Page 39 - NT 2022 Almanac

1st March Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ancient Christian practice
of being 'shriven', which means being forgiven for things you’ve done wrong. It was traditional to tell a priest about anything bad you had done to get it out of the way before Lent, the season of fasting. Then, during the fast, you could concentrate on asking for forgiveness and promising to live a better life. On Shrove Tuesday, people used up eggs and fatty foods because during Lent they were not allowed to eat these things. One of the best ways of using up eggs and fat is to make pancakes, and a lot of people still do this today. That is why we also call this day Pancake Day.
1st March Isra and Mi’raj
This festival is in two parts. The first part, the Isra or the ‘Night Journey’, starts on the evening before the day of celebrations. Muslims remember the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and then to heaven. Muslim people believe the Night Journey started
when the Angel Gabriel took the Prophet Muhammad to Jerusalem on a winged horse, where he met and prayed with prophets including Moses and Jesus.
The second part is the Mi’raj, which means ‘ladder’ in Arabic. This was when the Prophet Muhammad was carried up to heaven by Gabriel where he spoke to Allah (God), who told the Prophet that Muslims should say their prayers five times a day. At Isra and Mi’raj, Muslim people say prayers during the night and Muslim cities keep their lights on all night.
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