A new five-part series for BBC One and iPlayer, Being..., explores what faith means around seminal life moments of birth, growing up, marriage and death. The series brings together a collection of personal stories from individuals in Sikh, Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities, showing the uniqueness of faith and the universality of major life events.
Being Jewish
12 year old Ethan is preparing for his bar mitzvah, a ceremony that marks his transition into Jewish adulthood. He’s chosen to twin his big day with a young boy who died in the Holocaust, to honour his memory.
Jolanda converted to Reform Judaism after meeting Jack. Now they’re tying the knot in Spain, in a modern ceremony they’ve adapted according to their beliefs.
At Bushey cemetery in Hertfordshire, Hilary describes her role as a volunteer who does the tahara, the ritual washing of the deceased before burial. And in North East London, David reflects on his late father’s life as he prepares to permanently mark his grave.
Being Hindu
18 year old Samahit is leaving home for the first time to go university. His family travel with him to recite ritual prayers at his halls of residence to bless his new home.
Navi and Karan are getting married in a traditional Sri Lankan Tamil wedding. For the couple, getting married is the only time in their lives they will be elevated to God status.
Priti’s father Arvind recently passed away and she wants to carry out his wishes for a traditional Hindu funeral. The ceremony takes place around an open casket and focuses on the journey of the soul.
Being Jewish and Being Hindu are made by Proper Content. The Executive Producer is David Dehaney and the director is Rachel Dupuy.
Being Christian
Maria and Peter have just welcomed their fifth child in their family. As Roman Catholics they celebrate each new addition as a gift to God and have Baby Audrey Baptised into the church in a traditional Latin service
17 year old Savannah has been raised a Christian and attends Pentecostal Church with her family in Salford. After the death of a friend, Savannah has decided to take the next step in her Christian life and be Baptised in a full emersion water Baptism ceremony.
In Stockton-on-Tees, family and friends pay their last respects to June. As one of the first women to be ordained as priests by the Church of the England in 1994, this Anglican service is both traditional and unique as traditions are followed that are unique to funeral services of the clergy.
Being Muslim
Jermaine and Mariyah are preparing for the birth of their first daughter Rumi. Jermaine is a Muslim revert and is working hard to learn the adhaan, the Muslim call to prayer to recite to their baby when she’s born.
8-year-old Hafsa is doing her Hifdh, an ancient tradition practised by a small number of devout Muslims. She wakes up early and learns verses from the Quran, then after school she practises those verses.
Hanna was born into the faith, her parents were both converts to the faith. She and Ali both met and fell in love, they are now married and look back at their vows with pride and reflect on how their faith has helped them in their marriage.
In London, Emine is marking the tragic death of her mother. A final prayer takes place, symbolising her mum coming from god, and going back to god.
Being Sikh
Harsimrat and Jagjit are celebrating the birth of their first-born baby at home. They turn to the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh book of prayer to determine the first letter of their baby’s name.
15-year-old Ansh has been wearing his turban for two years, he is continuing to learn and embrace its sacred meaning and looks ahead to how much of a part it will play in his life as he grows up.
Hari and Kiran are young newlyweds and are continuing their devotion to their guru through their marriage and in their daily lives. They visit their gurdwara and carry out worship and prayer with one another.
Hardeep’s father recently passed away and after the funeral and cremation, he scatters his father’s ashes over flowing water to unite him back with God.