Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year for 2016, is coming up soon.
Rosh Hashanah will take place from Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 to Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. The holiday typically takes place in early Fall and it is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days. The celebration also includes blowing on a shofar, which is a hallowed out ram’s horn.
Rosh Hashanah’s biblical name is Yom Teruah. This roughly translates to “day of shouting.” Customs that take place on the holiday include eating apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year, blowing the shofar every morning for the month before the Jewish new year and seeking repentance before the holiday starts.
The blowing of the shofar is done in different intervals for different reasons. This includes long sounds, short sounds and rapid sounds. The horn is also blown during prayers on Rosh Hashanah. It is sounded more than 100 times during the celebration.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” — Leviticus 23:24
Some see the holiday as the actual time of God’s creation out of nothing. Others see it as a time to celebrate the creation of man. It’s origins are also thought to be connected to economic year in the Near East and the harvest cycle.
Rosh Hashanah will be taking place earlier next year
. The new year celebration will start on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 and will last into Friday, Sept. 22, 2017.
