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Cultural & religious observances header image. A photo in the upper left hand corner is a stained glass image of Mary holding Jesus. The photo in the upper right hand corner is a woman wearing a burqua standing near a fence. The image on the bottom left corner is a monk, and the image on the bottom right corner is a mandala sand painting.

Cultural and religious observances – May 2-8, 2022

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Eid ul-Fitr

Photo of hundreds of men at an Eid ul-Fitr prayer service in Nishapur, 2012
Eid ul-Fitr prayer, Nishapur, 2021. Photo credit: Sonia Sevilla, Wikimedia.org

Culture/religion: Islamic
Date: May 2

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, and traditionally lasts for three days. The celebration is a time of charitable giving, focused and careful prayer and a season of month-long fasting during daylight hours.

Greetings: Eid Mubarak (Blessed Eid); Eid sa’id (Happy Eid)

Sources:

Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha – What is the difference?, Muslim Aid

Cinco de Mayo

1901 poster for Cinco de Mayo showing a woman, man, the sun and the flag of Mexico
1901 poster for Cinco de Mayo. Image credit: wikimedia.org.

Culture/religion: Mexican heritage
Date: May 5

Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for “Fifth of May,” is celebrated annually on May 5 to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

The date is more popularly celebrated in the United States than in Mexico and has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture – beginning in California in 1863. In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial with military parades or battle reenactments. The city of Puebla marks the event with an arts festival, a festival of local cuisine and reenactments of the battle.

(Not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on September 16.)

Sources:

Cinco de Mayo, Wikipedia