I love celebrating the New Year, no matter which culture or religion marks the occasion. A New Year celebration provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past, and make a fresh start for the future. The Jewish New Year celebration, Rosh Hashanah, begins with the blowing of the shofar (the ram's horn) in synagogue. This marks the start of the ten High Holy Days of the Jewish calendar.
The Jewish New Year is no different from that of other religions and cultures in that there are many traditions and symbolic foods associated with it. But unlike many cultures, there isn't lots of wild partying. Rather, the holiday is a period of prayer and reflection shared with one's family and friends. It's a time to ask for forgiveness for one's actions over the past year, and to commit to a fresh start in the coming one.
Many of the traditional recipes for this holiday incorporate honey, representing the hope for a sweet year ahead. Sweet and seasonal fruits and vegetables such as apples and carrots are also traditionally part of the holiday's symbolic ingredients. Challah bread, which is usually baked as a braided loaf, is shaped into a round loaf at this time to represent the cycle of the year. Sometimes ladders or birds are imprinted on the loaves symbolizing the desire that prayers will go up to heaven.
Coincidentally Rosh Hashanah falls in September, a month that represents a fresh start for many of us as we recall the back-to-school memories from our childhood. So even if Rosh Hashanah is not part of your cultural or religious heritage, I encourage you to try some of the traditional holiday recipes with wishes for a sweet year.
