Moving from the Month of Nissan into Iyyar


There are some things that I have been learning since living here in Israel that I was not aware of before. Because they are so new to me, I have decided to let Wikipedia do the explaining this time.

As most of you know, the month of April ended with Passover and it turns out that there is one holiday that Israeli's make a big deal out of. On the last day of Passover there is a celebration called Mimouna.  It is my understanding that it originally came from Morocco. Either way,  businesses close down and everyone enjoys this day with cookouts and get togethers.  I thought that I was the only one who got excited about getting to eat bread again after Passover, but here it is a common thing obviously.  Now we all know why they like to have this celebration.

The month of May started and ended with some different events that I was not familiar with in the United States. The first one was Yom Hazikaron which is Israel's memorial day and was celebrated on Monday, May 9th. On that day the air raid sounded for 2 minutes and a few of us went outside to stand in honor of the opening of this memorial day with our hands on our heart (which they tell school kids to do). I was later told by one Israeli that I work with, that at that very moment vehicles everywhere stop and people get out of their cars to stand in respect of those who lost their lives. Wow!

The next event is called Yom Ha'atzmaut and this is the celebration of Israel's independence in 1948. Everything literally shuts down for this celebration which begins on the evening of May 9th right as Yom Hazikaron is ending. We were in Jerusalem that Monday for dinner and to see how they celebrate this wonderful occasion. The excitement of things did not really get rolling until 9pm that night. There was literally 4-5 different concerts going on throughout Jerusalem.  It is literally like our July 4th.  Then the evening ended with fireworks displays everywhere.

On the following day and throughout, different aircraft could be seen flying by in formation. Ranging from helicopters to large commercial jets, both civilian and military. The most impressive one to me, was El Al doing a formation fly by which comprised of several different jets from old to new.

We are looking forward to seeing more and more of the celebrations here in Israel, whether common or not compared to what we had in the states.  It is just the thought of being here and getting to be a part of it that makes it exciting.

Until next time... Shalom!

Comments

  1. Chuck&MaryJune 12, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    Thanks for sharing the sights and sounds of the land!! The Lord continues to be your joy and strength...that is obvious!! We rejoice with you!
    Blessings,
    Mary

    ReplyDelete

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