Among their many joyful festivals, Jewish people also mark sad days in their history. One of which is Tisha B’Av in late summer. According to Jewish tradition it is on this day that both temples were destroyed. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 bce and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 ce. The same day in the Jewish calendar marks other events of persecution, such as the expulsion of Jews in the Middle Ages: from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.
The marking of the festival is most noticeable inside the synagogue, where as a sign of grief people sit not in pews but on the floor, and attend the service without wearing their shoes, which in Judaism is a sign of mourning. Tisha B’Av is also a 25-hour period of fasting.
