Celebrating religion in all its forms with key dates
Worshippers around the Black Country are preparing for special dates in their religion's calendar over the next fortnight.
On Monday, August 12, the Islamic celebration of Eid ul-Adha is set to take place.
On Eid ul-Adha, Muslims around the world celebrate Ibrahim's complete obedience to the will of God where, according to Islamic tradition, Ibrahim agreed to sacrifice his son Ishmael when God ordered him to do so.
However, just as Ibrahim was about to kill Ishmael, God put a sheep in his place.
Eid ul-Adha is celebrated on the 10th day of Dhū al-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar and traditionally lasts for four days, with the first day of Eid ul-Adha marking the end of the yearly Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah.
Activities for the celebrations will include a prayer service either inside or outside the local Mosque, with other activities including the custom of embracing and wishing each other Eid Mubarak, which translates as “have a blessed Eid”, giving gifts to children, and visiting friends and relatives.
On Thursday, August 15, the various denominations of Catholicism, Orthodoxy and some groups of Anglican Christians will celebrate the Assumption of Mary.
The feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also known as Assumption Day and the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
It marks the day that God assumed the Virgin Mary into heaven following her death, according to popular Christian belief.
Some observant Christians attend special church services or say special prayers on August 15 and may also eat or abstain from particular types of food.
There are two Hindu celebrations taking place on dates over the next two weeks, with Raksha Bandhan on Thursday, August 15 and Janmashtami on Friday, August 23.
Raksha Bandhan, also Rakshabandhan, is a popular annual rite, or ceremony, which is central to a festival of the same name, celebrated in India, some other parts of South Asia, and among people around the world influenced by Hindu culture.
It is celebrated by sisters of all ages tying a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.
It is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August.
Janmashtami is an annual festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
It is celebrated through Dance-drama enactments of the life of Krishna according to the Bhagavata Purana, devotional singing through the midnight when Krishna was born, fasting, a night vigil, and a festival on the following day.
To find out where celebrations are taking place, visit this link
