Jewish Holy Days, or holidays, may be hard to follow on a calendar, but they happen on the same day on the Hebrew calendar, which follows the lunar cycles. So, when you look at the calendar in December and think, it is almost Christmas so it must be Hanukkah, that isn’t necessarily the case. Hanukkah can actually begin as early as the week of Thanksgiving and as late as the first week of January. You might also think that Hanukkah is the BIG holiday, but that is far from the actual reality.
This year, our big holidays — or, as we call them, the High Holy Days — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are in September (this year). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a joyful holiday celebrating the beginning of a new year full of promise and hope. Our celebration is full of joy, happiness and swee