Rosh Hashanah
ROSH huh-SHAH-nah
The Jewish New Year, in the autumn. Families dip apple slices in honey to wish each other a sweet new year.
Yom Kippur
yohm kee-POOR
The most serious day of the year, ten days after Rosh Hashanah. It is a quiet day for thinking about how to be a better person and saying sorry for mistakes. Grown-ups often do not eat for the day.
Sukkot
soo-KOTE
A happy autumn holiday. Families build a little hut outside called a sukkah, with a leafy roof you can see the sky through, and eat their meals in it for a week.
Hanukkah
HAH-nuh-kah
A winter holiday of light. Families light one more candle each night for eight nights on a menorah (a special candle-holder), recalling a story in which a little oil lasted much longer than expected — which is also why foods are cooked in oil, like latkes.
Tu BiShvat
too bish-VAHT
The "birthday of the trees," in late winter. People celebrate trees and plants by planting them and eating fruit — a day for caring about nature.
Purim
POO-rim
A joyful late-winter holiday celebrating a story in which the Jewish people were saved from danger. Children dress in costumes and make noise with a grogger when the story is retold, and eat triangle-shaped cookies called hamantaschen.
Passover
PASS-oh-ver · Hebrew: Pesach
A spring holiday. Families gather for a special meal called a seder and retell the story of the Jewish people long ago leaving Egypt to be free. They eat flat matzah, which tradition connects to bread made too quickly to rise.
Shavuot
shah-voo-OTE
An early-summer holiday remembering when, in the Torah's story, the Jewish people received the Torah. Many families eat dairy foods like cheese and cheesecake.