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Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year celebration, begins
Traditional foods for Rosh Hashana include challah, apples and honey, and pomegranate seeds.
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Topline:
Today marks the first full day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year celebration which began at sundown Monday and ends at sundown Wednesday, as the Jewish calendar turns from the year 5785 to 5786. It also marks the beginning of the High Holy Days, leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
A holiday for reflection: As a marker of the new year, Rosh Hashanah is a holiday meant for reflection, as well as a time to focus on goals for the coming year. The holiday leads to Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish holiday, which is a time for observers to consider their sins and wrongdoings of the previous year. In 2025, Yom Kippur begins the night of Oct. 1.
More to know: Rosh Hashanah is the only Jewish holiday that is two days long. It’s sometimes referred to as “yoma arichta,” or “a long day,” because the 48 hours could be considered one extended day. Many Jewish communities blow a traditional shofar, a curved ram’s horn, to signify a turn inward to fix yourself ahead of the new year.
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How it’s celebrated: Rosh Hashanah translates from Hebrew to mean the “head of the year." Celebrations include family gatherings, special foods and prayers. Traditional foods include apples and honey as a symbol of hope, challah bread with its round shape symbolizing continuity, and pomegranate seeds to symbolize fertility and abundance.
Go deeper: Rosh Hashanah traditions — how the holiday table evolves
Editor's note: This article was originally published in October 2024 and has been updated for 2025.
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