Ten Religious Holidays Not Yet Exploited by Hallmark

In 1904, the U.S. government outlawed Sun Dance, disturbed by the self-torture aspects of the festival. Many American Indians continued to celebrate the holiday, however, without the skewering and puncturing element. In recent years, efforts have surfaced to revive more traditional forms of the holiday, which was formally made legal again with the passage of the American Indian Religion Freedom Act of 1978.

10. Judaism: Shavuot

For Jews, there's nothing more sacred than the Torah -- also known as the Five Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch. Whatever name you use, the Torah is the centerpiece of Jewish life, and at the center of that centerpiece are the Ten Commandments. According to the Bible (and the Charlton Heston movie), Moses revealed the Ten Commandments to the Israelites from atop Mt. Sinai, and that day came to be known as Shavuot, which falls in May or early June, depending on the lunar calendar. 
The name Shavuot literally means "weeks." That may seem like an arbitrary name, but it's actually a reference to the holiday that falls exactly seven weeks prior to Shavuot -- Passover, which marks the Hebrews' escape from slavery in Egypt. After so much hardship, Jews believe receiving the Torah on Shavuot signals the completion of their transition from anonymous slaves to members of a full-fledged independent nation.

So why is Shavuot so little known outside traditional Jewish circles? It could be that the holiday lacks the kind of high-profile, evocative rituals that mark the better-known Jewish holidays, such as the Seder feasts at the beginning of Passover or the sounding of the shofar (ram's horn trumpet) during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But that's not to say Shavuot is without its own rituals. One primary Shavuot custom involves eating dairy foods (think cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake), a tasty, if cholesterol-raising, tradition that's been ascribed several different origins, including the scriptural use of milk as a metaphor for the Torah. On the more obvious side, many Jews use Shavuot as an opportunity to study the Torah. In fact, some stay up all night learning, reading, and teaching the scripture, all in anticipation of symbolically receiving the Torah anew on the holy day.

Michael Kress is managing editor at Beliefnet.com. His articles on religion and spirituality have appeared in Newsweek, Slate.com, Mental Floss, and several other publications.

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