SanghaToday Blog

As the Jewish festival of Harvest, Sukkot could be compared to the American ‘Thanksgiving holiday. At this time, it’s traditional to take a harvest offering to the temple for God. Sukkot forms one of the three Pilgrimmage holdiays – the other two being Passover and Shavuot.

Regarded as one of the most important holiday dates in the Jewish calendar, the festival actually lasts a total of 9 days. Beginning on the fifth day of Yom Kippur, Sukkot marks the end of the relatively solemn day earlier in the calendar and the beginnings of celebration.

The festival commemorates the time, as noted in Leviticus 23, when the Hebrew people were left to wander in the wilderneess. According to the scripture, a Sukka or temporary structure was built as shelter. As a mark of respect, many Jews build their own Sukkas at this time. Quite often this is a temporary hut or shelter errected in a backyard.

One more tradition that’s observed is the binding together of branches. 6 Branches are bound together in accordance with Leviticus 23:40 which states:

“On the first day, you will take for yourselves a fruid of a beautiful tree, palm branches, twigs of a braided tree and brook willows.”

Usually this bundle contains palm, willow and myrtle branches.This is then waved in six directions to signify God’s presence in all corners of the world.

Aglobalworld publishes a International Calendar every year, which can be customized to suit your business. It is the only one to contain holiday dates of all international festivals.