Cultural aspects in Christian and Islamic religions - unesdoc - Unesco

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42 Santa Claus Ever since the Fourth Century, there spread in the Christianity the story of Saint Nicolas who had saved innocent children from a mean butcher. This child-loving Saint was commemorated on December 6. Along with his story, there came another legend that on the day of his commemoration, he was seen moving from the roof of one home to another to place gifts and sweets in the shoes placed by the fireplace. These factors contributed to the development of a tradition, which is the exchange of gifts to express genuine affection. The legend of gift distribution in the life story of Saint Nicolas inspired the character of ‘Santa Claus’ in Europe. The consumer market that prevails in most societies has contributed to making the phenomenon of ‘Santa Claus’ widespread in the world. He is portrayed as a plump, white-bearded old man who brings surprise gifts to children. The children of the Armenian Orthodox Church await ‘Santa Claus’ on New Year’s Eve to have their gifts.
Epiphany (Theophania or Aldenh) The words Theophania or Aldenh in Syriac express the true meaning of Epiphany, the day of Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, when the sky opened above Him, the Spirit came down upon Him, and in a loud voice, God said ‘This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.’ (Matthew 3: 16,17). Epiphany as well as Resurrection and Pentecost are the major Holidays and foundations of the Eastern liturgical year. Epiphany is a fixed starting point. Celebrating this Holiday includes, in addition to mass and duties, the rite of ‘blessing of water by night’. Similarly to Christ who was baptized in the River Jordan then went to the desert to fast for forty days, the Church baptizes its spiritual sons on the day of Epiphany after having blessed the water of rivers and sources. Then all start a period of fasting for forty days. The start of the fasting period is determined by virtue of the lunar calendar as mentioned previously and the date is moveable. On the Eve of Epiphany, Christian practices are many, based on popular beliefs and traditions. The major popular belief is that Christ will pass by all homes at midnight to bless all those who live in it saying ‘For ever and ever’ (Da’im, da’im). This is why people stay up awaiting the passage of Christ to receive His blessing. They light candles, light a fire in the fireplace, and prepare special sweets for the Holiday namely fried sweets dipped in syrup as a symbol of the Baptism of Christ when He plunged in the River Jordan. Among the special sweets are also a sort of pancake (zlabiyah) and ma’karun symbolizing the finger of John the Baptist who pointed at Christ and said: ‘Behold the lamb of God who carries the sins of the world’. In some homes, housewives turn the grain and contents of different jars saying ‘For ever and ever’ (Da’im da’im) thus asking for the permanent blessing of Christ. An old tradition has it that Epiphany night is ‘Laylat al-Qadr’ as people believe that the doors of Heaven will open just as they were on the Baptism of Christ. So the Angels descend to Earth to carry to God the invocations and wishes of people. The New Yeast Housewives used to prepare bread and cook it in their homes. They would use new yeast instead of the old on Epiphany night. Tradition had it that they would mix flour with water and turn it into a circular shape on which they would draw a Cross. They would place this piece in a bag made of white gauze. It would be left on a tree until morning to rise without adding any yeast. Some would add to the dough a few silver coins that they would split in the morning as they have been blessed with the new yeast. They would place these coins in their wallets as an omen of good wealth. The only condition was that the tree not be a fig tree as people believed that when Christ passes by at night all trees bow to him except the fig tree that Christ had cursed. The Blessing of Water On Epiphany, Christians go to church to celebrate Mass and take part in the rite of the blessing of water. Many carry a bottle filled with water which they place next to a recipient filled with drinking water in the middle of the church. The Priest celebrating Mass blesses the water then sprinkles the church 43
Page 2 and 3: UNESCO Regional Office - Beirut Cul
Page 4 and 5: Table of Contents Acknowledgements
Page 6 and 7: The Most Notable Trusted Sheikhs an
Page 8 and 9: Places of Worship .................
