Jewish Holidays

Jewish Holidays 2011 through 2013

(source:  Godweb.org)

2011

Wednesday 5 January
10th Tevet
An important Jewish fast day.

Thursday 20 January
Tu B’Shevat
The Jewish New Year for trees – For religious accounting purposes all trees have their anniversaries on this festival, regardless of when they were planted.

Thursday 27 January
National Holocaust Memorial Day
The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001. The date was chosen as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Thursday 17 March
Fast of Esther (Taanit Esther)
A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.

Sunday 20 March
Purim
Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther.

Monday 21 March
Shushan Purim
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.

Monday 18 April
Fast of the Firstborn
Observed only by firstborn males, on the day before Passover. This fast celebrates the survival of Jewish firtborn sons from the 10th Plague of Egypt.

Tuesday 19 April
Passover (1st day)
The start of the season of Passover when Jews commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover.

Tuesday 26 April
Passover (final day)
The eighth and final day of Passover. Note that Passover lasts for seven days in Israel.

Sunday 1 May
Yom Hashoah
The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. The date is chosen as the closest date (in the Jewish calendar) to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Sunday 8 May
Yom Hazikaron
A day of remembrance on the day preceding Israel’s Independence Day.

Monday 9 May
Yom Ha’atzmaut
Israel’s Independence Day

Sunday 22 May
Lag B’Omer
A minor holiday on the 33rd day of the Omer commemorating a break in the plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiva.

Wednesday 1 June
Yom Yerushalayim
Jerusalem Day

Wednesday 8 June
Shavuot (1st day)
Shavuot is a two-day festival that marks the time when the first harvest was taken to the Temple. Also known as the Festival of Weeks. Work is not permitted for the duration of the festival.

Tuesday 19 July
17th Tammuz
An important Jewish fast day.

Tuesday 9 August
Tisha B’Av
A solemn day that commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have coincidentally happened on this day.

Thursday 29 September
Rosh Hashanah (1st day)
Jewish New Year. A two-day festival during which work is not permitted.

Saturday 1 October
Fast of Gedalliah
Fast in memory of the assassination of Gedalliah Ben Achikam, the Governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylonia.

Saturday 8 October
Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement – the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Thursday 13 October
Sukkot
Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God took special care of them under impossible conditions. Sukkot lasts for seven days, and work is not permitted on the first two days.

Wednesday 19 October
Hoshanah Rabbah
The 7th day of Sukkot.

Thursday 20 October
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret can be translated as “the assembly of the eighth (day).” In Israel the festival is combined with Simchat Torah.

Friday 21 October
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday marks the completion of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings.

Tuesday 13 December
10th Tevet
An important Jewish fast day.

Wednesday 21 December
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.

2012

Friday 27 January
National Holocaust Memorial Day
The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001. The date was chosen as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Wednesday 8 February
Tu B’Shevat
The Jewish New Year for trees – For religious accounting purposes all trees have their anniversaries on this festival, regardless of when they were planted.

Wednesday 7 March
Fast of Esther (Taanit Esther)
A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.

Thursday 8 March
Purim
Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther.

Friday 9 March
Shushan Purim
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.

Friday 6 April
Fast of the Firstborn
Observed only by firstborn males, on the day before Passover. This fast celebrates the survival of Jewish firtborn sons from the 10th Plague of Egypt.

Saturday 7 April
Passover (1st day)
The start of the season of Passover when Jews commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover.

Saturday 14 April
Passover (final day)
The eighth and final day of Passover. Note that Passover lasts for seven days in Israel.

Thursday 19 April
Yom Hashoah
The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. The date is chosen as the closest date (in the Jewish calendar) to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Wednesday 25 April
Yom Hazikaron
A day of remembrance on the day preceding Israel’s Independence Day.

Thursday 26 April
Yom Ha’atzmaut
Israel’s Independence Day

Thursday 10 May
Lag B’Omer
A minor holiday on the 33rd day of the Omer commemorating a break in the plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiva.

