Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - celebrate the Jewish high holidays
Photo by Rachel licensed CC BY-NC 2.0
L'shanah tovah (say “le- sha-NAH to-VAH”).
That’s how you would say “Happy New Year” to someone who is observing the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
What are they?
Rosh Hashanah
The Jewish people start to celebrate the new year on a holiday called Rosh Hashanah. It is one of the most important religious holidays in Judaism.
This year’s holiday begins at sunset on September 29th and ends the evening of October 1st.
Yom Kippur
When Rosh Hashanah ends, they observe the end of the new year period with Yom Kippur (say "yom kee-poor").
This year's holiday begins at sunset on October 8th and ends the following evening.
The holiday is a time when Jews around the world reflect on the past year and look and look for ways to make up for things they may have done wrong. They also think of ways to be more kind and helpful to others.
Sounding the shofar
Photo credit: slgckgc on Visualhunt / CC BY
Throughout the holiday period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish people look forward to the sound of the shofar (say "show-far").
The shofar is a special horn that is traditionally sounded in the synagogue to signal the start of the New Year. As a custom, 100 notes are sounded in a special rhythm.
This horn, which is made from the horn of an animal like a goat or sheep, is considered one of the most important symbols of the holiday.
On Yom Kippur, the shofar blower ends the day with a long loud blast. This sound bringins the holiday to an end.
Are there special foods?
This holiday is a time for family gatherings. For the celebration, a special meal is eaten at home.
Jewish Canadians traditionally enjoy challah (say “HAH-lah”) bread, pomegranates, apples dipped in honey and tzimmes (say “TZIH-mez”), a sweet dish of carrots, pineapple, honey and brown sugar.
The challah, which is a braided bread, is often baked in a round shape to symbolize the completeness of the year.
Apples dipped in honey represent sweetness and good health throughout the New Year.
Wearing white
Two men read from the Torah. (Photo credit: n0nick on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA)
Many Jewish people will wear white for Yom Kippur.
It is to show that they are pure and want to be their very best selves.
The Torah (say "tor-ah") scrolls where the prayers are read from, and the rabbi who leads the prayers, are also wrapped in white robes.
Be helpful all year long
You don’t have to be observing Yom Kippur, or even be Jewish, to think about ways to be more kind and helpful all year.
