Tag: Feature

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh Guru, occupies a unique and exalted place in world history as a spiritual master, warrior-poet and social reformer. Born in 1666 at Patna Sahib, he reshaped the moral and spiritual consciousness of his time by founding the Khalsa Panth in 1699 and by articulating a vision of fearless devotion, equality and righteous resistance to injustice. His birth anniversary, known as Prakash Parv or Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, is therefore observed not only as a religious festival but as a global reaffirmation of ethical courage and human dignity. In 2025, the anniversary was commemorated across continents, uniting Sikh communities in India and the diaspora in a shared expression of faith and service.
India: The Heartland of Devotion and Remembrance
In India, where the physical and spiritual landmarks of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s life are deeply embedded, the birth anniversary was marked with profound devotion and large-scale participation. Major gurdwaras across Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi became centres of continuous prayer and reflection. The Golden Temple in Amritsar witnessed an unbroken flow of devotees who gathered for Akhand Paaths, kirtans and special ardaas, while langars served thousands without distinction, reflecting the Guru’s uncompromising belief in equality.
At Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib in Patna, the Guru’s birthplace, the Prakash Parv unfolded as a multi-day spiritual celebration. Prabhat pheris echoed through the city streets in the days leading up to the main observance, building an atmosphere of reverence and anticipation. On the day of the anniversary, Nagar Kirtans led by the Panj Pyaras moved through Patna, accompanied by Gatka performances that symbolised the martial and spiritual synthesis central to the Guru’s teachings. Religious congregations, historical narrations and community service activities continued throughout the day, reinforcing Patna Sahib’s enduring significance in Sikh memory.
Canada: Faith, Identity and Multicultural Harmony
In Canada, home to one of the world’s largest Sikh diasporas, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti in 2025 was celebrated with deep devotion and visible cultural pride. Major gurdwaras in Ontario, particularly in Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto, organised extended Akhand Paaths, kirtan samagams and spiritual discourses that drew large congregations. Families gathered in significant numbers, and Sikh youth played a central role in organising programmes, performing devotional music and participating in Gatka demonstrations.
Nagar Kirtans in several Canadian cities transformed public spaces into vibrant expressions of Sikh faith, with processions moving through neighbourhoods accompanied by hymns and community kitchens offering langar to all. These celebrations reflected the integration of Sikh religious life within Canada’s multicultural ethos, where public observance of faith is both accepted and encouraged.
United States: Devotion, Education and Community Outreach
Across the United States, Sikh communities marked Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s birth anniversary through prayer, education and service. Prominent gurdwaras in New York, New Jersey, California and Texas held day-long religious congregations featuring Gurbani recitation, kirtan and discourses on the Guru’s role as the founder of the Khalsa Panth. Special emphasis was placed on educating younger generations about Sikh history, the Guru’s poetry and his vision of a disciplined yet compassionate community.
Youth organisations across American cities organised Gatka displays, storytelling sessions and seva activities, reinforcing the Guru’s teachings through lived practice. In several locations, interfaith guests and civic representatives joined the observances, highlighting the universal appeal of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s message of standing up for truth and defending human dignity.
Australia: A Growing Community and Living Tradition
In Australia, where the Sikh population has grown steadily over recent decades, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti in 2025 was observed with devotion and quiet grandeur. Gurdwaras in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and other cities organised Akhand Paaths, kirtan programmes and langar services in accordance with the Sikh calendar. Though smaller in scale compared to India or Canada, these gatherings reflected a strong sense of spiritual continuity and communal belonging.
Community leaders used the occasion to reflect on the Guru’s relevance in modern multicultural societies, emphasising his teachings on courage, equality and ethical responsibility. The celebrations also served as moments of cultural visibility, strengthening understanding between Sikh Australians and the wider society.
Shared Themes Across Continents
Across India, Canada, the United States and Australia, the 2025 observances were united by common themes. Devotional practices such as Akhand Paath and kirtan formed the spiritual core of the celebrations, while langar remained a powerful symbol of equality and collective service. Gatka performances and youth participation highlighted the dynamic transmission of Sikh tradition across generations, while interfaith and civic engagement underscored the universal relevance of the Guru’s ideals.
A Legacy That Transcends Borders
Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s birth anniversary in 2025 emerged as a truly global moment of remembrance and renewal. From the sanctified precincts of the Golden Temple and Patna Sahib to the gurdwaras of Toronto, New York and Melbourne, the celebrations reaffirmed a shared spiritual heritage rooted in courage, compassion and justice. More than three centuries after his birth, the Tenth Guru continues to inspire millions worldwide, reminding humanity that faith, when guided by truth and service, remains a powerful force for unity and moral strength.

The birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, is celebrated as Children’s Day on November 14. A champion of children’s education and rights, Nehru was honored posthumously in 1964, when the government passed a resolution designating this day as Children’s Day. This act aimed to commemorate his significant contribution to the welfare of children in society.
Every year, November 14 in India bursts into color, laughter, and innocence. Schools resound with giggles instead of lessons, teachers turn performers, and playgrounds become stages of joy. This day – Children’s Day, or Bal Diwas – celebrates the purest form of humanity: childhood.
But beyond the balloons, sweets, and fun, lies a deeper tribute – to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, whose birthday marks this special occasion and whose affection for children shaped the very idea of post-independence India’s future.
The Man Behind the Day
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad, into a family deeply rooted in India’s freedom struggle. A visionary leader, thinker, and statesman, Nehru played a central role in the country’s journey to independence and its early years as a modern democratic republic.
Yet, amid his intellectual brilliance and political leadership, there was another side to him – one filled with tenderness and idealism. He loved spending time with children, often calling them the true wealth of the nation. Children, in turn, fondly called him “Chacha Nehru”, an affectionate name that reflected both his warmth and humility.
For Nehru, children symbolized hope, potential, and purity – the untainted spirit that could build a better, progressive India. He often said,
“The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of our country.”
Following his death in 1964, his birthday began to be celebrated as Children’s Day, a day dedicated to honoring his love for the young and his dream of nurturing them as the builders of a new India.
From Leader to Chacha Nehru
Nehru’s fondness for children was not merely sentimental; it was deeply philosophical. He believed that childhood must be protected – not just with affection, but through education, equality, and opportunity.
His government’s focus on establishing educational institutions like IITs, AIIMS, and agricultural universities reflected this commitment to shaping young minds.
He saw in every child a potential scientist, artist, thinker, and dreamer – waiting to bloom. For him, nurturing children wasn’t charity; it was nation-building. That belief remains the soul of Children’s Day in India today.
How India Celebrates Children’s Day
Across the country, Children’s Day is celebrated with immense enthusiasm and creativity. Schools, NGOs, and communities organize special programs to honor the joy of childhood:
– Schools turn festive, with teachers organizing cultural shows, skits, magic performances, and games for their students.
– Competitions in art, poetry, storytelling, and sports encourage creativity and self-expression.
– Educational campaigns and exhibitions highlight the importance of child rights, health, and education.
– Children from underprivileged backgrounds are often invited to share the celebrations, reinforcing the spirit of equality and inclusion.
In many places, gifts, sweets, and books are distributed, not as indulgence but as gestures of care – echoing Chacha Nehru’s belief that love and knowledge are the two greatest gifts we can give to children.
The Universal Message of Childhood
While Children’s Day in India coincides with Nehru’s birthday, the message it carries transcends boundaries. It reminds us that every child – regardless of background or circumstance – deserves love, dignity, and opportunity.
In a world increasingly driven by competition and technology, the day serves as a reminder to preserve the innocence of childhood, to allow children to explore, question, and grow without fear. It calls upon parents, educators, and society to ensure that no child is deprived of education, safety, or a nurturing environment.
As Nehru once wrote in his book Letters from a Father to His Daughter,
“Life is like a book, and those who do not travel or learn read only a page.”
His words continue to inspire the idea that education – both formal and experiential – is the greatest gift we can offer our children.
Children’s Day in the Modern Context
In today’s fast-paced world, where screens have replaced playgrounds and pressure often shadows playtime, the essence of Children’s Day holds renewed importance.
It is not merely a celebration but a reminder to safeguard childhood – to let children be curious, joyful, and imaginative.
Organizations across India use this day to raise awareness about child rights, mental health, and the importance of emotional development. From campaigns promoting child literacy to drives against child labor, the day has evolved from a festive occasion into a social mission.
Legacy of Love and Learning
Pandit Nehru’s deep empathy for children stemmed from his belief that the future of any nation depends on how it treats its young. His dream was of a society that respected freedom of thought, scientific curiosity, and compassion – values that must be instilled early in life. He envisioned schools not as rigid institutions but as gardens where young minds could grow freely, guided by teachers who understood that every child’s curiosity is sacred.
In remembering him each year, we are reminded not just of his affection for children, but of his vision – a world where every child is educated, empowered, and loved.
A Day to Cherish Innocence
Children’s Day is more than a date on the calendar – it is a celebration of laughter, learning, and limitless dreams. It’s a call to every adult to see the world once again through a child’s eyes – with wonder, empathy, and hope.
