Rosh Hashanah: customs and traditions of the Jewish New Year

The Jewish community is preparing to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar.

Rosh Hashanah, which means "head of the year" in Hebrew, is the Jewish New Year and serves as a time of reflection and prayer to prepare for the coming year.

Two days of celebration begin on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.

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This year, Rosh Hashanah will begin at sundown on Sunday September 13 and end at nightfall on September 15. Celebrations include a number of important customs and traditions:

Prayers and blessings are made

For devout Jews, much of the holiday is spent in prayer in the synagogue, with morning, afternoon and evening services. A special prayer book called the machzor is used throughout the period. The traditional greeting and blessing given to friends and families is Shana Tovah (a good year).

Special foods are eaten

• Apples dipped in honey are a Rosh Hashanah favourite, symbolising the hope for a sweet new year
• Challah bread made into a round loaf instead of the traditional plait to represent the circle of life
• Pomegranates are a traditional treat as the fruit is said to have 613 seeds, corresponding with the same number of mitzvot – or commandments – in the Torah
• Fish, an ancient symbol of fertility and abundance is also, is also often eaten

Sins are washed away

Some Jewish people will go to a lake, river or sea to recite the Tashlich prayers and symbolically cast away their sins by emptying their pockets and throwing pieces of bread into the water. "We leave our old shortcomings behind us, thus starting the New Year with a clean slate," says Chabad.

The Shofar is sounded

A hollowed-out ram's horn, known as the shofar, is an ancient Jewish instrument which is played during prayers and has an important role throughout the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and the following Yom Kippur. “The blasts of the shofar are also wake-up calls," says Chabad. "Rosh Hashanah is the time to shake out of our spiritual slumber, reconnect to our source, and recommit to our divine mission in this world."