Chag HaBanot

Culture of origin: Jewish · Cultural

Holiday sources: Israel · Judaism

Chag HaBanot, the Festival of the Daughters, is kept by some Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, which always falls during Hanukkah. It is tied to the story of Judith, who tricked and killed the invading general Holofernes, and to other heroic women of Jewish history. It was best preserved in Tunisia, and was also known in Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Istanbul and Thessaloniki.