As schools across India echo with the songs of young voices, and as flowers are placed at Nehru’s samadhi at Shantivan, the message remains timeless:
To honor children is to honor the future itself.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India (1947–64), was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad, India. He established parliamentary government and became noted for his neutralist (nonaligned) policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of the Indian Independence Movement during the 1930s and ’40s.
Early years
Nehru was born to a family of Kashmiri Brahmans, noted for their administrative aptitude and scholarship, who had migrated to Delhi early in the 18th century.
He was a son of Motilal Nehru, a renowned lawyer and leader of the Indian independence movement, who became one of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi’s prominent associates. Jawaharlal was the eldest of four children, two of whom were girls. A sister, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, later became the first woman president of the United Nations General Assembly.
Until the age of 16, Nehru was educated at home by a series of English governesses and tutors. Only one of those—a part-Irish, part-Belgian theosophist, Ferdinand Brooks—appears to have made any impression on him. Jawaharlal also had a venerable Indian tutor who taught him Hindi and Sanskrit. In 1905 he went to Harrow, a leading English school, where he stayed for two years. Nehru’s academic career was in no way outstanding. From Harrow he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he spent three years earning an honours degree in natural science. On leaving Cambridge he qualified as a barrister after two years at the Inner Temple, London, where in his own words he passed his examinations “with neither glory nor ignominy.”
The seven years Nehru spent in England left him in a hazy half-world, at home neither in England nor in India. Some years later he wrote, “I have become a queer mixture of East and West, out of place everywhere, at home nowhere.” He went back to India to discover India. The contending pulls and pressures that his experience abroad were to exert on his personality were never completely resolved.
Four years after his return to India, in March 1916, Nehru married Kamala Kaul, who also came from a Kashmiri family that had settled in Delhi. Their only child, Indira Priyadarshini, was born in 1917; she would later (under her married name of Indira Gandhi) also serve (1966–77 and 1980–84) as prime minister of India. In addition, Indira’s son Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother as prime minister (1984–89).
Political apprenticeship
On his return to India, Nehru at first had tried to settle down as a lawyer. Unlike his father, however, he had only a desultory interest in his profession and did not relish either the practice of law or the company of lawyers. For that time he might be described, like many of his generation, as an instinctive nationalist who yearned for his country’s freedom, but, like most of his contemporaries, he had not formulated any precise ideas on how it could be achieved.
Nehru’s close association with the Congress Party dates from 1919 in the immediate aftermath of World War I. That period saw an early wave of nationalist activity and governmental repression, which culminated in the Massacre of Amritsar in April 1919; according to an official report, 379 persons were killed (though other estimates were considerably higher), and at least 1,200 were wounded when the local British military commander ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of unarmed Indians assembled in an almost completely enclosed space in the city.
When, late in 1921, the prominent leaders and workers of the Congress Party were outlawed in some provinces, Nehru went to prison for the first time. Over the next 24 years he was to serve another eight periods of detention, the last and longest ending in June 1945, after an imprisonment of almost three years. In all, Nehru spent more than nine years in jail. Characteristically, he described his terms of incarceration as normal interludes in a life of abnormal political activity.
His political apprenticeship with the Congress Party lasted from 1919 to 1929. In 1923 he became general secretary of the party for two years, and he did so again in 1927 for another two years. His interests and duties took him on journeys over wide areas of India, particularly in his native United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh state), where his first exposure to the overwhelming poverty and degradation of the peasantry had a profound influence on his basic ideas for solving those vital problems. Though vaguely inclined toward socialism, Nehru’s radicalism had set in no definite mold. The watershed in his political and economic thinking was his tour of Europe and the Soviet Union during 1926–27. Nehru’s real interest in Marxism and his socialist pattern of thought stemmed from that tour, even though it did not appreciably increase his knowledge of communist theory and practice. His subsequent sojourns in prison enabled him to study Marxism in more depth. Interested in its ideas but repelled by some of its methods—such as the regimentation and the heresy hunts of the communists—he could never bring himself to accept Karl Marx’s writings as revealed scripture. Yet from then on, the yardstick of his economic thinking remained Marxist, adjusted, where necessary, to Indian conditions.
Struggle for Indian independence
After the Lahore session of 1929, Nehru emerged as the leader of the country’s intellectuals and youth. Gandhi had shrewdly elevated him to the presidency of the Congress Party over the heads of some of his seniors, hoping that Nehru would draw India’s youth—who at that time were gravitating toward extreme leftist causes—into the mainstream of the Congress movement. Gandhi also correctly calculated that, with added responsibility, Nehru himself would be inclined to keep to the middle way.
