worldculturenet.com

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is observed the first and second day of the seventh month of the Jewish calender, Tishri. It usually falls in September on the western calendar.
Widely known as the New Years Day of the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah actually has a fourfold meaning:

1. The Day of Judgement — a day on which Jews examine their past deeds and asks for forgiveness for their sins.

2. The Day of Shofar Blowing — The Shofar (the rams horn) is blown in temple to herald the beginning of the 10 day period known as the High Holy Days.

3. The Day of Remembrance — Jews review the history of their people and pray for Israel.

4. New Year’s Day — celebrated with greeting cards, special prayers, and sweet foods (to ensure sweetness in the New Year).

Customs

It is believed that on Rosh Hashanah, God records the destiny of all mankind in the Book of Live. On leaving the synagogue after Rosh Hashanah services, the congregants say to each other, “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.”

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, after the afternoon services, Jews visit a body of water or pond to symbolically cast away their sins into the river.

On Rosh Hashanah it is customary for families to gather together for the holiday meal. Foods served at these celebrations typically include:

• Apples and breads dipped in honey to symbolize sweetness, blessings, abundance and the hope for the year ahead.
• The head of a fish, so that we can be “like the head and not like the tail,” a symbol of having a year in which we are on top and not the bottom.
• Pomegranates, which are symbolic of plenty.
• Carrots, which symbolize the Yiddish word “merren,” which also means “more.”

The common greeting at this time is L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”).

Popularity: 2% [?]