Page 10 and 11: institutions; they have made this b
Page 12 and 13: Ever since we started working on th
Page 14 and 15: 14 He may think that Joseph is not
Page 17 and 18: Time: Perceptions and Concepts The
Page 19 and 20: Time in Christianity The Holy Book
Page 21 and 22: Moments in the Day It is said that
Page 23 and 24: The Solar Calendar The Christian ye
Page 25 and 26: The Lunar Calendar The Glorious Kor
Page 27 and 28: The Lunar/ Hegira Months The lunar
Page 29 and 30: appearance of grass. Rabi’ al-Aww
Page 31 and 32: Sunday for Christians The liturgica
Page 33: Muslim acts of worship, as mentione
Page 36 and 37: 36 The Liturgical Cycle and Holiday
Page 38 and 39: 38 place of the pagan holiday on Ja
Page 40 and 41: 40 people of Rome who had returned
Page 44 and 45: 44 and those who are in it, as a si
Page 46 and 47: 46 Carnival The word is derived fro
Page 48: 48 Sundays of Lent Fasting season i
Page 51 and 52: of this Palm Sunday, parents dress
Page 53 and 54: The Rite of Washing of Feet has Two
Page 55 and 56: After Supper, Christ went as usual
Page 57: day is a reminder of the many suffe
Page 60 and 61: 60 The faithful come out of the chu
Page 62 and 63: 62 Chocolate Eggs About a century a
Page 64 and 65: 64 The Exaltation of the Cross On S
Page 66 and 67: 66 Holidays and Special Religious O
Page 68 and 69: 68 Based on the Holy Koran and Prop
Page 70 and 71: 70 ‘Id al-Fitr It is the first da
Page 72 and 73: 72 God, He is free from imperfectio
Page 74 and 75: 74 ‘Id al-Adha Just like ‘Id al
Page 76 and 77: 76 Religious Occasions Al-Mawlid al
Page 78 and 79: 78 Al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj Al-‘is
Page 80 and 81: 80 ‘Ashura’ The occasion occurs
Page 82 and 83: 82 Remembering Al-‘Awliya’ and
Page 84 and 85: 84 A representation of the healing
Page 87 and 88: even in the Nestorian Church. It is
Page 89 and 90: All Saints’ Day On this Holiday,
Page 91 and 92: the inside and making it immune fro
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John the Baptist (Yahya, A.S.) Chri
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96 Job (Ayyub), A.S. Job for Christ
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98 Saint Georges/ Al-Khidr - For Ch
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100
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102 Birth Bearing children is a mar
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104 Before being immersed in the wa
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106 Communion The newly baptized ta
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108 Marriage and Related Matters Ma
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110 The Wedding Ceremony (The Crown
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112 Annulment of Marriage and Divor
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114 The Marriage Contract Marriage
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116 Polygamy The Koran allows polyg
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118 Death Death is in fact the grea
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120 Praying Upon and Burying the De
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122 Death in Islam Traditions and c
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124 Adoption and Sponsoring of Orph
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126
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128 Prayer Prayer (Salāt) from the
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130 In Islam Salat al-Farida (Oblig
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132 Salat al-‘Idayn (Prayor of th
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134 Holy Mass for Christians (See S
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136 Pilgrimage Pilgrimage is a prac
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138
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140 a kiswa (Kaaba covering) manufa
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142 The Return of Pilgrims of pilg
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144 Repentance indicat
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146 Nashid, Hymns, and Tajwid Music
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148 Incense and Candles Incense and
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150 Prayer Beads (Misbaha) The use
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152
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154 God is omnipresent. Yet, the be
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156 Parts of the church: denominati
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158 The Confessional: At first, ba
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160 In both Catholic and Orthodox t
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162
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164 A mosque includes nine parts or
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166 the minaret of the Dome of the
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168 Monasteries The word ‘monaste
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170 Public and Private Sanctuaries
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172 Hermitages and Cells Ascetics h
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he shrine of Imam Uza’i in Beirut
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176 Husayniyyat These are places th
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178
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180 Garments and Sundry Clothes cha
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182 The Bishop ordains priests at a
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184 small Cross on the lapel of the
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186 Garments and Sundry in Islam Is
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188 The Five-Colors Flag for the Mo
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190 General Customs and Traditions
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192 For Muslims names are special a
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194 Festive Religious Re-Enactments
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196 Lazarite Re-Enactment Lazarus o
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Decorating Homes and Cars There are
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