After his father’s death in 1931, Nehru moved into the inner councils of the Congress Party and became closer to Gandhi. Although Gandhi did not officially designate Nehru his political heir until 1942, the Indian populace as early as the mid-1930s saw in Nehru the natural successor to Gandhi. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931, signed between Gandhi and the British viceroy, Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax), signalized a truce between the two principal protagonists in India. It climaxed one of Gandhi’s more-effective civil disobedience movements, launched the year before as the Salt March, in the course of which Nehru had been arrested. When the elections following the introduction of provincial autonomy brought the Congress Party to power in a majority of the provinces, Nehru was faced with a dilemma. The Muslim League under Mohammed Ali Jinnah (who was to become the creator of Pakistan) had fared badly at the polls. Congress, therefore, unwisely rejected Jinnah’s plea for the formation of coalition Congress–Muslim League governments in some of the provinces, a decision that Nehru had supported. The subsequent clash between the Congress and the Muslim League hardened into a conflict between Hindus and Muslims that was ultimately to lead to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.
The Architect of Modern India
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India. One of the most prominent leaders of India’s Independent Movement, Pandit Nehru is known as the architect of modern India.
Pandit Nehru or Chacha Nehru as he was affectionately called was a nationalist leader, social democrat, author, and humanist.
Nehru was known for his vision, administrative aptitude, and scholastic prowess.
It was Jawaharlal Nehru who set out to realise the dream of a strong and resurgent India. He steered the nation to the path of recovery and modernisation. Nehru had neither the resources or the experience to administer the country. Yet, it was with his patriotism, dedication and commitment that he translated the values of the Congress into the Constitution of India.
It was Nehru who proposed the idea of fundamental rights and socio-economic equality irrespective of caste, creed, religion and gender. He invariably advocated the abolition of untouchability, right against exploitation, religious tolerance and secularism. He championed the idea of freedom of expression, right to form association, and was of the firm belief that statehood would ensure social and economic justice for labour and peasantry and give voting rights to all adult citizens. These propositions phrased by Jawaharlal Nehru made him the darling of India.
Here are some big decisions that nicknamed him an architect of modern India:
Establishing institutions of excellence
It was Nehru who provided the scientific base for India’s space supremacy and engineering excellence. With the establishment of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and universities, it was Nehru who put India on the path of development. Also, the foundation of the dual tack nuclear programme helped India achieve its nuclear enabled status. He also potentially set the pitch for industries, factories and the manufacturing sector paving the way for a journey of sovereign India.

Every year on 5 September, India observes Teacher’s Day, a heartfelt tribute to educators who shape not only individual destinies but also the moral and intellectual fabric of the nation. The date marks the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)-a revered philosopher, teacher, scholar, and statesman whose life embodied the noble ideals of education. His belief that “teachers should be the best minds in the country” continues to inspire generations of students and educators alike.
The Origins of Teacher’s Day in India
Unlike many countries that celebrate Teacher’s Day on 5 October (as designated by UNESCO), India’s commemoration has a distinctly personal origin. When Dr. Radhakrishnan became the second President of India in 1962, his students and friends wished to celebrate his birthday. He modestly requested, “Instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers’ Day.”
Thus began a tradition where students across schools, colleges, and universities express gratitude through cultural programs, speeches, and symbolic gestures-honoring not only their own teachers but also the very spirit of learning.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: The Teacher-Philosopher and Statesman

Early Life and Education
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on 5 September 1888 in Tiruttani, a small town in present-day Tamil Nadu. His family, though modest in means, valued learning deeply. A brilliant student from an early age, Radhakrishnan pursued philosophy at Madras Christian College, where he graduated with honors in 1906. His exposure to Western philosophical traditions blended harmoniously with his grounding in Indian scriptures, enabling him to develop a uniquely integrative worldview.
Academic Career and Philosophy
Radhakrishnan began his career as a philosophy lecturer at Madras Presidency College, later teaching at Mysore University and Calcutta University. His eloquence, clarity of thought, and deep scholarship won admiration from students and peers worldwide.
His writings, including Indian Philosophy (in two volumes), The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, and The Hindu View of Life, introduced the intellectual richness of Indian traditions to the West. He believed that education was not merely about imparting information, but about building character, fostering spiritual understanding, and cultivating universal values.
Global Recognition and Public Service
In 1931, Radhakrishnan was knighted by the British government, though he later chose to use the simple title of “Doctor” after Indian independence. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University, and represented India as Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1949-1952).