Sunday 20 May
Yom Yerushalayim
Jerusalem Day

Sunday 27 May
Shavuot (1st day)
Shavuot is a two-day festival that marks the time when the first harvest was taken to the Temple. Also known as the Festival of Weeks. Work is not permitted for the duration of the festival.

Sunday 8 July
17th Tammuz
An important Jewish fast day.

Sunday 29 July
Tisha B’Av
A solemn day that commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have coincidentally happened on this day.

Monday 17 September
Rosh Hashanah (1st day)
Jewish New Year. A two-day festival during which work is not permitted.

Wednesday 19 September
Fast of Gedalliah
Fast in memory of the assassination of Gedalliah Ben Achikam, the Governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylonia.

Wednesday 26 September
Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement – the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Monday 1 October
Sukkot
Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God took special care of them under impossible conditions. Sukkot lasts for seven days, and work is not permitted on the first two days.

Sunday 7 October
Hoshanah Rabbah
The 7th day of Sukkot.

Monday 8 October
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret can be translated as “the assembly of the eighth (day).” In Israel the festival is combined with Simchat Torah.

Tuesday 9 October
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday marks the completion of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings.

Sunday 9 December
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.

2013

Tuesday 1 January
10th Tevet
An important Jewish fast day.

Saturday 26 January
Tu B’Shevat
The Jewish New Year for trees – For religious accounting purposes all trees have their anniversaries on this festival, regardless of when they were planted.

Sunday 27 January
National Holocaust Memorial Day
The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001. The date was chosen as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Thursday 21 February
Fast of Esther (Taanit Esther)
A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.

Sunday 24 February
Purim
Purim commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination by the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther.

Monday 25 February
Shushan Purim
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.

Monday 25 March
Fast of the Firstborn
Observed only by firstborn males, on the day before Passover. This fast celebrates the survival of Jewish firtborn sons from the 10th Plague of Egypt.

Tuesday 26 March
Passover (1st day)
The start of the season of Passover when Jews commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover.

Tuesday 2 April
Passover (final day)
The eighth and final day of Passover. Note that Passover lasts for seven days in Israel.

Sunday 7 April
Yom Hashoah
The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. The date is chosen as the closest date (in the Jewish calendar) to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Sunday 14 April
Yom Hazikaron
A day of remembrance on the day preceding Israel’s Independence Day.

Monday 15 April
Yom Ha’atzmaut
Israel’s Independence Day

Sunday 28 April
Lag B’Omer
A minor holiday on the 33rd day of the Omer commemorating a break in the plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiva.

Wednesday 8 May
Yom Yerushalayim
Jerusalem Day

Wednesday 15 May
Shavuot (1st day)
Shavuot is a two-day festival that marks the time when the first harvest was taken to the Temple. Also known as the Festival of Weeks. Work is not permitted for the duration of the festival.

Tuesday 16 July
Tisha B’Av
A solemn day that commemorates a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years, many of which have coincidentally happened on this day.

Thursday 5 September
Rosh Hashanah (1st day)
Jewish New Year. A two-day festival during which work is not permitted.

Saturday 7 September
Fast of Gedalliah
Fast in memory of the assassination of Gedalliah Ben Achikam, the Governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylonia.

Saturday 14 September
Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement – the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Thursday 19 September
Sukkot
Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and celebrates the way in which God took special care of them under impossible conditions. Sukkot lasts for seven days, and work is not permitted on the first two days.

Wednesday 25 September
Hoshanah Rabbah
The 7th day of Sukkot.

Thursday 26 September
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret can be translated as “the assembly of the eighth (day).” In Israel the festival is combined with Simchat Torah.

Friday 27 September
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday marks the completion of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings.

Thursday 28 November
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and marks the restoration of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is celebrated at roughly the same time as Christmas, but there is no connection at all between the festivals.