Yom hillula

A Yom Hillula (Hebrew: יום הילולא, day of festivity) is another word for yahrzeit or "death anniversary".

It refers specifically to the yahrzeit of a great tzaddik "saint", and unlike a regular yahrzeit, which is marked with sadness or even fasting, a Yom Hillula is commemorated specifically through simcha "joy" and festive celebration.

The observation of hilluloth for North African ascetic or mystical saints in Maghrebi Jewish communities is widespread, especially in Morocco, with the Hiloula of Rabbi Isaac Ben Walid and the Hiloula of Rabbi Haim Pinto among them, as well as the Baba Sali in the Israeli town of Netivot.

According to modern kabbalah, this day is the Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and/or the anniversary of his death.

According to a late medieval tradition, Simeon ben Yochai is buried in Meron, and this association has spawned several well-known customs and practices on Lag BaOmer, including the lighting of bonfires and pilgrimages to Meron.