In 1952, he became Vice President of India, and in 1962, President of India-yet he always insisted that his foremost identity was that of a teacher. Even as President, he opened the doors of Rashtrapati Bhavan to students and continued to lecture, reminding the nation of the moral responsibilities of educators.
Philosophical Contributions
Radhakrishnan was a bridge between East and West, ancient and modern, faith and reason. He emphasized that true religion is a quest for understanding, not blind ritual, and that philosophy must be relevant to human problems. His interpretation of Vedanta highlighted harmony, tolerance, and spiritual freedom, making Indian thought accessible to global audiences.
Awards and Honors
– Bharat Ratna (1954) – India’s highest civilian award
– Honorary doctorates from universities worldwide, including Oxford and Harvard
– Membership in prestigious international bodies such as the British Academy
Teacher’s Day Celebrations Today
– Across India, 5 September is marked by vibrant celebrations:
– Students play the role of teachers in classrooms as a gesture of respect.
– Cultural programs, debates, and felicitation ceremonies honor exemplary educators.
– Schools and colleges reflect on the ideals of learning as service, not just a profession.
– The President of India also confers National Awards to Teachers on this day, recognizing exceptional contributions to education.
The Enduring Legacy of Dr. Radhakrishnan
Dr. Radhakrishnan passed away in 1975, but his message remains timeless: education is the highest form of service, and teachers are its true architects. He saw learning as a continuous dialogue between teacher and student, rooted in respect, inquiry, and moral responsibility.
In honoring him every Teacher’s Day, India reaffirms its cultural respect for gurus-those who dispel darkness and ignite the light of knowledge.
Teacher’s Day is not merely a ceremonial event. It is a reminder that knowledge is sacred, that those who impart it deserve society’s deepest gratitude, and that education must nurture wisdom, not just skills. As India navigates the complexities of the modern world, the ideals of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan-humility, integrity, and reverence for learning-remain guiding stars for both teachers and students.

Passover, one of Judaism’s most significant holidays, which commemorates the Hebrews’ liberation from enslavement in Egypt and the “passing over” of God’s forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites, on the eve of the Exodus. Passover begins with the 15th and ends with either the 21st (in Israel and among Reform Jews) or the 22nd day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar (March or April in the Gregorian calendar). On these seven (or eight) days, all leaven, whether in bread or other mixture, is prohibited, and the only grain product that can be eaten is unleavened bread, called matzo. The matzo symbolizes both the Hebrews’ suffering while in bondage and the haste with which they left Egypt in the course of the Exodus. Passover is often celebrated with great ceremony and intention, especially on the first night or first two nights, when families hold a ritual meal called a seder.
The story of Passover is told in the Book of Exodus, but the narrative begins in Genesis when Joseph and his brothers, sons of Israel (Jacob), leave the land of Canaan for Egypt. Exodus opens with Pharaoh’s enslavement of the Israelites and the oppression they endure. Moses arises as a leader of the Israelites and a prophet of God who is given divine assurance that his people will be freed. When his requests to Pharaoh—“Let my people go!” (Exodus 5:1)—are continually rebuffed, God sends 10 plagues to afflict the Egyptians.
Before the final plague—death of the firstborn—God instructs Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12) that all the Israelites should sacrifice a lamb and smear its blood on their lintels or doorposts and by that sign God would recognize and pass over their homes, sparing the firstborns. This notion of “passing over” is the origin of the holiday’s name: Pesach, or Passover. It is in the same instructions to sacrifice a lamb that God institutes the holiday (Exodus 12:14–17):
When God then slaughters the firstborn in every household in Egypt, Pharaoh instructs Moses and Aaron to take their people and flee immediately. The Israelites do so before their bread dough has leavened, hence establishing the practice of eating unleavened bread, or matzo.
Early historical development
Passover was originally the New Year holiday in Judaism, and Exodus 12:2 explicitly describes Passover as marking the first day of the year. By the first centuries CE, however, Rosh Hashana ascended in popularity and took over the role of primary New Year festival. Passover became one of four new year festivals in Judaism—Rosh Hashana, Tu BiShvat, and the first of Elul being the others—and was considered the new year for reckoning kings’ reigns and for the Jewish festival cycle.
When the Temple of Jerusalem was first completed (957 BCE) it became a pilgrimage destination, and Passover was one of Judaism’s three pilgrimage holidays alongside Shavuot and Sukkot. A central focus of the Passover pilgrimage festival in the temple was the sacrifice and communal consumption of Paschal lambs, which took place on the 14th of Nisan and represented the lambs the Israelites sacrificed in Egypt to inform God to “pass over” their homes. After the Second Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 CE, animal sacrifice was discontinued and the home and family shifted from a dimension of the Passover celebration to its primary focus.
