Discovering the Jewish Calendar

It was Hillel II who created a standarised Jewish calendar and leap year. It meant that holidays could be celebrated on the same date every year for Jews.

Rather like the most conventional calendar used, the Jewish one has months that are 29 or 30 days long and 12 or 13 months per year. Beacuse it actually takes 12.4 lunar months to complete a yearly cycle (365 and a quarter days), a year does not divide neatly into 12 months. The earliest Jews relied on seeing the new moon to judge when the beginning of the month would be.The Sanhendrin will declare the first of the month, also called rosh chodesh once the people observed the new moon. The agricultural cycle also has something to do with the number of months in each year.Adar Bet or the additional month is added on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th year of the whole 19 years cycle for the Jews.

The Hebrew Calendar

The name for the official Israeli calendar is the Hebrew Calendar. As soon as the new moon is seen, a new month will begin. Months in the Hebrew calendar are called: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat and Adar.The leap year in Jewish calendars makes it possible that each holiday is celebrated on the same season every year.

Festivals

Festivals in the Jewish calendar are still widely observed, and accordance with tradition is usually quite strict.They are already part of the customs of the people and they have been mirrors of the national life of the Jews.

Jewish Holidays

Jews place a great deal of importance on celebrating the holiday dates in the calendar. Each holiday provides a good opportunity for people to reflect on their life and the year that has passed.These holidays promote the sense of being one with fellow believers. The day of rest is the Shabbat (or Sabbath) and is the most important day of the week. There are other days during the year when working is not allowed, and they are centred around festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Also, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper are kept as days of rest.

Jewish days start during sunset so in celebrating the holidays, usually some confusion arises.Some still follow the ancient practice of adding an extra day to their holidays while others stick to having the holiday just for a day. Usually, festivities start on the evening before the main day’s events occur.

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