Mimouna

A table set with traditional foods and symbols of the holiday. The dish in the center is Mofletta.

Mimouna (Hebrew: מימונה‎ Arabic: ميمونة‎) is a colorful traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover. It marks the start of spring and the return to eating chametz, i.e., leavened bread and bread by-products, which are forbidden throughout the week of Passover.

Origin of name

Some believe the source of the name is Maimon, the father of the Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, and the Mimouna marks the date of his birth or death.^[1]

Recent research by Yigal Bin-Nun provides another point of view, suggesting that Mimouna is a relic of a paganism ritual to "Lady Luck".^[2] Mimouna is also the name for the seasonal change and its festival in tribal languages in northern Mali and Mauritania from which the custom may also have originated.^{[citation needed]}

Customs

The celebration begins after nightfall on the last day of Passover. Moroccan and Algerian Jews throw open their homes to visitors, after setting out a lavish spread of traditional holiday cakes and sweetmeats. One of the holiday favorites is Mofletta.^[1] The table is also laid with various symbols of luck and fertility, with an emphasis on the number "5," such as five pieces of gold jewelry or five beans arranged on a leaf of pastry.^[2]

In Israel, the Mimouna has become a popular annual happening featuring outdoor parties, picnics and BBQs. After settling in Israel, Jewish immigrants from North Africa (Maghrebim) celebrated the Mimouna with their families. In 1966, it was introduced as a national holiday, and has been adopted by other ethnic groups, mainly in the Mizrahi sector.^[3]

In 2006, the Moroccan Jewish community of Paris, France, celebrated the holiday publicly for the first time.

The festival has been celebrated by Amsterdam's Moroccan Jewish community for many years.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mimouna Customs". Jewish Agency for Israel. 2011. http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Jewish+Time/Festivals+and+Memorial+Days/Mimouna/Mimounah+Customs.htm. Retrieved 21 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Bin-Nun, Yigal (8 April 2007). "Lady Luck: In Morocco, Mimouna was a feast day designed to appease a local she-devil, and contained no religious components. In Israel, however, its pagan origins have been ignored". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/lady-luck-1.217597. Retrieved 21 June 2011. 
3. ^ "Mimouna in Israel". Jewish Agency for Israel. 2011. http://www.jafi.org.il/education/festivls/pesach/mimouna.html. Retrieved 21 June 2011. 

External links

• History of the Moroccan Jews(French)
• Stichting Maimon (Dutch)
• "Moroccan Jews Feast At Passover's End, But The Younger Generation Has Disappeared From The Party" Infolive.tv