Dr Musharef Hussain, the Chief Imam in the Karimia Institute in Nottingham, describes what is celebrated each year on 'the Night of Repentance' (Lailat-ul-bara'ah). Following the example of the Prophet, this is a night of prayer and fasting when Muslims often visit cemeteries and ask God for forgiveness.

Dr Musharraf Hussain, the Chief Imam in the Karimia Institute in Nottingham, describes what is celebrated each year on the anniversary of the Ascension of the Prophet (the Mí'raj). This recalls a miraculous trip one night when the Prophet was taken from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then was taken on a tour of heaven and hell. This festival is kept with a vigil of prayer and a recollection of the miraculous ascension.

St George is not only patron of England, but of several other countries and regions. He was an early Greek military saint, who was martyred at Lydda (now Lod / Tel Aviv Airport), and devotion to him is far more widespread in the East than in the West.

St Patrick is now almost synonymous with Ireland -- and his feastday on March 17 has become a great festival of 'being Irish' around the world. However, what we can learn about the man is markedly different: a Roman citizen from Britain working in Ireland and at odds with other bishops there about his belief that the end of the world was 'soon to come.' However, the seventh-century creation of the mythical Patrick by the theologian Muirchú is a fascinating example of how memory can shape experience.

Christianity, like almost every other religion, celebrates its beliefs over the course of the year -- moreover, each branch of Christianity constructs that year in slightly different ways and attached importance to the year with slightly different emphases. In this video, Dr Andreopoulos gives an overview of how Greek Christians view the liturgical year.

How did the festival of Halloween -- literally the 'Eve of All Hallows Day' -- which is celebrated on 31 October enter the Christian calendar? And how has it gained a new popularity today when its Christian roots are all but forgotten? These are the questions examined in this video.

August 6 is a festival for Christians in both the east and the west recalling the event narrated in the gospels when Jesus's 'face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light' (Matthew 17:1-8 // Mark 9:2-8 // Luke 9:28-36). This is a far more important feast in the Orthodox Churches and so we have an Orthodox theologian, Dr Andreas Andreopoulos, introducing the festival.

25 March is an important Christian feast known as 'the annunciation' [of the angel to Mary that she was to give birth to Jesus]. This became known in England as 'Lady Day' and was, for many centuries, the first day of the new year -- and this notion survives today in the Tax Year beginning on 6 April each year!

Ash Wednesday begins, for Christians, the preparation for their central feast: Easter. Now linked to giving up smoking, its name comes from the practice of placing ashes on the forehead: a reminder of repentance.

This feast falls on 'the twelfth day of Christmas' (January 6) and celebrates the visit of the 'wise men' to Bethlehem for Western Christians; in the east it is called the 'theophany' and celebrated God becoming manifest to believers in Jesus.