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Jewish Calendar
The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar.
Jewish Year 5769 Holidays (2008 - 2009)
All Jewish holidays begin at sundown of the night before.
The Jewish years are counted from creation.
In the table below:
In the list below, "BCE" stands for "Before Common Era" and "CE" refers to "Common Era" on the Gregorian (Civil) calendar.
| Holiday Name |
Meaning of the Name |
Date in 2008/2009 |
Jewish Date |
What is it about |
| Rosh Hashanah |
Head of the year |
Tuesday,
September 30, 2008 |
Tishrei 1-2 |
The Jewish New Year celebrates the beginning of ten days of repentance before Yom Kippur. |
| Yom Kippur |
Day of atonement |
Thursday,
October 9 |
Tishrei 10 |
|
| Sukkot |
Huts |
Tuesday,
October 14 |
Tishrei 15 |
Commemorates the temporary settlements of Jewish people in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. |
| Simchat Torah |
Joy of Torah |
Wednesday,
October 22 |
Tishrei 23 |
Marks the end of the Torah's annual reading. |
| Hanukkah |
Dedication |
Monday,
December 22 |
Kislev 25 |
The Macabees victory over Antiochus the Greek king and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem 136 (3597). |
| Tu Bishvat |
15th of Shevat |
Monday,
February 9, 2009 |
Shevat 15 |
The New Year for Trees. |
| Purim |
Lots for lottery performed by Haman |
Tuesday,
Mar 10 |
Adar 14 |
Celebrates the cancellation of the decree against the Jewish people by Haman in ancient Persia in 425 BCE (3404). |
| Pesach |
Passed over |
Thursday,
April 9 |
Nisan 15 |
Celebration of the Exodus of the Jewish people from ancient Egypt in 1313 BCE (2448). |
| Yom Ha'shoah |
Holocaust day |
Tuesday,
April 21 |
Nisan 27 |
Memorial Day for the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi regime in Germany between 1933-1945. |
| Yom Ha'zikaron |
Remembrance day |
Tuesday,
April 28 |
Iyar 4 |
Memorial for all the fallen soldiers of the Israeli army (22,437) and victims of terrorism (1,635). |
| Yom Ha'atzmaut |
Independence day |
Wednesday,
April 29 |
Iyar 5 |
Celebrates the declaration of state of Israel in 1948. Israel is 60 years old in 2008! |
| Lag Ba'omer |
33rd day of the Omer |
Tuesday,
May 12 |
Iyar 18 |
Commemorating a break in the mourning period for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died in the rebellion from the attacking Roman Empire in 120 CE. |
| Yom Yerushalayim |
Jerusalem day |
Friday,
May 22 |
Iyar 28 |
Jerusalem celebrates the liberation and unification during the Six-Day War 1967. |
| Shavuot |
Weeks |
Friday,
May 29 |
Sivan 6 |
Bringing the first harvest to the Temple to remember the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments 7 weeks after the Exodus from Egypt at Mount Sinai in 1312 BCE (2449). |
| Tisha B'Av |
9th of Av |
Thursday,
July 30 |
Av 9 |
Fast to observe the destruction of the first temple by Babylonians in 586 BCE and second temple by the Romans in 70 CE (3830). Spain's Expulsion of Jews in 1492. |
Jewish Year 5770 Holidays (2009 - 2010)
Saturday, Sep 19, 2009 - Rosh Hashanah
Monday, Sep 28 - Yom Kippur
Saturday, Oct 3 - Sukkot
Sunday, Oct 11 - Simchat Torah
Saturday, Dec 12 - Hanukkah
Saturday, Jan 30, 2010 - Tu Bishvat
Sunday, Feb 28 - Purim
Tuesday, Mar 30 - Pesach - Passover
Sunday, Apr 11 - Yom Ha'shoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day
Sunday, Apr 18 - Yom Ha'zikaron - Israel Memorial Day
Monday, Apr 19 - Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel Independence Day - Israel is 62 years old!
Sunday, May 2 - Lag Ba'omer
Wednesday, May 12 - Yom Yerushalayim
Wednesday, May 19 - Shavuot
Tuesday, Jul 20 - Tisha B'Av
The Months
There is a discrepancy of 11 days between the lunar and the solar year, to align the different calendars, a lunar month is added every two or three years, for a total of 7 times per 19 years.
The Jewish calendar months are:
1. Tishrei (30 days, Sep- Oct)
2. Cheshvan (29 or 30 days, Oct - Nov)
3. Kislev (29 or 30 days, Nov - Dec)
4. Tevet (29 days, Dec - Jan)
5. Shevat (30 days, Jan - Feb)
(6a.) Adar 1 (30 days, Feb - Mar) In a leap year this additional month is added.
6b. Adar 2 (29 days Feb - Mar)
7. Nisan (30 days, Mar - Apr)
8. Iyar (29 days, Apr - May)
9. Sivan (30 days, May - Jun)
10. Tammuz (29 days, Jun - Jul)
11. Av (30 days, Jul - Aug)
12. Elul (29 days, Aug - Sep)
Days of the Week
The names for the days of the week are the ordinal numbers within the week, with the seventh day called Shabbat (in Hebrew: rest).
Yom Rishon - first day - Sunday
Yom Sheni - second day - Monday
Yom Shlishi - third day - Tuesday
Yom Revi'i - fourth day - Wednesday
Yom Hamishi - fifth day - Thursday
Yom Shishi - sixth day- Friday
Yom Shabbat - Saturday
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