Holidays Among the Four Quarters

 

The Four Quarters 

Throughout the film about Jerusalem, the co-existence of many different religions and cultures was striking. Also known as the "Four Quarters", these quarters serve as a home for people of similar ethnic backgrounds. Although these quarters are so close together geographically, they hardly speak amongst each other. Most residents of the quarters live in Jerusalem because it is said to be the closeted place to God, which makes sense people from various different religions would want to inhabit the land. 

Christian Quarter and Armenian Quarter

    Although the various quarters in Jerusalem have different customs and faiths, they all believe in God, which is evident in their celebrations. In the Christian quarter, there are various types of people including the Ethiopians, Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and others. All of the Christian quarter celebrates Easter, but the specifics of each community is different, which is very surprising as even people living in the same quarter may have slightly different customs. Another important holiday in the Christian and Armenian quarters is Christmas, as most of the quarter is lit up with lights during these times. Various communities in the Christian and Armenian quarter celebrate Christmas a bit later than the commonly adopted 25th of December (Valier, 2016).

Muslim Quarter

    Muslims celebrations largely focus on Mohammed and his rise to Heaven, as well as Ramadan and other important holidays. The Muslim holiday celebrating Mohammed's rise to Heaven from what is now known as the Dome of the Rock is referred to as Laylat Al-Miraj and is a very important holiday in the Muslim faith, and quarter. During the three month holiday Eid-Ul Fitr, or the conclusion of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the end of a month long fast, and in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem  young men often celebrate by horse racing (iTravelJerusalem Staff, 2016).

Jewish Quarter

    One of the many important holidays in the Jewish quarter is Sukkot. Sukkot occurs 15 days after the Jewish new year and 5 days after Yom Kippur and commemorates the wandering of the Israelites on their way to Canaan. In the Jewish Quarter, on the days leading up to Sukkot, you will hear lots of commotion from the Jewish people as they prepare their temporary structures for the seven days of the holiday (iTravelJerusalem, 2016). On the last day of Sukkot, the Jewish quarter is filled with singing and dancing at the synagogues to commoronate the wandering of the Israelites to the promise land (iTravelJerusalem, 2016).

Citations and Links

iTravelJerusalem Staff. “Muslim Holidays.” ITravelJerusalem, 11 Sept. 2016, https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/article/muslim-holidays/.

iTravelJerusalem. “Sukkot in Jerusalem 2022 Events.” ITravelJerusalem, 31 Aug. 2021, https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/article/sukkot-events-in-jerusalem/.

Valier, Chaya. “Holidays and Festivals in Jerusalem.” ITravelJerusalem, 13 Sept. 2016, https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/article/holidays-and-festivals/.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLW6vO-7rFk