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Staying #GlobalFromHome: Holy Day Edition

Stranger’s Guide

Across a number of faiths, this is a time of celebrations—this week, Jews celebrate Passover and Christians celebrate Easter. Next week is the Sikh holiday of Vaisakhi, and then late April will mark the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

Are you celebrating in new ways this year? Please share with us by replying or using #GlobalFromHome when you post on social media.

1. Listen

The first morning of Passover, Jewish communities across the globe recite a prayer called “Tefilat Tal”—literally the prayer for dew, as it coincides with the change in agricultural seasons in ancient Israel. Here is one of the greatest cantors of his time—Yosef “Yossele” Rosenblatt—singing the prayer in the early 1900s.

 

 

2. Watch

Due to the coronavirus, crowds have been banned from the Pope’s traditional Holy Week events. Instead, Palm Sunday’s Mass was live-streamed from an empty St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This coming Sunday—Easter Sunday—he’ll do the same, and you can watch the proceedings in real time.

 

 

3. Play

How well do you know the world’s religions and their practices—and how well do you compare to the average American? Here’s a quick quiz from the Pew Research Center to find out!

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW

Vaisakhi or Baisakhi is a Sikh holiday celebrating the day the religion took on its current form in 1699. The holiday normally includes parades and special services in Sikh communities around the world. This year, many practitioners are relegated to home worship and livestreaming, however scholars have emphasized how these reduced celebrations in a time of global crisis are also a way to embrace the Sikh commitment to the welfare of all people.

Contributor

Stranger’s Guide

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