Homemade Cards for Rosh Hashanah

Pomegranates or apples are a traditional icon for the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

A homemade card for Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year, carries a certain sentimental appeal greater than that offered by commercially produced cards. Making a card by hand for this holiday is easy using folded construction paper and scissors to cut a series of traditional images, such as apples dipped in honey.

Things You'll Need

• Construction paper (multiple colors)
• Scissors
• Elmer's glue
• Pen

Instructions

1. Choose a piece of colored construction paper to serve as the background for the card.

2. Fold the sheet of construction paper lengthwise to form a card that opens similar to the way a book does.

3. Using a piece of red construction paper, cut a circle about the size of a small apple and glue it to the front of the card. You might decide to glue two or three such apples to the card. Multiple apples should be slightly overlapped, perhaps in a triangular formation, to efficiently use the available space on the face of the card.

4. Cut small triangles or elongated ovals from a piece of green construction paper to make leaves for the apples. Glue these to the top of the apples on the card.

5. Take a dark orange or light brown piece of construction paper to cut out a likeness of a honey ladle. It might be easier to form the honey ladle from two pieces. For the first piece, cut out a shape that resembles a bulb or a rounded rectangle. Then cut out a thin, straight strip of paper to serve as the handle. Glue the two connected pieces to the card. You might also cut some small pieces of yellow paper to form droplets of honey dripping from the ladle onto the apples--this is a common image on Rosh Hashanah cards.

Tips & Warnings

• On the inside of the decorated card, personalize the card for the recipient with a handwritten message. Traditional greetings include Hebrew phrases such as "L'shanah tovah," meaning "for a good year." To get a feel for the various greetings and sentiments to convey for Rosh Hashanah, turn to the public statements made available by the president and many members of Congress each year, since these are often written to be as inclusive as possible across various sects and traditions within Judaism.

• If you plan to handwrite a message inside the card, choose a lighter colored paper as the background to allow the written message to stand out. Alternatively, if you select a black sheet as the background, you can still glue in a square of a lighter colored paper to bear the message. You might also use an ink that stands out well against darker colors, such as silver.

References

• Amy J. Robinson: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
• Ohr Somayach: Rosh Hashanah Q & A
• Fairfax County Virginia: Rosh Hashanah

Resources

• The White House: Remarks by the President on the Occasion of Rosh Hashanah
• Congressman Mike Quigley: Quigley Statement on Rosh Hashanah