Do You Love Jewish Holidays As Much As I Do?

Doubt it. However, I’m not Jewish. I’m unfortunately very Gentile (goyum) but have a fascination with Jewish people, customs, traditions and holidays. They are quite enthralling! If you’re like me, you’ll love what I discovered when browsing the new features on the Flower Shop Network website. We recently added the ability to add Jewish holiday pages to florists’ online websites. How cool! Now I won’t have to get terribly creative when the Jewish holidays roll around. I can simply click, browse, buy and be done with it. Sweet!

Bar & Bat Mitzvahs In The Temple

These cool pages definitely pique my interest. What do you think? I’ve included a link to the pages (just click on the title of the holiday below) as well as some information about each holiday for the rest of the Jewish-loving gentiles among us flower folk. I greatly encourage you to read more about each of the holidays. The history behind them is full of richness and intricately woven with passionate, scriptural detail. Enjoy!

**Interesting note, all of these holidays are celebrated from the sunset to sunset rather than midnight to midnight. This means most Jewish holidays span two days on the Caesarian calendar commonly used today.**

Rosh HaShanah (ראש השנה) — Rosh HaShanah is the Jewish new year. It is a holiday that occurs ten days before Yom Kippur, another major holiday. These two days are known as the “Days of Awe” in Hebrew. In English, they are called the “High Holy Days”. Officially the day falls within the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar because it is believed that God created the world in this month (Tishrei). The start of the Hebrew calendar is the month of Nissan which marks the date the Jews were freed from slavery in Egypt.

Rosh HaShanah is a peaceful holiday. Similar to a New Year’s resolution, the Jewish people believe that God will use the two days of Rosh HaShanah to decide who lives and who dies in the coming year. Therefore, the Hebrew people are encouraged to reflect upon their lives and their habits and give thought to what they will correct in the future. They are also encouraged to make amends with anyone who they have caused to suffer wrongdoing in the previous year.

(Send flowers for Rosh HaShanah or view the new Rosh HaShanah eCommerce website for florists)

Passover (Pesach) — Passover (Pesach) commemorates the establishment of the Jewish nation, or rather the birth of it centuries ago. Passover is celebrated on the fifteenth day of Nissan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Christians and Jews alike recognize passover, or at least the story of it, as the story itself is a huge part of both Judaism and Christianity (which recognize the same God).

According to the story, Moses was commanded by God to ask the Pharoah of Egypt to “let my people go” which meant to free the Hebrews from slavery. Of course, the Pharoah denied his working class any freedoms and less-than-politely declined. Interestingly enough, the two were adopted brothers. In suit, God instilled a bout of plagues on Egypt ranging from locusts that devoured the crops to frogs that were as prevalent as the people.

The final plague was to send the Angel of Death to take the firstborn of each household. The exception was for those whose homes had been marked accordingly with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. (i.e. “passover” the homes/children that are protected) Pharoah having ignored this, his first and only son was killed. It was then that he released the Hebrews. Of course, his pride kicked in sometime later and he chased down the Hebrews who withstood only because of the miracle whereby Moses parted the Red Sea for his people to walk across to safety.

As with other celebrations of the birth of a nation (such as the American Independence Day), the entire process is celebrated but formally recognized for only one day. The celebration does not just include the birth of the nation. Passover also celebrates the pride of Judaism, the freedom of the Jews (past and present), and is a formal day of giving thanks to God for these blessings.

(Send flowers for Passover or view the new Passover eCommerce website for florists)

Copyright:  Hayer Shtayer 2007

Hanukkah (Chanukah) — Chanukah is a fun Jewish holiday which most people, Jewish or not, recognize and are familiar with. It is a celebration of two miracles and is also known as the Festival of Lights. Many associate this title with the traditional use of a menorah, or eight fingered candle holder. Chanukah (Hanukkah) is an eight day celebration. During each of the eight days, a single candle is lit on the menorah (Hanukkiah or Chanukiah in Hebrew). This represents the first miracle during the purification of the temple around 165 BCE.

According to the Talmud, there was only enough oil to last the one day. The miracle is that the oil lasted for eight days. Because of this, the menorah is lit one candle at a time during the eight day celebration. This is often performed in front of a window or in another area that can be easily seen so as to follow the commandment to publicize the miracle.

The second miracle celebrated on Chanukah is how Judah Maccabee and his four brothers organized a militant resistance group to drive the much larger Greek-Syrian army out of Judea. This act freed the group from religious persecution and oppression. Henceforth, the freedom gained on this day has remained a large part of the Chanukah celebration.

(Send flowers for Hanukkah or view the new Hanukkah eCommerce website for florists)