Rosh HaShanah (literally “head of the year”) is the New Year in Judaism. It is the birthday of the creation of the universe and humanity.
It is observed on the first two days of the New Year. Part of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar (a hollowed-out ram’s horn). This follows the command to “raise a noise” in the Hebrew Bible.
Other customs include taschlich (casting away sins in moving water), lighting candles, special prayers, attending synagogue services, and enjoying festive meals with friends and family. People also eat symbolic foods like apples and honey and round challot (braided bread).
Some communities have a Seder on Rosh HaShanah.
Text adapted from English Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0.
