By Nate Feldman
This weekend, in an extremely rare occurrence, the Jewish week of Passover, the Christian holy days of Good Friday and Easter, and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan are happening concurrently.Many people are viewing this once in three-decade event as an opportunity to celebrate what unites these traditions. In an interview with NPR, Imam Makram Nu’man El-Amin of Masjid An-Nur in Minneapolis said it was “a sign that all these faiths overlap,” and that people are gathered “together in acts of prayers this weekend for the common good of all people.” (See Opinion: Three faith traditions come together for a weekend of remembrance by Scott Simon at npr.org)
Other religious observances in April include Vaisakhi, celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs, Mahavir Jayanti in Jainism, Ridvan, a twelve-day festival in the Baha’i religion, and the Therevada Buddhist New Year.
To mark the occasion of so many celebrations happening together, religious leaders in Chicago have initiated an “Interfaith Trolley Tour” for April 24, on which visitors will visit different religious centers in the city and listen to guest speakers from a variety of faiths. (See Interfaith Trolley Tour to help celebrate holy calendar coincidence; Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all in same month by Lauren Victory as cbsnews.com)
