Thursday of the Dead
Encyclopedia
Thursday of the Dead also known as Thursday of the Secrets or Thursday of the Eggs is a feast day shared by Christians
and Muslims
in the Levant
. It falls sometime between the Easter Sundays of the Catholic
and Eastern Orthodox Christian
traditions. It is a day on which the souls of the dead are honoured. A popular day among women in the region, it underscores the shared culture between Arab
Christians and Muslims.
("the yellow roll") and dried fruit
to the poor, to children, and to relatives. Children would also receive painted eggs, generally yellow in colour.
The sharing of this tradition between Christians and Muslims is thought to date back to at least the 12th century when Saladin
urged Muslims to adopt Christian customs in order to promote religious tolerance in the region. Anne Fuller sees in it "that ancient Near East
belief that the living as well as the dead form a single community."
Salim Tamari
places Thursday of the Dead three days before Easter Sunday (coinciding with Holy Thursday) and the day after Job's Wednesday (Arabic: Arba'at Ayyub), a quasi-religious mawsim (or seasonal festival) for Muslim peasants involving rituals at the sea.
In letters Lieutenant General Sir Charles Warren
wrote while in Palestine
in 1901, he said the day took place "in Spring, about the Greek Easter
," and marked the culmination of seven consecutive Thursdays of wailing over the dead. A 1948 article in The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society places the day's commemoration at fourteen days before the Good Friday
of the Eastern church. An important day that is popular among women, the article says, "The visiting of the dead is in most cases very superficial, and the time is actually spent in good company out." The carrying of dyed eggs by the women of Jerusalem on their afternoon visits to cemeteries on Thursday of the Dead is noted by Morgenstern, who also writes that the day formed part of djum'et al-amwat ("week of the dead").
Frederick Jones Bliss
' lecture on religions of Syria
and Palestine in 1912 noted that Thursday of the Dead formed a part of Muslim mourning
practices: "The cemetery may be visited every Thursday after the death occurs and then annually on the Thursday of the dead." The practice of distributing food to the needy by the family of the deceased at the tomb site which begins immediately after their death is considered rahmy ("mercy"), and according to the 1892-1893 Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund
, this practice would continue through until the first Thursday of the Dead after the person's passing.
In Buarij, Portrait of a Lebanese
Muslim Village (1961), Fuller lists Thursday of the Dead as one of a series of springtime rituals there, preceded by Thursday of the Animals and Thursday of the Plants, and followed by Thursday of the Jumping.
In the Syrian city of Homs
, Thursday of the Dead is still commemorated in the same way. Many there now prefer to call it "Thursday of Sweetness", since the purchase of sweets by women and their distribution to children and the poor is seen as a double act of "sweetness".
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. It falls sometime between the Easter Sundays of the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and Eastern Orthodox Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
traditions. It is a day on which the souls of the dead are honoured. A popular day among women in the region, it underscores the shared culture between Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Christians and Muslims.
Overview
In Julian Morgenstern's The Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death, and Kindred Occasions Among the Semites (1966), Thursday of the Dead is described as a universal day for visiting tombs, engaged in most assiduously by townspeople, followed by fellaheen ("peasants"), and then Bedouins. Women would go to the cemetery before sunrise to pray for the departed and distribute bread cakes known as kaʿak al-asfarKa'ak
Ka'ak or Kahqa is the Arabic word for "cake", and can refer to several different types of baked goods produced throughout the Arab world and the Near East.-Bread rings:...
("the yellow roll") and dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
to the poor, to children, and to relatives. Children would also receive painted eggs, generally yellow in colour.
The sharing of this tradition between Christians and Muslims is thought to date back to at least the 12th century when Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
urged Muslims to adopt Christian customs in order to promote religious tolerance in the region. Anne Fuller sees in it "that ancient Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
belief that the living as well as the dead form a single community."
Salim Tamari
Salim Tamari
Salim Tamari is the director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and is an associate professor of sociology at Birzeit University, near Ramallah in the West Bank. Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, has called Tamari "the preeminent Palestinian historical...
places Thursday of the Dead three days before Easter Sunday (coinciding with Holy Thursday) and the day after Job's Wednesday (Arabic: Arba'at Ayyub), a quasi-religious mawsim (or seasonal festival) for Muslim peasants involving rituals at the sea.
In letters Lieutenant General Sir Charles Warren
Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of Temple Mount...
wrote while in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1901, he said the day took place "in Spring, about the Greek Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
," and marked the culmination of seven consecutive Thursdays of wailing over the dead. A 1948 article in The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society places the day's commemoration at fourteen days before the Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
of the Eastern church. An important day that is popular among women, the article says, "The visiting of the dead is in most cases very superficial, and the time is actually spent in good company out." The carrying of dyed eggs by the women of Jerusalem on their afternoon visits to cemeteries on Thursday of the Dead is noted by Morgenstern, who also writes that the day formed part of djum'et al-amwat ("week of the dead").
Frederick Jones Bliss
Frederick Jones Bliss
Frederick Jones Bliss was an American archaeologist. After training under Flinders Petrie in Egypt, Bliss became involved with the Palestine Exploration Fund working in the field of Biblical archaeology at the site of Tell el-Hesi between 1894 and 1897, while cuncurrently leading an expedition...
' lecture on religions of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Palestine in 1912 noted that Thursday of the Dead formed a part of Muslim mourning
Mourning
Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate...
practices: "The cemetery may be visited every Thursday after the death occurs and then annually on the Thursday of the dead." The practice of distributing food to the needy by the family of the deceased at the tomb site which begins immediately after their death is considered rahmy ("mercy"), and according to the 1892-1893 Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund
Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society often simply known as the PEF. It was founded in 1865 and is still functioning today. Its initial object was to carry out surveys of the topography and ethnography of Ottoman Palestine with a remit that fell somewhere between an expeditionary...
, this practice would continue through until the first Thursday of the Dead after the person's passing.
In Buarij, Portrait of a Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Muslim Village (1961), Fuller lists Thursday of the Dead as one of a series of springtime rituals there, preceded by Thursday of the Animals and Thursday of the Plants, and followed by Thursday of the Jumping.
Today
Commemorations of the day are less commonly observed throughout the region today, though the stamped cakes of bread continue to be distributed on the Thursday and Monday following the death of a family member and during the Easter season.In the Syrian city of Homs
Homs
Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
, Thursday of the Dead is still commemorated in the same way. Many there now prefer to call it "Thursday of Sweetness", since the purchase of sweets by women and their distribution to children and the poor is seen as a double act of "sweetness".
See also
- Day of the DeadDay of the DeadDay of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
- Feast of Saint GeorgeFeast of Saint GeorgeThe Feast of Saint George is a Palestinian holiday commemorating Saint George . The feast occurs annually on 5 May, and although it is originally a local Christian holiday, both Palestinian Christians and Muslims participate...
- Nabi MusaNabi MusaNabi Musa is the name of a site in the Judean desert that popular Palestinian folklore associates with Moses. It is also the name of a seven-day long religious festival that was celebrated annually by Palestinian Muslims, beginning on the Friday before Good Friday in the old Orthodox Greek calendar...
- Pentecontad calendarPentecontad calendarThe Pentecontad Calendar is a unique agricultural calendar system thought to be of Amorite origin in which the year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days , with an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days...