Editing Jewish holidays (section)

===Ethnic holidays===
{{Main|Mimouna|Seharane|Sigd}}
The Israeli government officially recognizes three traditional holidays of ethnic Jewish communities in Israel. These days are also observed by their respective communities outside Israel.
* ''Mimouna'' began as a holiday among [[Moroccan Jews]], while similar celebrations also exist among [[Turkish Jews]] and [[Persian Jews]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sephardic Passover Customs and Traditions For Pesach|url=https://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/sephardicpassovercustoms.html|publisher=Elimelech David Ha-Levi Web|website=[[Angelfire]]|access-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref> These festivals are observed on the [[isru chag|day after Passover]], when the eating of ordinary food ("chametz") resumes. In Israel, the observance of Mimouna has spread widely in recent years; it has been estimated that up to two million Jews who live in Israel now participate in Mimouna celebrations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Une fête peu connue en Europe, La Mimouna|url=http://www.harissa.com/news/article/une-f%C3%AAte-peu-connue-en-europe-la-mimouna|website=Harissa.com|access-date=July 22, 2013|language=fr|date=March 25, 2013}}</ref>
: On the evening concluding Passover,<ref group=Note>When this is Friday night in Israel, the celebration is deferred until after Shabbat.</ref> the celebration centers on visiting the homes of friends and neighbors, Jewish and non-Jewish. A variety of traditional foods are served, and symbols which represent good luck and prosperity are prominently displayed. The next day, barbecues and picnics are among the most widespread activities of the celebration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/Mimouna/Mimounah+Customs.htm|title=Mimouna Customs|publisher=[[Jewish Agency for Israel]]|website=www.jafi.org.il|year=2011|access-date=22 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528021137/http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/Mimouna/Mimounah+Customs.htm|archive-date=May 28, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* The ''Seharane'' was celebrated by [[Kurdish Jews]] as a multi-day nature festival starting the day after Passover. Communities would leave their villages and camp out for several days, celebrating with eating and drinking, nature walks, singing and dancing. 
: Its observance was interrupted after the [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|relocation of this community to Israel in the 1950s]]. In recent years it has been revived. But because of the already-widespread celebration of Mimouna in Israel, the celebration of the Seharane was moved to ''[[Chol HaMoed]]'' [[Sukkot]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Seharane|url=http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/The+Seharane.htm|publisher=The Jewish Agency for Israel|website=jafi.org.il|access-date=July 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017205645/http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/The+Seharane.htm|archive-date=October 17, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 
* The ''Sigd'' began among the [[Beta Israel]] ([[Ethiopia]]n) community as a variation of the observance of Yom Kippur. Currently [[Ethiopian Jews in Israel|that community]] now observes it in addition to Yom Kippur; its date is 29 [[Heshvan]], 49 days after Yom Kippur. It shares some features of Yom Kippur, Shavuot, and other holidays.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Ethiopian Sigd|url=http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/sigd.htm|publisher=The Jewish Agency for Israel|access-date=July 22, 2013|url-status=dead|website=www.jafi.org.il|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017211045/http://www.jafi.org.il/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/sigd.htm|archive-date=October 17, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
: The Sigd is modeled on a ceremony of fasting, study and prayer described in Nehemiah 8, when the Jews rededicated themselves to religious observance on return to Israel after the [[Babylonian exile]].<ref>''Hebrew Bible'' {{bibleref|Nehemiah|8|HE}}</ref> In Ethiopia, the community would gather on a mountaintop and pray for a return to Jerusalem. The modern Sigd is centered on a promenade overlooking the [[Old City of Jerusalem]]. The day's observance ends with a celebratory [[break fast]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Afsai|first=Shai|title=The Sigd Festival comes home to Jerusalem|url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-Sigd-Festival-comes-home-to-Jerusalem|access-date=July 22, 2013|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=December 12, 2012}}</ref>