A special day

This Friday, March 21, is special not only because it is both Human Rights Day and Good Friday, but also because it has significance in a range of different religions.

Human Rights Day is the day on which South Africans celebrate the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution. Initially March 21 was known as Sharpeville Day, to commemorate the police killing of 69 people and wounding 180 during a protest against the pass laws in Sharpeville in 1960.

The pass laws regulated the lives of Africans in South Africa and required all Africans to carry a passbook which could be demanded to be seen by police at any time.

But this year, Human Rights Day will probably be overshadowed by Good Friday celebrations. Good Friday is the day on which Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary. It is also the start of the Easter weekend, ending on Easter Monday, the day Jesus is believed to have resurrected.

However, March 21 this year also has special significance for Jews and Buddhist and devotees of the Baha’i faith and Hare Krsna, among others.

Jews celebrate Purim on Friday. Purim celebrates the rescue of Jews in ancient Persia and celebrations begin at sunset the previous evening already.

The Baha’i community celebrates Naw Ruz, a Persian national festival which celebrates the Iranian New Year. Naw Ruz is not exclusive to one religious group, unlike most other festivals in Iran. Naw Ruz begins on the first day of Spring and lasts for 13 days. It is a time for renewal and joy.

March 21 this year is also one of about 30 New Year’s days for Hindus in India. The day signifies an auspicious new beginning. For many Hindus, New Year falls on the first day of the lunar month of Chaitra in the National Indian Calendar. Chaitra begins on March 22 and March 21 if it is a leap year.

Some Hindus, particularly in Northern India, celebrate the Festival of Colour on March 21 this year. This festival marks the beginning of Spring with a deluge of colour and various social classes are encouraged to interact with each other.

The day is also significant for Hare Krsna devotees, who celebrate Guara Purnima, the birth date of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Hare Krsna devotees believe Lord Mahaprabhu is Lord Krsna incarnate who appeared on earth more than 500 years ago.

Buddhist also celebrate Magha Puja Day or Sangha Day. This day, to celebrate the teachings of Buddha, is normally celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month (March which is also known as Magha).

These are but some of the religious celebrations linked to March 21 that I could gauge from a quick search of the internet and trawling through some reference books.

And of course, Fridays are also special for Muslims because of the Jumm’a prayer which occurs at around midday.

It is because of all of these factors that the Cape Town Festival decided this year to turn our annual Human Rights Day concert into a spiritual music concert. Our dilemma was: how do we celebrate our human rights while still respecting various religious beliefs.

Our motto is One City, Many Cultures — after the project that I started when I was still at the Cape Times — which promotes greater interaction between the different religions and cultures in the city. The festival was, of course, born out of this project.

Friday’s concert, which will be held at the Company’s Garden from 12 noon until 6pm, will showcase a range of music and dance from various religions, culminating in a performance by the double Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir.

We are mindful of the fact that we need to be respectful — especially of the Good Friday celebrations — because of the large Christian community in the city. However, we saw this as a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to spiritual music from different religions.

So the programme will include traditional Indian dancing as well as other dancing, a performance of the Stabat Mater by the UK-based soprano Canto Lyrico, a musical performance by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and blessings by a host of religious leaders.

We are confident that, in putting together this programme, we have found the balance between celebrating our human rights while being respectful towards religious activities.