Carnival - Eilat Interfaith Encounter on 17th March 2008:

On March 17th, 2008 the Eilat Interfaith Encounter group met to discuss the theme of "Carnivals" in all religions.

In all cultures – it is a day of going out of the routine. Usually the aim is to become free from constrains.

The Shiites have the self-whipping custom of the Ashura which serves the same goal of freeing for the sake of religion.

In Judaism – only in the Book of Esther there is a trace of carnival.

The source is in Greece – the god of drinking Dionysus – Pan. The feasts of drinking were fixed for these gods. The feast of Dionysus was transformed into the Roman Bacchus. A festival in the end of winter in which people wore costumes and went wild.

In the Catholic world the carnival developed. In the middle ages the Church explained the word as Carne Vale – leaving the flesh. Carnival occurs on the first of the 40 days of mourning for Jesus. The best known carnivals are in Catholic countries.
The mask – is a transformation of the personality as well as hiding it.

The Book of Esther includes also descriptions of the Persian Kingdom. The whole story takes place in the exile and we have no other testimonies about it.


(Back to Reports)