462 festivals: Africa tated by the cycle of the seasons, and even in warmer climates, cycles of flooding and dry seasons dictated many activities Thus, many festivals were held to celebrate such events as the solstice in spring and fall and the equinox in summer and winter Because many early calendars were structured according to the moon and its phases, many festivals were held in conjunction with a new moon Major life events, such as the initiation of children into the adult community, were also a cause for celebration and festivals Some early harvest festivals in the fall evolved into Halloween, and the roots of many modern-day Christmastime celebrations extend back to ancient winter festivals The beginning of May, when warmer weather signaled the opportunity to start planting, was also a common time for festivals Many ancient festivals had religious motivations Just as people were dependent on the cycles of nature, so, too, they believed that their fates depended on the will of the gods It is no surprise, then, that many ancient festivals were organized and run by priests and religious leaders to give honor to a particular god or group of gods or to celebrate events in the community’s shared mythological history Some festivals, for example, were motivated by the desire for fertility as a way of ensuring the continuity of the community, so people set aside time to pay homage to a fertility goddess In some cultures, such as that of ancient Mesopotamia, the purpose was to demonstrate the divine right to rule of kings by structuring the festival to show the role of kings as intermediaries with the gods Throughout much of the world these gods and goddesses were local; that is, a particular deity might have been worshiped only in a local community rather than throughout the larger region Festivals served other purposes as well Much as they in the 21st century, they gave workers time off from labor, and they brought people together to help them forge a sense of community By allowing behavior that would otherwise be frowned on (such as drunkenness), they served as a social safety valve, giving people a chance to “blow off steam.” Just as in modern life festivals are often held in connection with sports and the arts, so, too, were festivals held in connection with sporting events in ancient Rome, and Greece was the source of the Olympic Games Theater was also a time for festivities, with theatrical festivals held in ancient Greece and the Americas AFRICA BY ROBERT SHANAFELT In the ancient world festivals were generally special occasions for celebration and public commemoration of particular deities or religious ideals based on the calendar and the season of the year Ancient Egypt had numerous festivals; less is known about ancient festivals in other African traditions, though the celebration of Jewish and Christian festivals in Africa goes back to antiquity In all cases, it can be difficult to tell the precise origins of religious festivals because they involve sacred myths and oral traditions where other sources of objective evidence may be lacking In many instances, historians have to extrapolate backward from modern African festivals to their ancient roots A good example is Kwanzaa, a modern African celebration that takes place during the Christmas season in the West Kwanzaa is thought by some to be a replacement for the Christian traditions of Christmas, but this belief is incorrect Kwanzaa is, in fact, a harvest festival, as reflected in the Swahili origin of the name, matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits of the harvest.” Thus, Kwanzaa is a seasonal celebration that has been practiced by Africans for thousands of years Ethiopia’s Timkat festival, which has deep roots in tradition, is one festival about which much is known Although it is a celebration of the Christian holiday of Epiphany (January 6), at which time the three kings brought presents to the newborn Jesus, it is also connected to the belief that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the guardian of Judaism’s Ark of the Covenant, the chest that holds the Ten Commandments The belief is that the ark is hidden at the site of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, built over the ruins of a temple constructed by the ancient Axumite kingdom While a great deal of uncertainty surrounds the fate of the ark, many people believe that it was stolen from the temple in Jerusalem by Menelik, the son of Axum’s most famous historical figure, the Queen of Sheba, and deposited at the remote Christian outpost During this festival thousands of white-clad worshippers parade through the streets carrying crosses as well as replicas of the holy object History, tradition, and sacred myth also come together in the annual Olójó festival held in the Nigerian city of Ilé-Ifè Although historians date the origin of the city to later times, in Yoruba traditional accounts the world actually began at Ilé-Ifè, and the city continues to be at its center As it is practiced in contemporary times, the Olójó festival is a festival of renewal, in which the king renews the power of the god of war and the goddess of wealth and fertility The ceremony is highlighted by a ritual procession led by the Ooni, or king, of IléIfè and his entourage The two end points of the procession are the shrines to the divinities, where offerings are made to ensure the political and economic well-being of the people A number of contemporary black African peoples claim Jewish decent They practice Jewish customs, including Jewish rituals such as circumcision, which are traditionally celebrated during community festivals Until recently, these claims were often not taken literally and certainly not thought to represent genetic realities that go back to antiquity However, genetic evidence is starting to validate at least some of these claims For example, a certain lineage of the Lemba of South Africa has been shown to descend from the Cohen ancestral line, the Kohanim, a line of descent traditionally ascribed to Jewish priests In Ethiopia a group called Beta Israel also trace their roots to Judaism They lived with their traditions for hundreds of years, but thousands immigrated to Israel in the 1980s The Jewish feast days and festi-