serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
The Full Moon after the March Equinox (often called the Vernal Equinox) brings in its wake many religious celebrations based on the lunar calendar each year. We think of Passover, Easter, Buddhist New Year, Jain celebration, Hindu and Baha’i Observances and the Islamic observance of Ramadan ending in Eid-al-Fitr, the festival of celebration.
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Yom HaShoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It coincides with the 27th of Nisan (on the Hebrew calendar) to mark the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, when Jewish resistance fighters defied the Nazis and fought for freedom and dignity.
In Israel, at 10:00, an air raid siren sounds throughout the country and Israelis are expected to observe two minutes of solemn reflection. Almost everyone stops what they are doing, including motorists who stop their cars in the middle of the road, standing beside their vehicles in silence as the siren is sounded.
The date was selected by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on April 12, 1951. The full name became formal in a law that was enacted by the on August 19, 1953. Although the date was established by the Israeli government, it has become a day commemorated by Jewish communities and individuals worldwide.
The date for Easter changes every year. In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, within about seven days after the astronomical full moon. As well as major Christian observances, at the time of Easter, there are religious festivals in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Orthodox Christianity, Jainism and the Baha’i faith. Jains observe the birthday of Mahavir. Buddhists observe Therevadan New Year. There is the Passover of the Jewish Faith and the Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi, the foundation of the Khalsa. These are among the religious festivals celebrated at this time.
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24 April: Yom Ha’Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is a day set aside to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust or Shoah. Many Australians with Jewish ties or heritage observe Yom Ha’Shoah. It commemorates the lives and heroism of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945.
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