What popular festivals are in israel?

Answer 1

There are twelve holidays in Israel: Purim, Pesech, Yom Hashoah, Yom Ha' Atzamaut, Lag Ba' Omer, Shavout, Tisha B' Av, Rosh Hasanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Sinchat Torah, Hanukkah.

1. Purim (Lots)- commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination. It is celebrated on February 28.

2. Pesach (Passover)- is probably the best known of the Jewish holidays, mostly because it ties in with Christian history. It is celebrated on March 30 - April 6.

3.Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day)- The full name of the day commemorating the victims is Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah--- literally the Day of the Holocaust and the Heroism. It is celebrated on April 11.

4. Yom Ha' Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day)- Most of the Jewish communities in the Western world have incorporated this modern holiday to celebrate Israeli's Independence into their calendars, but some North American Jewish communities hold the public celebrations on a following Sunday to attract more participation. In Israel it is a formal holiday; so almost everyone has the day off. It is celebrated on April 20.

5. Lag Ba' Omer (Counting the Omer)- is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish Holidays of Passover and Shavout. It is celebrated on May 2.

6. Shavout (Penticost)- is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance.

7. Tisha B' Av (Destruction of the temples)- the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which coincidentally have occurred on the ninth of Av. It is celebrated on July 20.

8. Rosh Hashanah (New Year)-‎ literally "head of the year is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). It is celebrated on September 9.

9. Yom Kippur (Atonement)- is one of the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and attend synagogue services on this day. It is celebrated on September 18.

10. Sukkot (Tabernacles)- the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is quite a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous celebrations. It is celebrated on September 23.

11. Sinchat Torah (Celebrating the Torah)- is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Tarah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkat in the month of Tishrei (mid-September to early October on the Gregorian calender). It Is Celebrated on October 1.

12. Hanukkah (Lights)- also known as the Festival of Lights is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE.

Answer 2

The most popular festivals in Israel are the Jewish holidays such as Passover, Sukkot, and Hanukkah. Of course, more important Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are also celebrated, but are more "personal" than "familial" in Israel.

Answer 3

The following refers to Jewish religious occasions only.

Many of these holidays are found in Leviticus ch.23. Other occasions are more recent; specifically Purim, Hanukkah, and the fasts marking the Destruction of the Temple. The holidays begin at sunset and last until after nightfall around 25 hours later. They serve to enrich the Jewish year and to connect the people with their past.
All of these days are marked by added prayers and Torah-readings; and each has its specific observances.

• Shabbat - every Saturday (from Friday at sunset until Saturday after twilight)

• Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year, 2 days
• Yom Kippur - a fast day, the Day of Atonement, 1 day
• Pesach - Passover - 7 or 8 days
• Shavuot - Feast of Weeks; Yom HaBikurim - 1 or 2 days
• Sukkot - Feast of Booths - 7 days
• Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah - 1 or 2 days

Minor holidays and occasions (in which work is not forbidden):

• Rosh Chodesh - the new moon, every 29 or 30 days

• Hanukkah - Festival of Lights - 8 days
• Tu Bishvat - New Year of the Trees - 1 day
• Purim - 1 day, followed by 1 day of Shushan Purim
• Sefirah - Counting of the Omer - 49 days
• Lag Ba'omer - 1 day

• The Three Weeks and the Nine Days (days of mourning preceding Tisha b'Av; see below)
• Tu B'Av - 1 day

Fast days:

• Tzom Gedalya; the day after Rosh Hashanah
• Asara B'Tevet - 10th of the month of Tevet
• Ta'anit Esther - the day before Purim
• Shiva Asar B'Tamuz - 17th of Tamuz
• Tisha B'Av - 9th of the month of Av

The fasts start shortly before dawn and end at twilight, except for Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av which start the evening before at sunset and last for 25 hours. The 3 weeks between Shiva Asar B'Tamuz and Tisha B'Av is a period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple, referred to as "the 3 weeks" or Bein Hameitzarim. The mourning intensifies during the last 9 days of these 3 weeks.
Each festival has its specific purpose and laws:

• Rosh Chodesh marks the beginning of each Hebrew month (all of which are lunar) and is a minor holiday.
  
• On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar (ram's horn) is blown, to mark the beginning of the Jewish year.

• Yom Kippur is a fast day on which Jews pray for forgiveness for all their sins. No eating, drinking, or bathing is allowed. Wearing leather shoes is also prohibited.
• On Pesach, leavened bread, cakes, pasta etc. are forbidden; and unleavened Matzah is eaten. Passover begins with the Seder-meal, commemorating and retelling the story of the Exodus. Matzah and ceremonial foods are eaten at the Seder.

• On Shavuot the custom is to stay up all night studying Torah to mark the date that God gave the Ten Commandments.
• Sefirah - In the weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, we count the Omer, symbolizing the anticipation we felt in the days leading up to the Revelation at Mount Sinai. These weeks are a time of introspection and improvement.
• On Sukkot, Jews eat all their meals in outdoor arbor-canopied booths (Sukkah) in order to commemorate the Israelites' wanderings in the desert. Some will also sleep in the Sukkah. During the morning prayers on these days, we take the 4 minim consisting of a Lulav (young palm branch), an Etrog (Citrus Medica; citron), three Haddassim (myrtle branches) and two Aravot (willow branches).
• Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah - In Israel, these two occasions are observed on the same day (the eighth day from the beginning of Sukkot), while elsewhere they are kept separately (on the eighth and ninth days). This is a time of great rejoicing, with Shemini Atzeret symbolizing our close relationship with God (Rashi commentary, Numbers 29:35-36), and Simchat Torah celebrating the completion of the yearly cycle of reading the entire Torah scroll.
• On Hanukkah the 8-branched menorah is lit in the home; on the first night one candle, on the 2nd night 2 candles, until all 8 candles are lit on the 8th night.

• On Purim the story of Esther is read from a Megillat-Esther scroll and food baskets are given to friends and charity to the poor.

Reasons for the holidays:

Every one of them has as its purpose "remembering the Exodus from Egypt" (as stated in our prayers and the kiddush over wine). In addition, Passover is a Thanksgiving to God for the barley-harvest, Shavuot is a thanksgiving to God for the wheat-harvest, and Sukkot is a thanksgiving to God for the ingathering of grain.

Shavuot also celebrates the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, and Sukkot commemorates God having protected us in the wilderness.

It may also be noted that it is instinctive and a moral and emotional need to celebrate in front of God every so often. This was Cain's motivation in making his offering in Genesis ch.4 without having been commanded.

Had God not given us the Torah-festivals listed above, we might instinctively seek out those of the Canaanites, which the Torah warns against (Exodus 34:15) immediately before listing the Jewish festivals (in the following verses).