*National Holidays

*What are the holidays in

October?

*Eid-ul-Adha (Greater Eid) on 24-28th October

*Republic Day in Turkey

*Halloween on the 31th of October

*Eid-ul-Adha (Greater Eid)

*Eid-ul-Adha ('festival of Sacrifice'), also known as the Greater Eid, is an important festival in the Muslim calendar.

*The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.

*Eid-ul-Adha (Greater Eid)

The story of Ibrahim's sacrifice*Eid-ul-Adha celebrates the occasion when Allah appeared

to Ibrahim in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God.

*The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.

*Note: This story is also found in the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament (Genesis 22). Here God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, his son with Sarah. Isma’il was his son with Hagar.

*Eid-ul-Adha (Greater Eid)

Celebrations*Eid ul Adha is a public holiday in Muslim countries.

*Today Muslims all over the world who can afford it , sacrifice a sheep (sometimes a goat) as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah.

*They share out the meat among family, friends and the poor, who each get a third share.

*Eid usually starts with Muslims going to the Mosque for prayers, dressed in their best clothes, and thanking Allah for all the blessings they have received.

*It is also a time when they visit family and friends as well as offering presents.

*When is it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/eid_haj.shtml

*Sacrifice Feast Eve ―Wednesday, October 24, 2012

*Sacrifice Feast ―Thursday, October 25, 2012

*Sacrifice Feast Day 2 ―Friday, October 26, 2012

*Sacrifice Feast Day 3 ―Saturday, October 27, 2012

*Sacrifice Feast Day 4 ―Sunday, October 28, 2012

*Republic Day in Turkey

*Many people in Turkey celebrate Republic Day on October 29 by attending performances and participating in traditional processions with flags and musical bands. The Turkish Republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk proclaimed Republic Day as Turkey’s most important holiday.

* What do people do?

*Many people go to local stadiums on October 29 to watch performances dedicated to Republic Day in Turkey. Such performances usually consist of theatre sketches, poetry readings and traditional Turkish dances. Many school children participate in school performances for parents and teachers.

*Parades may take place in some cities and politicians may give public speeches on this day. Many people also lay wreaths to Atatürk’s monuments or visit Atatürk’s mausoleum in the country’s capital, Ankara.

*In the evening of October 29 many cities have traditional processions with flags and musical bands to commemorate Republic Day in Turkey. The processions usually end with fireworks, which begin after dark.

*Public life

*Republic Day is an official national holiday in Turkey.

* Public administration buildings, schools, post offices and many small businesses are usually closed on this day. Public transport schedules may vary. Public transport routes may change in the event of street performances and processions. The afternoon of the previous day, October 28, is also an official holiday.

*Background

*Republic Day marks the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. After Turkey’s victory in the War of Independence (1919-1923), the Turkish parliament proclaimed the new Turkish state as a republic. A new constitution, which the parliament adopted on October 29, 1923, replaced the constitution of the Ottoman Empire. The leader in the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, became the country’s first president on the same day. According to Atatürk, Republic Day is Turkey’s most important holiday.

*Symbols

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/turkey/republic-day

The common symbols of

Republic Day in Turkey are:*The Turkish flag.

*Pictures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

*These symbols can be seen on Republic Day in Turkey and on our notice board, as well.

*Halloween

What do you know about it?

*When and where did it start?

*How is it celebrated?

*What do people wear and eat on this day?

*In which countries and how is it celebrated?

*What is your plan for it?

*Where it all started: Ireland

*In Ireland, which is considered to be where Halloween, the day is still celebrated much like it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were centuries ago, children get dressed up in costumes and spend the evening "trick-or-treating" in their neighbourhoods.

* After trick-or-treating, most people attend parties with neighbours and friends. At the parties, many games are played, including "snap-apple," a game in which an apple on a string is tied to a doorframe or tree and players attempt to bite the hanging apple.

*In addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts, with candy or pastries as the "treasure ".

* The Irish also play a card game where cards are laid face down on a table with candy or coins underneath them. When a child chooses a card, he receives whatever prize is found below it.

*Food

*A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home.

*A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater's future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way.

*Children play tricks on their neighbours, such as "knock-a-dolly," . They knock on the doors of their neighbours, but run away before the door is opened.

*The history of Halloween

http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/halloweenglobal.php

*http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/halloweenhistory.php