Jewish Holidays 2016

Dates of major and minor Jewish holidays, observances and customs, holiday Torah readings.

Calendar year

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Tree planting growing on soil in child’s hand

Tu BiShvat 🌳

Sun, 24 January sunset - Mon, 25 January nightfall
15 Sh’vat 5776

New Year for Trees. Tu BiShvat is one of four “New Years” mentioned in the Mishnah.

Purim 🎭️📜

Wed, 23 March sunset - Thu, 24 March nightfall
14 Adar II 5776

Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told by Megilat Esther. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

Ta'anit Esther: Wed, 23 March dawn - nightfall
Shushan Purim: Thu, 24 March sunset - Fri, 25 March nightfall

Traditional symbols on a seder plate for the Jewish festival of Passover

Pesach 🫓🍷

Fri, 22 April sunset - Sat, 30 April nightfall
Dates listed are for Diaspora (outside of Israel)
15-22 Nisan 5776

Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Also called Chag HaMatzot (the Festival of Matzah), it commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt.

Pesach Sheni: Sat, 21 May sunset - Sun, 22 May nightfall

Crackling bonfire on a dark background, CC0, photo by Matheus Bertelli

Lag BaOmer 🔥

Wed, 25 May sunset - Thu, 26 May nightfall
18 Iyyar 5776

33rd day of counting the Omer. The holiday is a temporary break from the semi-mourning period the counting of the Omer. Practices include lighting bonfires, getting haircuts, and Jewish weddings.

Days of the Omer: Sat, 23 April sunset - Sat, 11 June nightfall

Milk, bread, fruits and dairy products on wooden table

Shavuot ⛰️🌸

Sat, 11 June sunset - Mon, 13 June nightfall
Dates listed are for Diaspora (outside of Israel)
6-7 Sivan 5776

Festival of Weeks. Commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Tish’a B’Av ✡️

Sat, 13 August sunset - Sun, 14 August nightfall
10 Av 5776

The Ninth of Av. Fast commemorating the destruction of the two Temples.

Tzom Tammuz: Sun, 24 July dawn - nightfall

Tu B’Av ❤️

Thu, 18 August sunset - Fri, 19 August nightfall
15 Av 5776

Minor Jewish holiday of love. Observed on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av.

Rosh Hashana 🍏🍯

Sun, 2 October sunset - Tue, 4 October nightfall
1-2 Tishrei 5777

The Jewish New Year. Also spelled Rosh Hashanah.

Tzom Gedaliah: Wed, 5 October dawn - nightfall

Jewish person in a tallit prayer shawl against dramatic sky

Yom Kippur ✡️

Tue, 11 October sunset - Wed, 12 October nightfall
10 Tishrei 5777

Day of Atonement. The holiest day of the year in Judaism, traditionally observed with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer.

Lulav (date palm frond), hadass (myrtle), aravah (willow), and etrog (citron) on a red tablecloth

Sukkot 🌿🍋

Sun, 16 October sunset - Sun, 23 October nightfall
15-21 Tishrei 5777

Feast of Booths. Also called the Feast of Tabernacles, the seven-day holiday is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Hebrew: שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim).

Prayer shawl (tallit) with Torah scroll in a synagogue

Shmini Atzeret & Simchat Torah

Sun, 23 October sunset - Tue, 25 October nightfall
Dates listed are for Diaspora (outside of Israel)
22-23 Tishrei 5777

Eighth Day of Assembly. Immediately following Sukkot, it is observed as a separate holiday in the Diaspora and is combined with Simchat Torah in Israel.

Shmini Atzeret: Sun, 23 October sunset - Mon, 24 October nightfall
Simchat Torah: Mon, 24 October sunset - Tue, 25 October nightfall

Menorah, doughnuts, chocolate coins and wooden dreidels

Chanukah 🕎

Sat, 24 December sunset - Sun, 1 January nightfall
25 Kislev - 3 Tevet 5777

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the eight-day festival is observed by lighting the candles of a hanukkiah (menorah).

Modern holidays 🇮🇱

Modern Israeli holidays are national holidays officially recognized by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Holiday	Starts	Ends	Hebrew Date
Family Day	MondayMon, February 8Feb 8	TuesdayTue, February 9Feb 9	30 Sh’vat
Yom HaShoah	WednesdayWed, May 4May 4	ThursdayThu, May 5May 5	27 Nisan
Yom HaZikaron	TuesdayTue, May 10May 10	WednesdayWed, May 11May 11	3 Iyyar
Yom HaAtzma'ut	WednesdayWed, May 11May 11	ThursdayThu, May 12May 12	4 Iyyar
Herzl Day	TuesdayTue, May 17May 17	WednesdayWed, May 18May 18	10 Iyyar
Yom Yerushalayim	SaturdaySat, June 4Jun 4	SundaySun, June 5Jun 5	28 Iyyar
Jabotinsky Day	WednesdayWed, August 3Aug 3	ThursdayThu, August 4Aug 4	29 Tamuz
Yom HaAliyah School Observance	TuesdayTue, November 8Nov 8	TuesdayTue, November 8Nov 8	7 Cheshvan
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day	SaturdaySat, November 12Nov 12	SundaySun, November 13Nov 13	12 Cheshvan
Sigd	TuesdayTue, November 29Nov 29	WednesdayWed, November 30Nov 30	29 Cheshvan
Ben-Gurion Day	MondayMon, December 5Dec 5	TuesdayTue, December 6Dec 6	6 Kislev

Rosh Chodesh 🌒

רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ, transliterated Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh, is a minor holiday that occurs at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar. It is marked by the birth of a new moon.

Note: the first day of Tishrei is not considered Rosh Chodesh. The holiday that occurs on the 1st day of Tishrei is called Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. For the month of Tishrei, the major holiday of Rosh Hashana takes precedence over what would be a minor holiday.

Rosh Chodesh	Starts	Ends
Sh'vat	SundaySun, January 10Jan 10	MondayMon, January 11Jan 11
Adar I	MondayMon, February 8Feb 8	WednesdayWed, February 10Feb 10
Adar II	WednesdayWed, March 9Mar 9	FridayFri, March 11Mar 11
Nisan	FridayFri, April 8Apr 8	SaturdaySat, April 9Apr 9
Iyyar	SaturdaySat, May 7May 7	MondayMon, May 9May 9
Sivan	MondayMon, June 6Jun 6	TuesdayTue, June 7Jun 7
Tamuz	TuesdayTue, July 5Jul 5	ThursdayThu, July 7Jul 7
Av	ThursdayThu, August 4Aug 4	FridayFri, August 5Aug 5
Elul	FridayFri, September 2Sep 2	SundaySun, September 4Sep 4
Cheshvan	MondayMon, October 31Oct 31	WednesdayWed, November 2Nov 2
Kislev	WednesdayWed, November 30Nov 30	ThursdayThu, December 1Dec 1
Tevet	ThursdayThu, December 29Dec 29	FridayFri, December 30Dec 30

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