Festivals
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Najat Habash
X'MAS Eve
You'll never forget Christmas if you spend it here in Bakhdida. So many things and lots of stuff! It's amazing here at this holy time of the year. On Christmas Eve people in Bakhdida enjoy the Fire that is lit in the yard of the church of immaculate locally known TAHRA. Wild plants are collected ahead of the big celebration, a known family is devoted to gather the plants and anybody can volunteer for this task too. Big mass is held on X’MAS EVE and all children and crowds of people sing X’MAS carols. X’MAS
Christmas in Bakhdida is unforgettable, at midnight on X’MAS Eve people go to church to pray with their new clothes on. On Christmas day people visit each other and have special meals with their relatives and friends. Most people sacrifice animals, prepare X’MAS cookies locally known KLECHA; very special treat stuffed with walnut, coconut or dates. People of Bakhdida never skip their prayers at this time of the year, and pay visits to the holy family and especially make sure to visit baby Jesus at the cave in the back of the church of immaculate. Mar Karyakos
Mar Karyakos is actually ruins of a monastery located about a kilometer east of Bakhdida and lies amid agricultural fields. The monastery consists of three caves that are carved naturally in a hilly rock formed geologically of hardened pebbles. In the middle cave which is the largest stands what looks like an altar formed of piled stones. The altar is lit with candles by believers who visit it once a year on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. Offers are given for the needy people of Bakhdida, after prayers families picnic in the fields that surround the monastery.
Very special treat is prepared ahead of this day from wheat. The wheat is washed, soaked in salt water for three days and then dried in the direct sunlight. After it is completely dry the grains are roasted in special pan locally known SACH on the stove. Melon seeds are washed, salted, dried and roasted the same way as the wheat then mixed with the roasted wheat. The final treat is called (KITIKELIE) that has very delicious taste.
Palm Sunday
Holy Thursday
Holy Week is an incredible experience. From Palm Sunday, with its joyous procession, to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, people come together again and again to celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the eve of his passion and death, Jesus wanted to gather his Apostles around him once again to entrust his last instructions to them. So, while they are eating, Jesus rises from the table and begins to wash the disciples' feet. Also during the Supper, knowing that his hour had now come, Jesus blesses and breaks the bread, then gives it to the Apostles saying: "This is my body"; he does the same with the cup: "This is my blood". And he commands them: "Do this in remembrance of me". In Bakhdida big mass is held at the church of immaculate to commemorate what Jesus did with his disciples. It starts as an ordinary mass but includes a dramatic ritual of the washing and kissing the feet of twelve children.
Good Friday
During Lent; the period before Easter, every Friday evening a special church service is performed which re-enacts the different stages of Christ's progress to Calvary locally known DORA. These services end on Good Friday, when the cross is placed in a coffin and taken around the church. The cross is left in the coffin during Easter Saturday and the church is in mourning until the Easter Mass is held at midnight on Saturday or on Sunday morning. People fast during Lent and on Good Friday nobody eats any meat or animal products. Traditionally, in Bakhdida, the church of immaculate where the good Friday prayers are held all virgin Mary’s pictures are covered with black cloth as a symbol of her sorrow as well as a bitter drink is prepared from boiling local tree twigs and flowers. Later, on this morning the bell rings for inviting people to drink it as a symbol of the bitter drink that was offered for Jesus while on the cross.The cross is then wrapped in white fabric and kept in a coffin , and in the afternoon burial prayers are held
Easter Sunday
Jesus did not stay dead for long. Early Sunday morning, near sunrise, some disciples discovered that the Son had risen. They did not see the resurrection itself, but they saw Jesus, alive and well. Over a period of 40 days, they saw Jesus on numerous occasions then he rose into heaven. Traditionally, in Bakhdida people break their fast by eating colored Easter eggs that has been hard boiled the previous night. Clover plants and onion shells are used to color the eggs. Other local treats and special meals are prepared on this day.
New Sunday
On this day hundreds of Bakhdida children who had been previously preparing themselves to receive their first Holy Communion. Families and friends attend the big mass led by the archbishop in the church of immaculate for the grand celebration. After the mass the children and their families have meals with their loved ones.
Ascension Day
Ascension Day commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven following his crucifixion and resurrection. During the forty day period after his resurrection, Jesus preached and intermingled with his apostles and disciples. On this day people attend mass and celebrate it by splashing water at each other.
The Triumph of the Cross
The feast of The Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the victory that Our Lord accomplished through his death and resurrection. The cross is a mark of great suffering, but it is a horrific symbol which we adore because through it we have come to know the great love that Jesus has for us, and through the wounds that it inflicted, we have been healed. Traditionally, people attend mass and in the evening they lit fires in the streets of Bakhdida and decorate the exterior of their houses with outdoor lights.
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