival of breaking the feast”. It is a religious holiday when Muslims will give thanks to Allah, and exchange small gifts and cards. People usually dress in new clothes or in their finest outfits for the day. People will decorate their homes inside and out, visit their families and amusement parks and they will eat special sweet foods.
Here we provide a recipe for Eid Biscuits
Whit Sunday – 24th May 2020
Whitsun is the name used for the Christian festival of Pentecost, which happens on the seventh Sunday after Easter. Whit Monday, the day after Whitsun, became a bank holiday in the UK in the year 1871, but it was replaced with the term Spring Bank Holiday in 1972.
Many years ago Whitsun was a time for fetes, fairs and even Whit Walks where brass bands and choirs walked the streets.
Shavuot – 28th – 30th May 2020
Shavuot is a Jewish festival celebrated 50 days after the first day of Passover. It is a period of commemoration to remember the day that God provided the Torah to His people on Mount Sinai. Shavuot is also known to be a Harvest Festival, as a former tradition was for Jewish people to bring the first and finest fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem as a gift to God.
Flowers are a significant symbol to celebrate Shavuot. Most Jewish families will decorate their homes with beautiful leafy flower arrangements. Here are some colouring-in sheets with flowers for your little ones to colour-in and display around the house.
