Pesach – Easter Celebration; this takes eight days to commemorate the departure from Egypt. It is a Celebration of the Awaking of Nature. Pesach is also connected with the celebration of Unfermented Breads (maces). The preparation for this celebration includes the removal of all fermented dough by burning. The first-born men who have not reached Bar Micvah yet (the age when they are responsible in front of God) have to fast one day before Pesach so as to express their gratitude for the release from Egyptian capture.
Shavuot – Feast of Weeks (Festival of Reaping), it takes place seven weeks after Easter and commemorates the gift of the Torah. The name of the feast is derived from the biblical command to subtract seven weeks from the second night of Pesach and to celebrate the fiftieth day as holy. Shavuot is also the festival of the first grain harvest, when barley was safely harvested and the period of wheat harvest has just begun. According to the scholars of Talmud, this celebration resembles the events from the Sinai. There is a custom to visit special study groups the evening before this feast. Sacred literature is read there, sermons are delivered and discussed and special food is eaten. As the Torah and the lands of Israel are compared to milk, dairy products are preferred. The days of Shavuot are bank holidays in Israel and a chance for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Sukkot – the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) is an autumn celebration commemorating the stay of the Israelite tribes in the desert after the departure from Egypt and gratitude for the crops. It begins at full Moon and it is connected with praying for rain. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 year of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Those who pray during the liturgy in synagogues carry four kinds of flowers (branches of palm tree, myrtle, willow and the fruits of citrus).
Purim – the Celebration of Lots takes place in spring to commemorate saving of Jews in Persia where they were nearly exterminated.
Rosh Hashanah – is the Jewish New Year and is celebrated in autumn.
Hanukkah – Festival of Lights takes place on the day of the winter solstice and commemorates the renewal of celebrating liturgies in a newly sanctified temple of Jerusalem after being chased by Greek colonisers. A new candle is lit every day for eight days on a eight-arm candelabra (Menorah). Young people also receive financial benefits at this celebration. Traditional food is doughnuts and potato pancakes.
Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement is the most solemn event in the Jewish calendar. It is celebrated on the tenth day of each New Year. In comparison to other feast days, the Yom Kippur has been set by the Torah as the day of the souls torment and of sin purgation. The fast lasts from sunset until dusk of the following day. Food, drink, marital intercourse, the use of cosmetics, wearing leather shoes, washing of all body parts except fingers and eyes is forbidden. Also, all work is forbidden in the same way as on the Sabbath. It is a custom to ask for forgiveness of all people who may feel offended before the celebration. „The final meal“is eaten right before the beginning of fasting. This day is the peak of High Celebrations and ten days of atonement, when all human deeds are weighed on scales and destiny written and sealed in the Book of Life by God. It is reserved for individuals and public proclamations of sins, while offering the chance of atonement. The atmosphere of the celebration is rather solemn. Five liturgies are celebrated. It starts in the morning by commemorating the dead. The afternoon liturgy includes readings from the Book of Jonah. When dusk approaches, the heavenly gates close themselves and the prayers for forgiveness cannot be heard any more. Following that is the final liturgy, finishing when it gets dark by a proclamation of Jewish faith, blowing a long tone by a Shofar, and greetings „next year in renewed Jerusalem“.