Jewish New Year is also called Rosh Hashanah. The date of Jewish New Year varies every year for the simple reason that the Jewish have their won lunisolar calendar and they celebrate every festival according to that calendar.
Generally, the New Year is celebrated in the duration of two days in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. There are a number of Jewish New Year traditions, which they follow blindly. According to the traditions, the date of the festival is kept keeping in mind the convenience of the farmers. The farmers have to visit Jerusalem before the winter rains come, since the first ten days of the seventh month are considered as the holiest.
According to Jewish New Year traditions, there is a book, in which all the records of good actions and bad actions of human being is kept. On the occasion of this event, all have to apologize to the God for their deeds and misbehaviors. In the Jewish culture, everyone is given ten days in order to atone for his actions and deeds, before the celebrations of Jewish New Year begin.
They start the celebrations by apologizing for their bad deeds while performing good deeds. They promise to maintain the goodness throughout the year. It is believed that if their prayers and apologies are sincere, God himself will forgive them for their misdeeds on the occasion of Yom Kippur. Apart from that, if God is pleased, he will write their future for the next one year in that holy book. If your prayers are answered, the Almighty God will write only good for you.
Among the popular customs of Jewish New Year, they send traditional messages to each other. The customary Jewish new Year wish is “May you be written down for a good year.” The Jewish people exchange this wishes in order to wish someone for the occasion. They pray at synagogue in the New Year eve and then return their houses to have their traditional Jewish New Year dinner.
During the dinner, they also have some customs. The dinner table is decorated with the festival candles, which need to be lit during the dinner. The table is also decorated with seasonal fruits such as grapes. Among other decorative elements, honey jar, fish, honey cake, and Challah are important. Fish has a special significance in Jewish New Year traditions. Fishes signify
fruitfulness and abundance.
During the New Year celebrations, they arrange a special service. The celebrations ends with the blow of the shofar. During the special service, they blow 100 notes on the shofar. This service is done for the ill people, who cannot attend the ceremony in person and want anyone to blow shofar for themselves. After the duration of ten days of atonement, Yom Kippur comes. In this ceremony, they have to fast for 24 hours. They end their fats only after the sunset.
Popular Jewish wishes
- Shana Tova refers to A Good Year
- Leshana Tova Tikoseiv Vesichoseim refers to May you be inscribed and sealed for a Good Year.
- Shana Tova Umetukah is Hebrew refers to A Good and Sweet Year
- Ketiva ve-chatima tovah refers to May You Be Written and Sealed for a Good Year.
- Yiddish refers to Good Year.
