I’m always interested in holidays and celebrations. To me, this is the heart of the people: what makes them happy, what is important enough to stop working for. And who doesn’t like a holiday? Ebenezer Scrooge, perhaps. There are a few public holidays I’ll mention, although there are probably a lot of other local festivals and celebrations of course, but these are some of the main ones for the nation as a whole.
MAWLID: It’s basically celebrating the birth of the prophet
Muhammad. In many places, there are large street parades and festivals, and
many people decorate their homes and mosques for Mawlid. It’s also a time for
charity and especially sharing food, reading stories and reciting poems about
the prophet.
NOWRUZ: Also known as Persian New Year, based on the Iranian
calendar going back to the Zoroastrian times. It also coincides with the spring
equinox. While the celebrations vary in other countries that celebrate Nowruz,
Afghans usually celebrate it for two weeks and includes a number of activities,
including a buzkashi tournament. Buzkashi is an Afghan national sport, where is
the object is for skilled horseback riders to capture the headless carcass of a
goat or calf at full gallop and drop it in a circle or vat to clear it away
from the other riders. Not much different from the Thanksgiving Day football
game. Clearly, it’s related. My 6-year-old daughter generally wasn’t interested
in this game at all, but my 3-year-old son thought this was cool. People from all over the country gather
in the city of Mazari Sharif to celebrate Nowruz, including the tulip festival
among the celebrations. A number
of special foods are made at this time, including haft mewa (fruit salad made
with 7 different dried fruits), samanak (a sweet dish made from wheat germ),
sabzi chalaw (a dish of rice and spinach).
INDEPENDENCE DAY: August 19. They celebrate their independence from British control in 1919.
EID UL-FITR: This is a Muslim holiday marking the end of
Ramadan, the Muslim holiday of fasting. There are special greetings at this
time, and it’s usually celebrated for three days. They clean out their homes
and buy new clothes and special food. There are special prayers to be said for
the holiday. It’s a time to spend time with family and friends, and the
children usually get special monetary gifts from parents and grandparents.
EID AL-ADHA: This
is a Muslim holiday aimed around the sacrifice of Abraham’s son. People
generally wear their best clothes and say special prayers for this as well.
People will sacrifice an animal that has to meet certain requirements regarding
its age and quality. Afterwards,
the family keeps one part, another part is given to other family members, and
the last part is given to the needy. Of course, if you live in an urban
setting, you can give money or meat to the needy or organizations that take
care of that.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: March 8. This is an official
holiday in Afghanistan. Given
Afghanistan’s history under the Taliban, who have a history of violating human
rights in regards to women, this holiday must mean a lot. I was really happy to
see that it is celebrated here.
Keep in mind many of the Muslim holidays are not based on
the Gregorian calendar, but are based on the Islamic calendar. It’s more or
less based on the moon position and other things, so these holidays change
dates every year. (It’s kind of like how Easter changes dates every year.)
There are also a number of bank holidays: Earth Day,
International Day of Action to Eradicate Global Poverty, United Nations Day,
Mount Arafat Day, Universal Children’s Day, World AIDS Day, and Liberation Day.
Next up: Music, Art, and Literature
Resources:
Wikipedia articles: “International Women’s Day,” “Public Holidays
in Afghanistan,” “Mawlid,” “Nowruz,” “Afghan Independence Day,” “Eid ul-Fitr,”
“Eid al-Adha”
Bank Holidays of the World: http://www.bankholidays.com/holidays_2012_193.htm
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