LA TOMATINA- A BATTLE FOUGHT WITH TOMATOES

I am sure you must have at least once in your life thrown eggs , tomatoes, coins etc in a show to hoot the performer or might have enjoyed others doing the same or had watched people smashing cakes on each others face in a party but if not than you should definitely visit Bunyol in Spain & join the natives in La Tomatina .

La Tomatina is an event in which people hit each other with ripe tomatoes , it is celebrated on the last Wednesday of August every year at Bunyol since 1945.La Tomatina is a part of the 7 day feast which is carried out in Bunyol & the tomato fight is held on the 7th day of the feast from 11 am to 1.00 pm. The La Tomatina is world famous event & thousands of tourist attain the event thereby doubling the enjoyment of the natives of Bunyol.

Before the tomato fight begin a ham is placed upon a a large, greased pole & the tomato fight can begin only when someone is able to climb to the top and bring it down. People struggle against each other, climbing atop one another, in order to be the one to pull down the ham. With this victory, a canon is fired in the air & the tomato-throwing begins.Around 1.00 pm a cannon is again fired to stop the throwing of tomatoes.

The enthusiasts of the events have to obey some rules such as they have to squash the tomato before throwing on others , cannot use bottle or glass item to hit others , the participants should wear gloves & goggles etc.After the event is over the participants head towards Bunyol river to clean themselves & the streets are also cleaned .

So if you are a tomato lover & haven’t visited Spain yet than plan a trip to Bunyol in August & join the world famous LaTomatina…….a battle fought with tones of tomatoes.

JEWISH FESTIVAL-PASSOVER

Jews celebrate a festival named PASSOVER. It is a festival of freedom of the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage that took place approximately 3,300 years ago, according to the first 15 chapters of the biblical Book of Exodus.The story behind naming the festival as Passover is as follows.

The great grandson of Abraham -Joseph & the Hebrew people moved to Egypt & started dwelling there as the Pharaoh was in favor of Joseph , however as the time passed & with the arrival of new Pharaoh , the Hebrews were enslaved & were forced to work in the fields etc.

The plight of Hebrews in Egypt further deteriorated when the Pharaoh passed the rule that all the male infants born to Hebrew women will be put to death.The Pharaoh started this brutal practice because the population of Hebrews had increased in Egypt & the Pharaoh was feeling insecurity.

A Hebrew woman delivered a baby boy & she hid the baby till she could from the soldiers of the Pharaoh . One day she kept the baby in a basket & placed it in the Nile river in order to spare the baby's life. However the baby was found and pulled from the water by none other than the daughter of Pharaoh. She called him "Moses" meaning "pulled from the water".

Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses & raised him as her own. His true mother became his nurse. Only as an adult did Moses discover his Hebrew roots. In an effort to protect the Hebrew slaves, with whom he now identified, Moses killed an Egyptian taskmaster. Afraid of the reaction of the Pharaoh, Moses fled Egypt to a distant land.

Moses got married & settled in a foreign land .One day Moses saw a burning bush, from which he heard the voice of God. God ordered Moses to return to Egypt and free Hebrews from Slavery.Moses returned to Egypt & demanded the emancipation of the Hebrews, but Pharaoh refused. God then intervened, demonstrating His great power by causing ten plagues to fall upon Egypt.The water of the Nile turned to blood and then frogs, lice, cattle diseases, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts and darkness descended upon the Egyptians.

The final plague was the death of all first born Egyptians. The Hebrews were instructed to mark their door posts with lamb's blood so that the angel of death would "pass over" the homes of the Hebrews and strike only the Egyptians .That's why the Jewish festival of freedom is known as Passover.

After witnessing the death of many Egyptians the Pharaoh released the Hebrew slaves. The Hebrews, in a hurry to leave Egypt, prepared dough for bread, but did not have time to let it rise. Therefore they ate unleavened bread, which is known today as matza.

After the Hebrews left Egypt, the Pharaoh suddenly regretted his decision and sent his army to capture them and bring them back to Egypt. The Egyptians chased the Hebrews to a sea. When they reached the sea, God created a great wind which parted the waters, allowing the Hebrews to cross. As the Egyptian army chased them, God closed the waters & the Egyptians were drowned.

This mythological story reveals about Moses & Hebrew people , also it suggest the importance of the festival Passover which marks the freedom of Slavery of Hebrews in Egypt.