Israel's Special Celebrations and Events
Since the area is mainly Jewish, observation of the Shabbat or Sabbath day is of great essence. While on Israel vacations as tourists travel Holy Land and the whole country, they may observe Jewish families celebrate the Sabbath day, which is every Friday of the week. The celebration of Shabbat could go with a special dinner. The meal should be formal and lighting of the Shabbat candles is done. Wine can also be served in the dinner.Since Sabbath is considered a holy day, religious people abstain themselves from work of any kind. This is effective from the onset of evening on Friday until the same time on the Saturday. This is the reason why Saturday"s lunch among Jews is slow-cooked. In Yemenite households, jachnun is served. In other families, cooking of cholent or chunt is done. This is a slow-cooked meal with meat, meat fats, beans, barley, potatoes, spices, all stewed in one pot. This method of cooking is observed in the whole day of Sabbath observation.
Some life-events like weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs (or debuts for other societies) are specially celebrated with foods to highlight the occasions. Jews usually invite a big number of people to share over an evening meal catered at gourmet degrees.
Meanwhile, funerals are celebrated with a religious rite requiring Jews to sit shiva for seven days following the death of their loved one. Foods during this special occasion are noted to be symbolization of life matters. Bread is the symbol for sustenance while circular-shaped foods like boiled eggs and lentils signify the continuation of life. Visitors coming to sit shiva during the funeral may also bring cake, casserole or pie.
Israeli and Palestinian traditions over foods in many occasions are similar to one another. This can be observed by the many tourists who may travel Holy Land and other regions during their Israel vacations.