There are many holidays celebrated within the Jewish religion. Each carries its own significance, traditions and customs. However, there are some things that every Jewish holiday has in common. First, every holiday begins the evening before the date specified on most calendars. This is because, according to Jewish religion, the “day” begins and ends at sunset, not at midnight.
Work is not permitted on Rosh Hashanah, on Yom Kippur, on the first and second days of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret, on Simchat Torah, on Shavu’ot and the first, second, seventh and eighth days of Passover. Much like the work that is not permitted on Shabbat, the same applies for each of these
holidays, with a few exceptions. Unlike on Shabbat, cooking, baking, and transferring wood and building fires are all permitted on these holidays. However, when a holiday occurs on Shabbat, all of the Shabbat restrictions are observed and respected.
Because the Jewish calendar is lunar, with each month beginning on the new moon, the numbers of days of some holidays do not accord with what the Bible specifies. Years ago, the new months used to be determined by observation and as a result, the Sanhedrin would send out messages when they observed the new moon, informing everyone that the new month was beginning. However, people in distant communities could not always be notified of the new moon right away and so they did not always know the correct day to celebrate it. But, they knew that the old month was either 29 or 30 days and if they did not get a notice of the new moon, they celebrated the holidays on both possible days. As a result, this practice of celebrating an extra day continued as a custom even after the mathematical calendar was developed.
One of the main holidays celebrated by the Jewish people is the Shabbat. Essentially, the Shabbat is a day of rest, set aside from all other days. It begins on sundown on Friday night and ends on Saturday night at sundown. It is a day that is separated from the rest of the week. It begins by lighting candles 18 minutes before sunset on Friday night. Before the Shabbat meal, there is a blessing said over the wine, celebrating the creation of all things. There is then a blessing over the bread to begin the meal, followed by the ‘festive meal’ , the first of three festive meals that are eaten during Shabbat. This is followed by the Bichat HaMazon, the blessing after the meal and the one that is used every day after meals. And finally, every week there is a new Parsha, or portion, of the Torah to read.
In general, religious holidays are typically celebrated in a family or community setting. Religious Jews observe each holiday according to long-standing traditions, which usually include special prayers. Secular Jews also observe the holidays but over the centuries each family or community has developed different holiday customs, which usually include large family dinners and gatherings.
Replies