Rosh Hashanah

At sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, Rosh Hashanah begins, and its first full day falls on Saturday, October 2. The Jewish New Year opens the Hebrew year 5788 and the ten Days of Awe, a season of reflection, prayer, and sweet hope for the year ahead.

OCT2

Saturday, October 2Every year on October 2

days to go

Roots: Rosh Hashanah is Hebrew for head of the year, and it is considered in Jewish tradition the birthday of the world, the anniversary of the creation of humanity.
Hashtag: #RoshHashanah

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3 ways to celebrate

IN COMMUNITY

Hear the Shofar

If you celebrate, attend services and hear the ram's horn sounded on both mornings, a call to awaken the soul and reflect.

AT HOME

Dip Apples in Honey

Dip apples in honey, eaten on the first night, and taste the sweetness everyone hopes the new year will bring.

WITH FAMILY

Share a Sweet Table

Share round challah with raisins, pomegranates, or honey cake with family, and let the sweet table set the tone for the year.

Plan ahead

Rosh Hashanah is observed on October 2 every year. Here is where it lands for the next ten years, handy for planners, marketers and party people.

2026Fri, Oct 2this year

2027Sat, Oct 2

2028Mon, Oct 2

2029Tue, Oct 2

2030Wed, Oct 2

2031Thu, Oct 2

2032Sat, Oct 2

2033Sun, Oct 2

2034Mon, Oct 2

2035Tue, Oct 2

2036Thu, Oct 2

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Fast facts

The shofar, a ram's horn, is sounded on both mornings of the holiday, as a call to awaken the soul and reflect on one's actions.

Holiday tables feature sweet foods for a sweet year ahead: apples dipped in honey, round challah with raisins, pomegranates, and honey cake.

The story

Rosh Hashanah is Hebrew for head of the year. It is the Jewish New Year, observed for two days, and in 2027 it begins the Hebrew year 5788. It is considered in Jewish tradition the birthday of the world, the anniversary of the creation of humanity. The holiday begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, 2027, and runs to nightfall on Sunday, October 3.

Read the full story

Rosh Hashanah opens the Days of Awe, a ten-day period of reflection, prayer, and repentance that ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. A central ritual is the sounding of the shofar, a ram's horn, during synagogue services on both mornings, as a call to awaken the soul and reflect on one's actions.

During the holiday, the Tashlich ceremony is performed, symbolically casting sins into flowing water. At the table, sweet foods carry the hope of a sweet year ahead: apples dipped in honey, round challah with raisins, pomegranates, whose many seeds symbolize the hope that the year will be rich with blessings, and honey cake.

The traditional greeting is Shana Tova, Hebrew for A Good Year, sometimes extended to Shanah tovah u'metukah, a good and sweet year. It is a gentle way to wish anyone marking the new year well as 5788 begins.