Happy New Year!
If you’re Jewish, you know exactly what I’m talking about – Rosh Hashanah began last night at sundown. “Shanah Tovah!”
If you’re not Jewish, or don’t have any close friends (or family) who are Jewish, it’s possible that you had no idea. Or, like me, no idea until yesterday.
Which is amazing, if you think about it, because a new year’s celebration is a big deal.
But it happens all the time to holidays that are not celebrated by the dominant culture:
If you are Jewish, you likely know about Christmas and Easter…the big and commonly known holidays celebrated in North America. There are others, but you get the idea. If you’re not Jewish, likely you don’t know when Rosh Hashanah is, or Yom Kippur, or Hanukkah.
Because it’s not your holiday.
Notice a little disparity there?
You bet.
That’s because if you’re not in the dominant group, you have to know the dominant culture to get through the day (and life). But it’s not reciprocal. Because non-dominant culture information is not “necessary” information, and we live in a world that is inequitable.
Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest holidays in the Hebrew calendar. It is celebrated in the first two days of the Jewish month of Tishrei. And because the Hebrew calendar is Lunar, the dates for holidays such as Rosh Hashanah change every Gregorian calendar year.
(By the way, Rosh Hashanah is followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur – so mark your calendar!)
See more.
Copyright 2016 Annemarie Shrouder
Speaker, Facilitator, and Consultant on issues of Diversity & Inclusion
www.annemarieshrouder.com
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