Children of the school celebrate three holidays

As in recent years, we celebrated a tri-religious event, and this year focussed upon the Jewish holiday of “Shavu’ot”, the Muslim “Mawlad el-Nabi” and the Christian “Pentecost” (“el Ansara” in Arabic). The latter also was combined with a celebration of Ascension Day (“es-Su’ud”).

The event took place on a warm and lovely spring evening. The school and its surroundings were adorned with symbols of the three holidays, scriptural quotations, and artwork. It gave an opportunity for children, parents and teachers to enjoy an active intercultural learning experience, which we would like to share also with you:

The three holidays

Shavu’ot, literally “weeks” in Hebrew, celebrates the occasion when, seven weeks from the Passover, the Torah was imparted to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. It is also a spring harvest festival: in ancient times people would travel from afar to offer first fruits at the Temple.

Maulid an-Nabi celebrates the birth of the prophet Mohammad, on the 12th day of the month of Rabi Al-Awwal (570 CE), in Mecca. At the age of 42, Mohammad was visited by the Angel Gabriel and, under divine guidance, wrote the Qur’an - the holy scripture of Islam.

El-Ansara and es-Su’ud are Arabic for “Pentecost” and the “Feast of the Ascension”. El-Ansara commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, fifty days after the Resurrection, during the Jewish festival of Shavu’ot. Es-Su’ud commemorates Christ’s Ascension to heaven, on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday.