Definition

1. Noun:
   • A festival having religious significance: A religious festival is a special day or period of celebration, often a public holiday, that is centered around and honors the beliefs, deities, saints, or sacred events of a particular religion.

Usage

• The term "religious festival" is used to describe organized, communal celebrations that are integral to the practice and cultural expression of a faith.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • Eid al-Fitr is a major religious festival for Muslims.
  • The city streets were decorated for the upcoming religious festival.
  • Many religious festivals involve specific rituals, prayers, and shared meals.

Advanced Usage

• "to observe a religious festival": To celebrate or commemorate a religious festival according to its traditional customs.
  • The community will observe the religious festival with a day of prayer and fasting.

Variants and Related Words

• Feast day (n): A day dedicated to a particular saint or religious mystery, often celebrated as a festival.
  • St. Patrick's Day is both a cultural event and a religious feast day.
• Holy day (n): A day of religious significance, often marked by cessation from work and special observances; a religious festival can be a holy day.
  • Yom Kippur is a solemn holy day in Judaism.

Synonyms

• Feast: A day or period of celebration, typically for religious reasons.
• Festival: A day or period of celebration, which can be religious or secular.

Related Phrases

• Religious observance: An act of ceremony performed in accordance with religious law or custom, which can be part of a festival.
  • The religious observance included lighting candles at the temple.

Related Idioms

• "High holy day": A term often used to refer to the most important religious festivals in a faith, such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in Judaism.
  • During the high holy days, the synagogue is filled with worshippers.

Noun

1. a festival having religious significance