Ritual observations
The centerpiece of Passover is the seder, but the preparations start in advance, as Jews are instructed to remove from their homes all leavened bread (chametz), even crumbs. The preparation can be a massive spring cleaning effort to root out all vestiges of leavened bread. During Passover, observant Jews can eat, or have in their homes, only food that is kosher (ritually approved) for Passover, and anything made from grain (wheat, rye, oats, barley, and spelt) must be replaced by matzo, unleavened bread. Food that is kosher for Passover must be without leaven anywhere in the vicinity even of its production, in the home or in factories that produce the food.
There is a difference between what Ashkenazi (eastern European) and Sephardi (Iberian, North African, and Middle Eastern) Jews can consume for Passover. In addition to leaven, Ashkenazi Jews also avoid eating rice and foods that are labeled qi?niyot —beans, corn, and legumes—based on rabbis’ considerations that these foods might be confused with the grains used to make bread. However, Sephardi Jews (excluding some groups from North Africa) often do consume those foods, as long as they are not contaminated by leavened bread.
The seder (Hebrew: “order”) meal is held on the first night of Passover among Reform Jews and Jews in Israel, and the first and second nights among other Jewish groups and congregations, although Jews. At the seder, participants read from the Haggadah (Hebrew: “telling”), which details the 14 parts of the ceremony, provides readings concerning the Exodus, and offers religious interpretations about the significance of the festival and the parts of the seder. There is also music, such as the lively song “Dayyenu” (“It would have been enough”). Despite its origins in suffering, Passover is overall a joyful holiday as well as an open one: an important part of the ritual obligations is the invitation or welcoming of a stranger to join in the meal. A central focus of the ceremony, aside from eating matzo, is the seder plate, which displays symbolic food items relevant to the story of Exodus and the Jewish experience of escaping enslavement.
As a family-oriented celebration, teaching children about Passover is a central focus of the many parts of the seder. After a second cup of wine is poured, the youngest child at the seder asks, sometimes in recitation and sometimes in song, four standard questions—sometimes referred to as Ma Nishtana (Hebrew: “What is different?”)—about what distinguishes the holiday from other nights:
Modern traditions
Some progressive congregations include a new symbolic item on the seder plate: an orange. This 20th-century addition began with Dartmouth Jewish studies professor Susanna Heschel, the daughter of the groundbreaking modern Jewish philosopher and civil rights activist Abraham Joshua Heschel. According to her account in a 2013 article for the Forward, the inclusion of an orange was intended to represent the inclusion of LGBTQ+ Jews and other marginalized people in the community, and Heschel’s model for the ritual involves members of the seder each breaking off and consuming segments of the orange and spitting out the seeds, which represent homophobia. A popular legend about the orange addition attributes its origin to a sarcastic comment made by a rabbi at a lecture Heschel gave (or at a bat mitzvah, or when Heschel tried to join a minyan, in other variants) that a woman belongs on the bimah—the platform in the synagogue where the Torah is read— like an orange belongs on a seder plate. According to that invented origin story, the orange’s inclusion symbolizes ritual acceptance of women. Some congregations include in the seder a cup of water for Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, to commemorate her role in the Exodus and her significance among women in the Jewish tradition.

Easter, principal festival of the Christian church, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. The earliest recorded observance of an Easter celebration comes from the 2nd century, though the commemoration of Jesus’ Resurrection probably occurred earlier.
The English word Easter, which parallels the German word Ostern, is of uncertain origin. One view, expounded by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, was that it derived from Eostre, or Eostrae, an Anglo-Saxon goddess possibly associated with spring and fertility. (In the modern era the connection between Eostre and spring has been disputed; she may have been a local protective deity rather than a fertility figure.) This view presumes—as does the view associating the origin of Christmas on December 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter solstice—that Christians appropriated pagan names and holidays for their highest festivals. Given the determination with which Christians combated all forms of paganism (the belief in multiple deities), this appears a rather dubious presumption. There is now widespread consensus that the word derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis, a Latin phrase that was understood as the plural of alba (“dawn”) and became eostarum in Old High German, the precursor of the modern German and English term. The Latin and Greek Pascha (“Passover”) provides the root for Pâques, the French word for Easter.
