Multi-Faith Holiday Observances
The month of April is full of holidays that celebrate Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Christianity, as well as many other faiths.
Islam celebrates the month of Ramadan starting April 3 and ending May 1 to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad. During this time Muslims observe a month of daily fasting from sunup to sundown and gather as a community to celebrate their faith.
The Jewish faith has several important holidays including the week-long observance of Passover (April 15-23), which is the commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. At the end of April, is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on April 27th which is the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising (see The Pianist) in 1943 Poland against the Nazis.
The Hindu faith celebrates Rama Navami on April 10, which involves fasting and celebrating the birth of the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu in the form of Rama (see Ramayana).
Christianity observes three major holidays that are closely connected, Palm Sunday (April 10) which celebrates Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem, Good Friday (April 15) which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his subsequent death, and Easter (April 17) that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus after his death.
We have compiled a short list of books that delve into the history and observances of the respective faiths:
The Practice of Islam in America: an introduction
My Jewish Year: 18 holidays, one wondering Jew
Remembering, Voices of the Holocaust: a new history in the words of the men and women who survived
The Pianist (made into Oscar-winning movie with Adrien Brody)
The Hindus: an alternate history
Backgrounds in Early Christianity
A Short History of Christianity