Mehr was a goddess and symbol of a religious belief in Indo-Iranian culture associated with the creation of the world. Many from Iran look to their roots of this nature-based celebration with preparations already starting next month. The Mehregan Festival or the Persian Festival of Autumn is an ancient Persian fest which is dedicated to […]
Every Friday night religious Jews light candles for Shabbat, the Sabbath or Shabbos. Guest poster Debra A. Waldoks sends us this tip in “light” of Earth Day today. Jewish or not, consider the ramifications of earth-friendly candles. My husband called me out on it: He claims that I am “green” when it affects my personal […]
No this grandmother isn’t wearing a plant on her head! It’s a green halo. Some ideas for Mother’s, and Grandmother’s day. Image via robertivanc It’s hot on our tracks. Yet again Mother’s Day. The time to celebrate lovely mothers all over the globe. Are you tired of giving your mother the same old flowering potted […]
If you are Iranian, now is the time to celebrate the Spring holiday. Make the green holiday, greener. [image via: Hamed Saber] Spring is celebrated as a time of renewal and regrowth among many religions and cultures that originated in the Middle East. The Christian holiday, Easter, coincides with spring, as does the Jewish liberation […]
An impressive aerial shot of Israel’s garbage mountain – site of new ecological activity – for Passover.You’ve already begun your preparations for Passover – you’ve starting finishing up all the yeast (or hametz) in the house, you’ve thought of ways to avoid food waste during the holiday, you’ve bought local, handmade and green gifts for […]
Purim, one of the most colorful and popular holidays in Judaism (probably because it is a mitzva to get, ahem, inebriated), is coming up this Saturday evening. Colorful because it involves getting dressed up in costume, and popular because it’s fun to see everyone else’s creative costume ideas, eat delicious pastries, hear the story from […]
Ma’moul means “filled” or “stuffed” in Arabic, and these tender, crumbly pastries are stuffed with dates or nuts. Traditionally, they’re made in special wooden molds that imprint the pastry with individual designs – so you know if your ma’amoul is stuffed with walnuts, dates, or pistachios, without having to take a bite. People all over […]
New Year’s for the Trees, is about to be celebrated in Israel and by Jews everywhere. Some people like to plant trees, like this family. Over in the Holy Land, and the Jewish Diaspora, Jewish people are stock-piling dried fruit and nuts to welcome in one of four different new years celebrated each year. Starting […]
Latkehs! What is it with latkehs? They're brown, they're fried, they're potatoey and oniony and when you fry them, you have to open all the windows.
For Jews in Israel, there is probably no better time to reflect on one’s place in nature and the health of the environment than during Sukkot, the Festival of Booths or the Jewish harvest festival. When I lived in Jerusalem, I could see the small make-shift sukkahs (huts) erected everywhere outside my window – each […]
After a green Rosh Hashanah and a low carbon emission Yom Kippur, the next on the Jewish holiday marathon is Sukkot. Which can also be celebrated in an environmentally conscious way. We’ve already written about the annual Green Sukkah conference being held again this year at Kibbutz Ein Shemer, but if an all day conference […]
Yom Kippur, which starts tomorrow evening, is a time of reflection, atonement, and looking forward to the year ahead. It is also the only day of the year in Israel when everyone universally powers down – no cars are driven, no TV is broadcast, the radio waves are silent and no businesses are open. It […]
Eco-Jews are busy now celebrating Passover, while Christians in the Holy Land and the world over ready themselves for Easter. Iranians, we learn had their own celebrations this time of the year, coinciding with the vernal equinox on March 21. Iran’s political makeup and leadership may not be making many friends these days, but one […]
Purim, the Jewish holiday coming up this week, is a time for Jews to cut loose. Some people will drink until there is no tomorrow (until you have no idea of how drunk you really are). A lot of people forget that there are to-do mitzvahs associated with the Purim holiday. Green Prophet decided to […]