Ethnic Calendar Related to Eating Goat Meat

Calendars in most cultures serve not only as a system for arranging time into days, weeks, and months, but also as a record of a culture's existence. Calendars offer cultures a means of "passing on" their legacy of traditions, both religious and secular. Events and individuals of significance are remembered and celebrated via calendars. These celebrations are often called festivals, or times of feasting, and they occur annually; thus the significance of calendars for the goat industry because these feast often include hearty consumption of goat meat.  

In the New York Metropolitan Area, the key specially consumer groups with a penchant for goat meat are defined in part by faith rather than race. These religious groups are: Christianity (Eastern and Western); Islam and Judaism. The first challenge a producer encounters when identifying these religion's celebrations is their occurrence which is based on the location of the Sun (solar) or the Moon (lunar) or a combination (Lunisolar). Western religious generally use a solar calendar; Eastern religions generally use a Lunar calendar. 

Christians use one of two calendars. The Julian (Eastern) calendar was established under the rule of Julius Ceasar and is based on a presumed length of the solar year (the time it takes the earth to make one revolution around the Sun). Ceasar's advisors calculated the Solar year to be 365.25 days long; thus, the calendar year of 365 days and a 366 day leap year. However, the Solar year is slightly less than 365.25 days long, the Julian year being approximately 11 1/4 minutes longer than the Solar year. 

In 1582, the Julian calendar wday and Ashore is a remembrance of the Martyrdom of Mohammed's grandsons. 

The following is a list of important Islamic dates: 

Islamic Holidays through 2001: Ramadan (30 days of Fasting) 

February 1, 1995

January 10, 1997

December 31, 1997

December 20, 1998

December 9, 1999

November 27, 2000

id al Fitr: The Festival of the Breaking of the Fast

March 3, 1995

February 20, 1996

February 8, 1997

January 29, 1998

January 19, 1999

January 8, 2000

December 27, 2000

id al Adha: The Festival of Sacrifice

(sheep, goats, and camels are offered as sacrifices to Adha)

May 10, 1995

April 28, 1996

April 17, 1997

April 7, 1998

March 28, 1999

March 16, 2000

March 5, 2001

For future dates, producers may contact Dar'adh-Dhikr Mosque, 4323 Rosedale Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 

The Jewish calendar has both Lunar and Solar aspects, but is primarily Lunar. However, since the Solar year exceeds the Lunar year by 11.25 days, one month is added to the cycle of the calendar approximately every 3 year. Thus, the Jewish common year has 353 to 355 days and the leap year (which has 13 months) has 383 to 385 days. Jewish holidays celebrate historical events of importance to the Jewish people and begin at sunset of the first day. 

The Jewish faith has a strict set of dietary laws called the "Kashrutt", commonly referred to as Kosher. Kosher meat may come only from cloven-hoofed (split hoofed) animals such as cows, sheep, and goats. Market weight is not as important as the animals health at slaughter. A Rabbi checks the animals to see if they are free of disease because animals must be in the best of health to be passed as Kosher. 

Meat consumption tends to increase during all Jewish holidays. There are very strict periods of fasting and celebrating (eating). The following three Jewish holidays are of particular importance. 

Rosh Hashanah: New years celebration lasts two days.

September 24, 1995

September 13, 1996

October 1, 1997

September 20, 1998

September 10, 1999

September 29, 2000

September 17, 2001

September 6, 2002

September 26, 2003

September 15, 2004

October 3, 2005