Introduction to Jewish Holidays ***draft***
Created | Updated Nov 11, 2005
They wanted to kill us; we won. Let's eat!
(an anonymous Jewish comedian attempting to explain the essence of Jewish holidays)
Well, the above statement is obviously a bit of an exaggeration - there is much, much more to Jewish holidays. But the fact is that for most people, the Jewish holidays are somewhat of a mystery. ***add***
The Jewish (or Hebrew) Calendar
The Hebrew calendar is a bit complicated. Unlike the common Gregorian calendar that is based on the sun, or the Muslim calendar that is based on the moon, the Hebrew calendar uses both the sun and the moon. Basically, the months are lunar, but since most holidays have an agricultural origin (and are therefor linked to a certain season), there is an incredibly complex system of leap years in which a whole months is added every couple of years.
The years in the Hebrew calendar are counted from the alleged date of the creation of Man, in the sixth day of creation - which, according to ancient calculations, happened just a little less than six thousand years ago. The year 2000, for instance, was the Hebrew year 5760.
The names of the months, however, are not found in the Bible1 itself - they are Babylonian in origin, and were brought back to the Land of Israel with the returning Babylon exiles. In the Bible the months are simply numbered: 'the first month', 'the second month', etc.
- Tishrei
- Heshvan
- Kislev
- Tevet
- Shvat
- Adar (in leap years: Adar Alef and Adar Bet)
- Nissan
- Iyar
- Sivan
- Tamuz
- Av
- Elul
The months of the Jewish calendar are:
Many good converting tools for Hebrew dates can be found online. Here's one of them.
Major Holidays
Rosh HaShanah
Date: 1-2 Tishrei (of course)
History: As mentioned above, according to Jewish tradition, this is the day the world was created. However, there is no mention of this at all in the Bible, where the counting of the months begins on Nissan, making Tishrei the seventh month of the year. **when did it start then?**
Food and Customs: This is one of the two Jewish holidays (along with Passover) that are characterised by big family gatherings - and therefore, monstrous amounts of food. The dishes change according to the various ethnic origins of each family, but some are more customary having a symbolic value. The most notable of these is probably apples and honey (for a sweet year), but other examples include pomegranate (for fertility), beets (for *success* over enemies, since the root of the Hebrew name seleq is related to such verbs as 'leave' and 'send away'), fish (**what _is_ the reason?**) and many many other things.
An interesting custom among religious Jews is the Tashlich, a ritual in which all the sins and curses of the previous year are symbolically thrown into a body of water - preferably the sea, but if that isn't possible even a well could do.
Yom Kipur
Date: 10 Tishrei
History:
Food and Customs:
Sukkot
Date: 15 Tishrei (to 22 Tishrei)
History:
Food and Customs:
Hanukah
Date: 25 Kislev (to 3 Tevet)
History:
Food and Customs:
Purim
Date: 14 Adar (or Adar B on leap years)
History:
Food and Customs:
Pessah (Passover)
Date: 14 Nissan (to 21 Nissan)
History:
Food and Customs:
Shavuot
Date: 6 Sivan
History:
Food and Customs:
Minor Holidays
Tzom Gedalia
Date: 3 Tishrei
History:
Food and Customs:
10th Tevet
History:
Food and Customs:
Tu BiShvat
Date: 15 Shvat
History:
Food and Customs:
Lag BaOmer
Date: 18 Iyar
History:
Food and Customs:
17th Tamuz
History:
Food and Customs:
9th Av
History:
Food and Customs:
Tu BeAv
Date: 15 Av
History:
Food and Customs:
Israeli Holidays
(mostly memorial days…)
Rabin Memorial Day
Date: 12 Heshvan
History:
Food and Customs:
Holocaust Memorial Day
Date: *** Nissan
History:
Food and Customs:
Memorial Day
Date: 4 Iyar
History:
Food and Customs:
Independence day
Date: 5 Iyar
History:
Food and Customs:
Jerusalem Day
Date: 28 Iyar
History:
Food and Customs:
