h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Probably right. I used to love a good old English fry up but when the temp is hovering around 30 degC they don't taste as good.

At least in Winter the days are shorter, so you're not without food for as long.

TRiG.

'Have a good bow-up...sorry blow out...'

<>

wouldn't it corrolate more to easter???

a celebration after a month of going without

just like the 40 days of lent???

Yeah, but there are other factors that say Fitr is more like Christmas: there's lots of commercialisation and excessive consumption, presents and new clothes are given out, it focuses on one day and it's generally seen as the second-most important celebration in Islam (some Shias might see things differently, citing Ashura as more important than Eid ul-Fitr).

Adha is seen as more fundamental to the basis of Islam - Abraham was prepared to submit to Allah, just as all good Muslims should submit to Allah - as Easter is more fundamental to the basis of Christianity than Christmas. Like Easter, al-Adha is celebrated over a couple of days and tends to be more private and less ostentatious and they both commemorate a sacrifice that ultimately didn't happen.

fair enough, i was just drawing comparisons with the fasting period before hand, as lent used to be a time of fasting and has been downgraded to a sort of 2nd chance new years resolution

Interesting. Does Lent predate Christianity? i.e. what were the pagans doing in the lead up to Eostre?

lent was the time in the bible when hey-sus fasted in the desert for 4o days and nights, then had hallucinations about Satan at the end

I would say Lent does predate Christianity in that Jews observe the Holy Day of Yom_Kippur which is a days worth of fasting, praying, repentence. They don't cock about doing it over weeks they just sort it all out in one day...of course, they do sit on their hands during the Sabbath every week so they probably think another day of not doing much is enough...

That bit really rocked in Last Temptation.

Jewish people also have a restricted diet during Hannukah.

Little-known fact about Yom Kippur (when Jews ask forgiveness from God): the day before is called E'rev Yom Kippur when you have to ask for forgiveness from your fellow man. You've got to be at peace with other people before you can ask for God's forgiveness. Other religions could do with learning that.

There is also the fact that Eid ul-Fitr is the celebration of the end of Ramadan, whereas Lent is just the lead-up to Easter. The emphasis is on a different part of the ritual.