RE-Flections: Spring Interfaith Holidays

Mar 29, 2023 | Beacon, News, RE-Flections

This Spring, our house is busy! Easter, Passover and Ramadan are all converging, and we’re learning what it means to raise our children in a multi-faith household. Being able to hold and unfold the unique treasures each of these lineages offers is truly a blessing, and a mystery!

On March 22, the new moon – the first crescent or sliver of the moon – appeared. This was the start of the month-long daytime fast of Ramadan in Islam. Muslim holidays are on a lunar calendar, and so, Ramadan “moves” around the calendar, all through the seasons over time. Our family observes Ramadan by fasting, prayer, meals to break the fast at sundown and before sunrise, and special stories. Ramadan is a time to learn hunger, to focus the mind and the body, and to direct one’s energy toward sacrifice and letting go. It is also a time to gather with friends and be generous with gifts of food and good will. The Ramadan fast lasts for one lunar month, as is celebrated with a three day holiday, Eid where we visit family, prayer, share gifts, and eat!

Then, on Sundown on April 5 to April 12, we observe Passover/Pesach. Passover takes place in the Jewish month of Nisan, the month of liberation. Nisan relates to the word “nitzan” meaning bud, and also to “nees” meaning miracle. At Passover, in the month of Nisan, we enact a long ritual feast, the sedar, in which we tell the story of the Exodus – the journey of the Jewish people from Mitzrayim “the narrow place,” to freedom. When we observe Passover, we call on our ancestors to help us make whatever bold movements we must make to get free. In fact, it is the oft forgotten prophetess of Miriam in the desert who is central to the story of the Exodus and in our retelling of the Pesach story, we reclaim the role of Miriam in the river of Liberation that moves our Jewish ancestors of enslavement to freedom. We observe Passover with special seder meals, songs, and the ritual Haggadah, the retelling of the ancient story.

On April 9, Easter, Christian traditions commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus. We often tell the story of his last supper, a Pesach meal in fact, with his kin, and the story of his persecution. We observe Easter with fertility images, the birth of new life, such as bunnies and eggs. The story of Jesus and his life is a powerful one. Jesus was a beloved teacher, and his teachings went on to form the basis of the Christian religion, and that is why many Unitarian Universalist congregations remember Jesus. Jesus’ life was all about transformation; about taking what seemed hopeless and transforming it into abundance. Only five loaves of bread—but somehow five thousand people had enough to eat. His death and resurrection also brought about abundance and miracles, and when we observe Easter, we can recall his beautiful teachings and be inspired to live and help others.

Whether your family is innovating new traditions, learning more about your ancestries, or connecting with a community like East Shore to make meaning, traditions can help spirituality come alive, and when repeated year after year, can help mark time and create cycles and routine in profoundly nourishing ways. I hope you take some time to share with your children and families, and with us, the traditions in your lineages.

More resources from our family to yours: