Bairam

Bairam, the Persian and Turkish name for a Mohammedan festival somewhat analogous to Easter. It commences immediately after the fast of Ramadan, or Ramazan, which corresponds in its abstinence to Lent. Being one of the two great feasts of the Moslems, it is looked forward to with great interest, the zest being enhanced by the previous abstinence. Properly, it should terminate in one day, but the festivities are generally protracted over three days. Seventy days after, the Moslems celebrate the second Bairam ('the festival of the sacrifices'), instituted in commemoration of the offering up of Isaac by Abraham, and on which all the faithful of Islam must sacrifice victims. The second Bairam usually lasts four days. The Mohammedan year being the lunar one of 354 days, in the course of thirty-three years the festivals run through all the seasons. In 1887 the first Bairam fell on the 23d June.