[Edu-sig] python satacad: class 6

[Beni Cherniavsky]

Arthur wrote on 2005-02-20:

> He was also trying to convince me it was an important Jewish 
> holiday, because I believe in the context of the event being 
> celebrated in the Islamic faith, it was considered to coincide with 
> an event in the Jewish calendar. Wasn't aware of yesterday as a 
> significant day in the Jewish calendar, but that doesn't necessarily 
> mean it wasn't.
>
A Jewish holiday for some definition of a Holiday :-).  This Saturday 
was the first day ("Rosh Hodesh" = "Head of a Month") of Adar II (this 
year being a leap year with a second Adar month added).  Friday was 
the 30th day of the previous month (Adar I), which is also considered 
a Rosh Hodesh (but not all monthes have a 30th day).

A Rosh Hodesh is not really celebrated, it only has some 
extended/different prayers (it was a more important event long ago, 
when (1) there was a temple in Jerusalem and (2) it was determined 
from observing the new moon and the news were distributed to the whole 
nation to start counting a new month).  Anyway, the Rosh Hodesh of 
Adar (II) is slightly special, Adar (II) being the month containing 
the Purim holiday is held to be merry month.  "Mishenichnas Adar 
marbim besimcha" - "Since Adar enters, be more joyful".  But it's 
still not really celebrated (except by students perhaps).

Also, the Islamic holiday cannot always coincide with a Jewish holiday 
because the Islamic calendar constantly drifts relative to the Sun 
(having no leap monthes it misses about 11 days per year).  Some years 
from now it will occur in the summer, while Adar is always in the 
winter.  So he could only mean the coincidence to have some meaning at 
this specific year.

[Pardon me if I'm explaining the obvisous, when I'm don't know the 
correspondent's level I tend to err on the side of too much details]

-- 
Beni Cherniavsky <cben at users.sf.net>
Note that I can only read emails on week-ends.