What are the Jewish festivals?

Jewish holidays begin at sunset and last until after nightfall 25 hours later.

A list of Jewish holidays, fasts and occasions would include:

• Shabbat - every Saturday
  
• Rosh Chodesh - the new moon, every 29 or 30 days
  
• Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year, 2 days
• Aseret Yemei Teshuva - Ten Days of Repentance
• Yom Kippur - fast day, Day of Atonement, 1 day
  
• Sukkot - Tabernacles - 7 or 8 days
  
• Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah - 1 or 2 days
  
• Hanukkah - Festival of Lights - 8 days
  
• Tu Bishvat - New Year of the Trees - 1 day
  
• Purim - 1 day, followed by 1 day of Shushan Purim
  
• Pesach - Passover - 7 or 8 days
• Sefirah - Counting of the Omer - 49 days
• Pesach Sheni - 1 day
  
• Lag Ba'omer - 1 day
  
• Shavuot - Feast of Weeks; Yom HaBikurim - 2 days
• The Three Weeks and the Nine Days (days of mourning preceding Tisha b'Av; see below)
  
• Tu B'Av - 1 day

 

Minor fast days:

• Asara B'Tevet - 10th of the month of Tevet, a week after Hanukkah
  
• Ta'anit Esther - the day before Purim
  
• Shiva Asar B'Tamuz - 17 of Tamuz
  
• Tisha B'Av - 9th of the month of Av

Minor fasts start at dawn and end at nightfall, except for Tisha B'Av which starts the evening before at sunset and lasts for 25 hours. The 3 weeks between Shiva Asar B'Tamuz and Tisha B'Av is a period of mourning referred to as "the 3 weeks" or Bein Hametzarim. The mourning intensifies during the last 9 days of these 3 weeks.

There are also some new festivals instituted since the State of Israel was founded.

^{Not all Orthodox Jews celebrate these days:}

• Yom HaShoah - a day commemorating the holocaust
  
• Yom HaZikaron - Remembrance Day, in memory of fallen soldiers
  
• Yom HaAtzmaut - Israel's Independence day
• Yom Yerushalaim - Jerusalem Day

 

Individual festivals have unique laws:

• On Rosh Hashana, the shofar (ram's horn) is blown, to mark the beginning of the Jewish calendar year.
  
• Yom Kippur is a fast day on which Jews pray for forgiveness for all their sins. No eating, drinking, bathing, anointing or marital intercourse are allowed. Wearing leather shoes is also prohibited.
  
• On Sukkot Jews eat all their meals in outdoor booths (Sukkah) in order to commemorate the Israelites' wanderings in the desert. Some will also sleep in the Sukka. They also shake the 4 minim consisting of a Lulav (young palm branch), an Etrog (Citrus Medica), three Haddassim (Myrtle branches) and two Aravot (willow branches).
  
• On Chanuka the 8 branched Menora is lit; on the first night one candle, on the 2nd night 2 candles until all 8 candles are lit on the 8th night.
  
• On Passover leavened bread is forbidden and unleavened Matza is subsituted. The first night of Passover has a Seder-meal commemorating and telling the story of the Exodus. Matzah and bitter herbs are eaten at the Seder.
  
• On Purim the story of Esther is read from a Megilat-Esther scroll and food baskets are given to friends and charity to the poor.
  
• On Shavuot the custom is to stay up all night studying Torah to mark the date that the Ten Commandments were revealed.

For more information, see Related Links, below.