Dhu al-Hijjah

Today is the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar. I must confess that I had always thought of it as just the hajj month, but as Maryam notes, there's a lot more to it than that. Incidentally, this and Ramadan are also my answers to those who think the Christmas season shouldn't start until well into December. Yeah, we can discuss the problem of commercialization and materialism, but having a month set aside for one of the holiest times of the year is no problem in my book.