Spring Break
Religious observations
Aggies celebrate Yom Kippur, Dussehra
By: Calli Turner
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: News
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Yom Kippur is the last of the High Holy Days. It began at sundown Wednesday and will end when the sun sets Thursday. The High Holy Days began with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
"Basically, you're atoning for your sins," said Renee Pirrong, a junior economics major. "You go up to the people you have sinned against and you ask for forgiveness."
Yom Kippur is from the nine of Tishrei to the 10 of Tishrei in the Jewish calendar. This 10-day period is also known as the Days of Awe and the Ten Days of Repentance.
Yom Kippur is marked by spending the day in prayer; forgoing food, drink and work; and repenting for misdeeds of the past year.. Abstaining from the pleasure of food is meant to improve one's ability to focus on repentance. The Yom Kippur fast is a 25-hour fast that begins before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ends after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur.
"We fast, which cleanses your body," Pirrong said, "and you feed yourself spiritually so you're denying yourself food."
India Goldsmith, a freshman education major, said she will attend food services at the synagogue with her family when sundown signals the breaking of the fast as Yom Kippur ends.
Jews attend temple services throughout the holiday, but Goldsmith said she attends once or twice because she is a Reform Jew, the dominant branch of Judaism in the United States.
She said some students skip class for the holiday, but she does not.
"It's a day where you're supposed to focus on yourself and forgiving each other," Goldsmith said.
Dussehra is a popular Hindu festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama. Dussehra also symbolises the triumph of warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. It is the culmination of Navratri, a nine-night festival.
Fast is observed by devotees during all the nine days of Navratri.
Mansi Gaitonde, a junior biomedical science major and member of the Hindu Students Council, said Hindus pray to three goddesses during Navrati. The goddess that is prayed to during Dussehra, and the two days prior, is Saraswati.
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