How to Follow the Jewish Holy Calendar

The Jewish holy calendar begins with Passover in the spring. The Jewish new year begins in the seventh month, which is when the year number increases. The Jewish holy days do not occur on the same days of the month each year, but rather the calendar for a given year is established by determining New Year's Day and the number of days in the year. Read on to learn how to follow the Jewish holy calendar.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Observe Passover or the Festival of Freedom during eight days in spring to commemorate Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt. Unleavened bread is eaten to remember Hebrew suffering while in Egypt and during their departure.

2. Commemorate the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on St. Sinai during Shavuot or the Festival of Weeks. This eight-day holiday celebrates the harvest season in Israel and occurs seven weeks after Passover.

3. Celebrate Rosh Hashanah or New Year's Day. It falls in September or October and represents the world's creation and the Jews responsibilities to God. No work is permitted and much of the day is spent in synagogue.

4. Devote time to prayer and fasting during Yom Kippur, which falls in the same month as Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, is the most important Jewish holiday. This is when people confess their sins and get God to reverse negative judgments on them.

5. Spend ten days celebrating the harvest during Sukkot, also in the same month as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

6. Light candles on the menorah every night during Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights. Chanukah is celebrated for eight nights, usually in December. It honors the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.