The date of Easter
Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early Christianity in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished. The dispute, known as the Paschal controversies, was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. In Asia Minor, Christians observed the day of the Crucifixion on the same day that Jews celebrated the Passover offering—that is, on the 14th day of the first full moon of spring, 14 Nisan (see Jewish calendar). The Resurrection, then, was observed two days later, on 16 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. In the West the Resurrection of Jesus was celebrated on the first day of the week, Sunday, when Jesus had risen from the dead. Consequently, Easter was always celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Increasingly, the churches opted for the Sunday celebration, and the Quartodecimans (“14th day” proponents) remained a minority. The Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar (which is 13 days ahead of the former), with the result that the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that celebrated by Protestants and Roman Catholics. Moreover, the Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover.
In the 20th century several attempts were made to arrive at a fixed date for Easter, with the Sunday following the second Saturday in April specifically proposed. While this proposal and others had many supporters, none came to fruition. Renewed interest in a fixed date arose in the early 21st century, resulting from discussions involving the leaders of Eastern Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Coptic, Anglican, and Roman Catholic churches, but formal agreement on such a date remained elusive.
Liturgical observances
In the Christian calendar, Easter follows Lent, the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter, which traditionally is observed by acts of penance and fasting. Easter is immediately preceded by Holy Week, which includes Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples; Good Friday, the day of his Crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, the transition between Crucifixion and Resurrection. Liturgically, Easter comes after the Great Vigil, which was originally observed sometime between sunset on Easter Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday. Later it would be celebrated in Western churches on Saturday evening, then on Saturday afternoon, and finally on Sunday morning. In 1955 the Roman Catholic Church set the time for the vigil at 10 PM, which allowed for the Easter mass to be celebrated after midnight. In the Orthodox traditions the vigil continues to be an important liturgical event, while in Protestant churches it is little known.
By the 4th century the Easter vigil was well established in various liturgical expressions. It was characterized by a spirit of joyful anticipation of the Resurrection and—because of the belief that Jesus’ Second Coming would occur on Easter—the return of Jesus. In the Roman Catholic tradition the vigil has four parts: the celebration of lights focused on the Paschal candle; the service of lessons called the prophecies; the administration of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation to adult converts; and the Easter mass. The use of the Paschal candle, to denote the appearance of light out of darkness through the Resurrection, was first recorded in the year 384; by the 10th century it had gained general usage. The prominence of baptism at Easter goes back to early Christianity, probably the 4th century, when baptism was administered only once a year, at Easter. In the Roman Catholic service the priest blesses the water to be used in the forthcoming year for baptism, with the faithful taking some of that water with them to receive protection from vicissitudes. Lutheran and Anglican churches use variations of this vigil service.
Easter customs
Easter, like Christmas, has accumulated a great many traditions, some of which have little to do with the Christian celebration of the Resurrection but derive from folk customs. The custom of the Easter lamb appropriates both the appellation used for Jesus in Scripture (“behold the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world,” John 1:29) and the lamb’s role as a sacrificial animal in ancient Israel. In antiquity Christians placed lamb meat under the altar, had it blessed, and then ate it on Easter. Since the 12th century the Lenten fast has ended on Easter with meals including eggs, ham, cheeses, bread, and sweets that have been blessed for the occasion.
Easter egg
The use of painted and decorated Easter eggs was first recorded in the 13th century. The church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week, and the notion of specially identifying those as “Holy Week” eggs brought about their decoration. The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolizes new life emerging from the eggshell. In the Orthodox tradition eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood Jesus shed on the cross.
The custom of associating a rabbit or bunny with Easter arose in Protestant areas in Europe in the 17th century but did not become common until the 19th century. The Easter rabbit, or Easter bunny, is said to lay Easter eggs as well as decorate and hide them. In the United States the Easter bunny also leaves children baskets with toys and candies on Easter morning, a tradition enjoyed by non-religious families and Christians alike. The practice has been seen as a manifestation of the Protestant rejection of Catholic Easter customs. In some European countries, however, other animals—in Switzerland the cuckoo, in Westphalia the fox—brought the Easter eggs.
Easter egg hunts are popular among children in the United States. Modern egg hunts often involve real and plastic eggs, the latter being filled with candies or small toys. Sometimes one or more “prize eggs” are hidden, which earn a treat-filled basket or other prize for the finder. First lady Lucy Hayes, the wife of Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes, is often credited with sponsoring the first annual Easter egg roll (an event where children and their parents were invited to roll their eggs on the Monday following Easter) on the White House lawn, in 1878. That year the event was moved to the White House from the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building, where large numbers of children had gathered beginning in the early 1870s to roll their eggs and play on Easter Monday. Members of Congress were dismayed by the large crowds on Capitol Hill and feared that the foot traffic was damaging the grounds. By 1876 Congress and Pres. Ulysses S. Grant passed a law that forbade the practice of egg rolling on Capitol Hill. Some historical records note that the Hayes first opened the White House lawn to egg rolling festivities the following year, in 1877, after a young boy asked President Hayes directly for permission to use the space.
Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century CE. It has become the largest of the world’s religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It has a constituency of more than two billion believers. Its largest groups are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Protestant churches. The Oriental Orthodox churches constitute one of the oldest branches of the tradition but had been out of contact with Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy from the middle of the 5th century until the late 20th century because of a dispute over Christology (the doctrine of Jesus Christ’s nature and significance). Significant movements within the broader Christian world and sometimes transcending denominational boundaries are Pentecostalism, Charismatic Christianity, Evangelicalism, and fundamentalism. In addition, there are numerous independent churches throughout the world. See also Anglicanism; Baptist; Calvinism; Congregationalism; Evangelical church; Lutheranism; Oriental Orthodoxy; presbyterian; Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
The church and its history
At its most basic, Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus Christ. In this context, faith refers both to the believers’ act of trust and to the content of their faith. As a tradition, Christianity is more than a system of religious belief. It also has generated a culture, a set of ideas and ways of life, practices, and artifacts that have been handed down from generation to generation since Jesus first became the object of faith. Christianity is thus both a living tradition of faith and the culture that the faith leaves behind. The agent of Christianity is the church, the community of people who make up the body of believers.
To say that Christianity “focuses” on Jesus Christ is to say that somehow it brings together its beliefs and practices and other traditions in reference to a historical figure. Few Christians, however, would be content to keep this reference merely historical. Although their faith tradition is historical—i.e., they believe that transactions with the divine do not occur in the realm of timeless ideas but among ordinary humans through the ages—the vast majority of Christians focus their faith in Jesus Christ as someone who is also a present reality. They may include many other references in their tradition and thus may speak of “God” and “human nature” or of the “church” and the “world,” but they would not be called Christian if they did not bring their attentions first and last to Jesus Christ.
While there is something simple about this focus on Jesus as the central figure, there is also something very complicated. That complexity is revealed by the thousands of separate churches, sects, and denominations that make up the modern Christian tradition. To project these separate bodies against the background of their development in the nations of the world is to suggest the bewildering variety. To picture people expressing their adherence to that tradition in their prayer life and church-building, in their quiet worship or their strenuous efforts to change the world, is to suggest even more of the variety.
Given such complexity, it is natural that throughout Christian history both those in the tradition and those surrounding it have made attempts at simplification. Two ways to do this have been to concentrate on the “essence” of the faith, and thus on the ideas that are integral to it, or to be concerned with the “identity” of the tradition, and thus on the boundaries of its historical experience.
Modern scholars have located the focus of this faith tradition in the context of monotheistic religions. Christianity addresses the historical figure of Jesus Christ against the background of, and while seeking to remain faithful to, the experience of one God. It has consistently rejected polytheism and atheism.
A second element of the faith tradition of Christianity, with rare exceptions, is a plan of salvation or redemption. That is to say, the believers in the church picture themselves as in a plight from which they need rescue. For whatever reason, they have been distanced from God and need to be saved. Christianity is based on a particular experience or scheme directed to the act of saving—that is, of bringing or “buying back,” which is part of what redemption means, these creatures of God to their source in God. The agent of that redemption is Jesus Christ.
It is possible that through the centuries the vast majority of believers have not used the term essence to describe the central focus of their faith. The term is itself of Greek origin and thus represents only one part of the tradition, one element in the terms that have gone into making up Christianity. Essence refers to those qualities that give something its identity and are at the centre of what makes that thing different from everything else. To Greek philosophers it meant something intrinsic to and inherent in a thing or category of things, which gave it its character and thus separated it from everything of different character. Thus, Jesus Christ belongs to the essential character of Christianity and gives it a unique identity.
If most people are not concerned with defining the essence of Christianity, in practice they must come to terms with what the word essence implies. Whether they are engaged in being saved or redeemed on the one hand, or thinking and speaking about that redemption, its agent, and its meaning on the other, they are concentrating on the essence of their experience. Those who have concentrated from within the faith tradition have also helped to give it its identity. It is not possible to speak of the essence of a historical tradition without referring to how its ideal qualities have been discussed through the ages. Yet one can take up the separate subjects of essence and identity in sequence, being always aware of how they interrelate.