Holiday Calendar for Israel

Holiday Calendar of Israel reflects unique historical and cultural background of this country, along with its rich customs and traditions. It also shows how important it is for Jews to have a connection to history, family and maintain a strong tie to the community. Living in a land of living history Jewish people mark many ancient holidays. Major Jewish Holidays are mostly religious and serve to celebrate the power of God that is representative and understood throughout the history of Judaism. Other holidays serve to remember and reflect upon the lessons learned from the struggles and challenges of life. Lastly, there are certain holidays intended to engage in celebrations and festivities of joy. There are also four main Modern Jewish holidays added to the Jewish calendar after World War II and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. They are observed as national holidays in Israel, and recognized around the world by Jewish communities. Most (but not all) holidays in our list are public holidays. They are non-working days for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed. Even outside of Israel, Jewish owned businesses may close or offer limited services.  Help us 

Each of the Jewish holidays carries its own customs and traditions regarding the celebration of the event. Many of the holidays may be observed differently by the different strands of Judaism. Every Friday evening before sundown to Saturday evening after sundown Sabbath - שבת - the island of time that defines the Jew’s week.
All holidays are celebrated from sundown to sundown and the origin of each holiday is strongly connected to the Jewish calendar.
Some of holidays in Israel fall on specific dates whilst others fall at some point in a certain month. Understanding the calculation of dates according to the Hebrew calendar is crucial to follow the ever-changing timing of Jewish holidays and the calculation of Jewish events. So it is useful to know the differences between the Hebrew and Gregorian (civil) calendar.

• Rosh Hashanah (the first and the second days of Tishrei) - The first two days of the Jewish new year.
• Yom Kippur (the tenth day of Tishrei) also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance.
• Sukkot (the fifteenth day of Tishrei) commonly translated as Feast of Tabernacles, is a biblical Jewish holiday. The holiday lasts seven days in Israel and eight in the diaspora.
• Hanukkah (the twenty-fifth day of Kislev) is the Jewish Festival of Lights and it remembers the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
• Pesach (Passover) is a major, biblically derived Jewish holiday that commemorates the exsodus from slavery. The holiday of Pesach comes in the middle of the first month of the year Nissan.
• Shavuot (The birthday of the Torah) – (the sixth of Sivan)
• Purim meaning allotment, is a Jewish cheerful feast in memory of the liberation of the Jewish people during their stay in ancient Persia. The holiday comes on the middle of the month Adar.
• Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim) – (the 28th day of Iyar) The most recent addition to the Hebrew calendar. The holiday commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the older part of the city in June 1967. Schools stay open and mark the day with festivities and learning.