Feb Wed 8
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.
Mar Wed 7
Fast of Esther (Taanit Esther)
A fast in commemoration of the fast of Mordechai and Esther. This is not a major Jewish fast.
Mar Thu 8
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.
Mar Fri 9
Shushan Purim
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.
Apr Fri 6
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.
Apr Sat 7
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.
Apr Sat 14
Passover (final day)
The eighth and final day of Passover. Note that Passover lasts for seven days in Israel.
Apr Thu 19
Yom Hashoah
The Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. The date is chosen as the closest date (in the Jewish calendar) to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Apr Wed 25
Yom Hazikaron
A day of remembrance on the day preceding Israel's Independence Day.
Apr Thu 26
Yom Ha'atzmaut
Israel's Independence Day
May Thu 10
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.
May Sun 20
Yom Yerushalayim
Jerusalem Day
May Sun 27
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.
Jul Sun 8
17th Tammuz
An important Jewish fast day.
Jul Sun 29
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.
Sep Mon 17
Rosh Hashanah (1st day)
Jewish New Year. A two-day festival during which work is not permitted.
Sep Wed 19
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.
Sep Wed 26
Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement - the most solemn day of the Jewish year.
Oct Mon 1
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.
Oct Sun 7
Hoshanah Rabbah
The 7th day of Sukkot.
Oct Mon 8
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret can be translated as "the assembly of the eighth (day)." In Israel the festival is combined with Simchat Torah.
Oct Tue 9
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Torah." This holiday marks the completion of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings.
Dec Sun 9
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.
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