Festivals

We area multicultural and multifaith community where many religious and secular festivals will be of importance to different members of the community across the year.

Whilst it is important that schools mark these times, it is also important to understand that the level of involvement of non-believers in any festival must not compromise the beliefs of that individual, eg by expecting students in schools to act a part in a drama that they find conflicts with their own religious beliefs.

Festivals celebrated by members of the community or the school will provide many opportunities to help everyone to develop connections between:

faiths
festivals
key figures
places
stories
and symbols

As they talk about the story associated with each festival and the way in which the festival is celebrated, children connect festivals to their faith context.

For example it is important that right from the start young children learn that Christmas is a Christian festival celebrated by Christians.

Schools need to be aware of differences in cultural influences on social and festival times, for example not all Muslims will celebrate the Id / Eid festivals on the same day as they will obtain their information about when the festival is to begin from different religious sources.

This does not mean that some are right and others wrong.

In many Christian non-denominational protestant churches, individual congregations may have periods of prayer and fasting that may last of:

a weekend
a week
or a fortnight.

These will not fit into traditional patterns of festivals but rather reflect the dynamism of a specific local church or group of churches.

These fasts will often include nightly meetings and final celebratory events.

If schools are aware of the religious communities represented within their community, it may be possible to ensure, whenever possible, that events in the school diary do not clash with days of significant religious importance to students or staff in the school.

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Further Information

Community Participation Officer
Children and Young People’s Service
Tel 020 8489 3884
Email faith@haringey.gov.uk

Attached Files
Filename	Filetype	Size
bahai holy days.pdf	PDF	225K
buddhism holy days.pdf	PDF	214K
christianity holy days.pdf	PDF	261K
hinduism holy days.pdf	PDF	219K
islam holy days.pdf	PDF	232K
judaism holy days.pdf	PDF	242K
seventh-day adventist holy days.pdf	PDF	207K
sikhism holy days.pdf	PDF	216K
all festivals.pdf	PDF	502K
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