RELIGIOUSFESTIVALS Religious festivals during May – July 2022 1 May END OF RAMADAN Muslim
2 May EID-UL-FITR/FEAST OF FAST BREAKING (1st Shawwal) Muslim This is a time once the fast of Ramadan has been completed for making gifts to the poor. Families get together and contact friends, especially those who live far away. The community assembles for Eid prayer and a sermon at its mosques. The traditional greeting is ‘Eid Mubarak’ – ‘a happy and blessed Eid’.
16 May VESAKHA PUJA / WESAK / BUDDHA DAY Buddhist Wesak is the biggest of Buddhist festivals. Theravadins celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and final passing away of Gautama Buddha. Houses are decorated with lanterns and garlands, and temples are ringed with little oil lamps.
13 June PENTECOST Christian (Orthodox Churches) An important festival in the Christian year, Pentecost is often seen as the ‘birthday’ of the Church, since this is when the disciples of Jesus first proclaimed the Gospel after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is named after the Jewish festival day on which this event happened.
1 July (Friday) RATHA YATRA Hindu ‘Chariot journey’. This is observed most notably at Puri in the Indian state of Orissa, where processions of thousands of devotees pull huge waggons (rathas) supporting images of Krishna. The festival and others like it are celebrated in Britain with processions through various parts of London on appropriate Sundays
10 July - 22 July EID-UL-ADHA / THE FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE (10th Dhul-Hijjah) Muslim This major festival (al-Eid al-Kabir) commemorates Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail. Muslims all over the world sacrifice an animal if they can afford it. Much of the meat is distributed to the poor, and some is shared with relatives and friends.