How do you say Happy Rosh Hashanah? The Jewish New Year begins on Wednesday

WASHINGTON – Over the next few weeks, Jewish people around the world will gather to celebrate the High Holidays.

There are two main holidays, also known as the High Holidays. The first of these is Rosh Hashanah, when the Jewish New Year is celebrated.

The main ways to celebrate Rosh Hashanah include attending synagogue services, hearing the blowing of the shofar, a sacred ram's horn, and eating apples and honey. Apples symbolize hope for fertility and honey symbolizes the wish for a sweet year.

Rosh Hashanah often includes a ritual called tashlich, in which bread is thrown onto running water to symbolically cast off the sins of the past year.

Rosh Hashanah is believed to mark the date of the creation of the world and also begins the “Days of Awe” or “Ten Days of Atonement,” a ten-day period that culminates with Yom Kippur.

This year, emotions will be extraordinarily strong for many, considering that the midpoint of the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is October 7th – the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and the still – ongoing war in Gaza.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and also one of the most sombre days of the year. Jewish adults who observe Yom Kippur typically fast for about 25 hours (beginning at sunset the night before). However, Jewish teaching states that anyone whose health could be endangered by fasting is exempt and should still eat and drink water on Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah 2024 begins at sunset on Wednesday, October 2nd and ends at sunset on Friday, October 4th, 2024.

It begins on the first day of the Hebrew month Tishrei. The Jewish calendar is based primarily on the moon and the Gregorian calendar is based on the sun, which is why it sometimes appears as if the high holidays in the United States are “late” or “early.” However, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are always celebrated on the same days in the Jewish calendar.

There are many acceptable ways to greet someone celebrating Rosh Hashanah. It is a festive holiday. So if you want to keep it simple, “Happy New Year” works quite well.

Jews often greet each other with “Shanah tovah” (pronounced “shah-NAH toe-VAH”), meaning “Good Year.”

No, Rosh Hashanah is not a federal holiday in the United States.

Yom Kippur 2024 begins at sunset on Friday, October 11th and ends at sunset on Saturday, October 12th.

Unlike Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur is a sombre holiday, so you shouldn't say “Happy Yom Kippur” to anyone.

Instead, you might tell someone to “just fast.” Some have recently started wishing people a “meaningful fast” instead. This recognizes that fasting on Yom Kippur should not necessarily be an easy task.

Another traditional greeting is “G'mar chatima tova” (pronounced gih-MAR chah-tee-MAH toe-VAH), which basically means “May you be written in the book of life forever.” In Jewish tradition, it is believed that a person's fate is decided on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur.

The Associated Press contributed to this report