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Lag B'Omer festival: What is it about?

AFP Jewish people celebrate Lag B'Omer in Djerba, Tunisia (file photo)AFP
The festival is marked around the Jewish world, including here in Djerba, Tunisia

The disaster in which dozens of people were killed in a crush at a holy site in Israel happened as they marked the Jewish festival of Lag B'Omer.

While the tens of thousands who were at the event were predominantly ultra-Orthodox, Lag B'Omer is a festival which is celebrated by all manner of Jewish communities around the world.

The festival itself commemorates two historical events according to Jewish tradition: the passing of revered Second Century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who ordained that the anniversary of his death be a time of rejoicing at his life; and the end of a plague which killed some 24,000 students of another great rabbi, Akiva Ben Yosef (who lived around the same time as Bar Yochai).

The deadly crush took place at the tomb of Bar Yochai in Meron, northern Israel, considered one of the holiest Jewish sites in the country. It is a place of pilgrimage especially on Lag B'Omer, where tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and around the world gather to say prayers and celebrate through the night.

AFP Girls watch a bonfire in Netanya, Israel (29/04/21)AFP
Bonfires are one of the most common traditions associated with the festival

The day of celebration and special customs follows a 32-day period of semi-mourning for the deaths of the Akiva's students and, according to some beliefs, the negative traits which may have brought about their suffering. During these weeks, observant Jews refrain from pleasurable or joyous activities including weddings, haircuts or listening to music.

On the 33rd day - Lag B'Omer - the restrictions end and the day becomes one of the most festive in the Jewish calendar. Weddings are held, as Lag B'Omer is considered an auspicious day to get married; in observant communities three-year-old boys have their first haircut (known as an upsherin); and people come together to sing, dance and hold parties (and in some places street parades, including a huge one in New York).

Lag B'Omer celebrations are particularly associated with bonfires, said to have a mystical significance. A big one is lit at the tomb of Shimon Bar Yochai. So many take place across Israel that councils have taken to issuing restrictions and the fire service has one of its busiest nights of the year.