Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year.
 
Background
Rosh Hashanah is both joyful and serious. We celebrate the arrival of the new year and also begin a process of self reflection, as we seek to improve ourselves during the coming year. Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest days of the Jewish year.

Customs

• People send greeting cards to wish each other a good year.
• We blow the Shofar, a ram’s horn (which makes a trumpet-type sound), to wake us up to the work of self-reflection and repentance.
• We eat apples or challah dipped in honey, as we wish each other a sweet new year.

Greetings
It is appropriate to wish people a gut yontiff  or gut yor or shana tova—a good holiday or a good year or shana tova u’m’tukah—a good and sweet year.