Judaism is diverse. Like other religious traditions, it encompasses many different movements with different interpretations of religious laws, which in turn influence the ways people observe holidays. These include liberal or progressive, egalitarian, Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Judaism. Orthodox Jews, some of whom refer to their tradition as Torah Judaism, strictly follow the laws stated in the Torah and in Rabbinic literature. Here Neo-Orthodox and Modern Orthodox Jews are to be distinguished from the "ultra-Orthodox" Haredi community, who are known for their distinctive clothing style and represent a small minority of the world’s Jewish population. Most Jewish residents of Germany observe religious laws according to interpretations that are adapted to modern circumstances.

Jewish holidays begin on the evening of the previous day and end shortly after nightfall on the holiday. On the biblical holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot) and on Shabbat, traditionally no work of any kind is to be performed. For traditionally observant Jews this means, for example, that they do not use any electrical appliances or listen to any music.

Shabbat

Shabbat is the weekly sabbath, which begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening. Keeping Shabbat as a day of rest is considered a holy commandment. Traditionally observant Jews do not operate light switches or any electrical appliances, nor do they travel or perform any kind of work on Shabbat. Shabbat is often a day dedicated to family and friends. Sharing meals, attending synagogue and taking a walk together on Shabbat — all of this creates a sense of identity and community. Non-Orthodox Jews also make Shabbat a special day by spending time with family and friends and may, for example, refrain from using their mobile phones or the internet.

Before Shabbat begins, all necessary preparations are made and the festive meal is prepared to make room for the peace of Shabbat. Shortly before nightfall, two Shabbat candles are lit at home or in the synagogue.

In the synagogue, the congregation welcomes Shabbat with a special prayer called Kabbalat Shabbat. Prior to the Friday evening Shabbat meal, the Kiddush is recited to bless the wine. Challah (braided yeast bread) is also blessed and eaten on Shabbat. Shabbat traditionally ends with the Havdalah ceremony, which involves lighting a braided, doublewick candle, blessing the wine and inhaling the smell of herbs or spices. This ceremony marks the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week.

Rosh Hashanah — New Year

Date: 1 and 2 Tishri (first month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday to celebrate the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the day on which God created the world. Rosh Hashanah (literally "head of the year") is also considered a day of judgement on which Jews pray for forgiveness of their sins. Prayer and contemplation help to renew the covenant between God and man. Members of the community also ask each other for forgiveness on Rosh Hashanah, which helps to strengthen human relations within the community.

On Rosh Hashanah, many people gather to pray at the synagogue, in some cases wearing white clothes as a symbol of purity and a new beginning. Often, people buy new clothes to wear on this special holiday. The prayer culminates in the blowing of the shofar or ram horn.

Traditionally, many symbolic dishes are served on Rosh Hashanah as an expression of good wishes and blessings for the new year. Typically, round challah is served to symbolise the cycle of the year; it is served with honey in the hope that the new year may be sweet. Other typical foods include apple slices dipped in honey and pomegranates, whose many seeds represent the numerous commandments of the Jewish religion. People wish each other a “good and sweet new year” and resolve to do a lot of good in the new year.

Rosh Hashanah typically falls in the month of September or October according to the Gregorian calendar.

Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement

Date: 10 Tishri (first month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Yom Kippur is the highest and most sacred holiday in the Jewish calendar. Ten days after Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur is observed to celebrate reconciliation between God and man. In the days between Rosh Hashanah, when, according to Jewish tradition, God inscribes the fate of every human being for the coming year in the Book of Life, and the Day of Atonement, when God seals his verdict, Jews seek repentance and atonement for their wrongdoings and strive to obtain God's forgiveness and a favourable verdict. Metaphorically speaking, the Day of Atonement is the last opportunity to lodge an appeal with God.

Yom Kippur is a day of strict fasting on which Jews are not allowed to eat or drink from sunset until nightfall on the next day, that is, for a period of 25 hours. Like on Shabbat, the traditionally observant do not perform any kind of work — this may include not only gainful employment but also cooking, the use of electrical appliances, sports activities, etc.

Some Jews attend day-long synagogue services on Yom Kippur where they pray intensely with other members of the congregation. Traditionally, white clothing is considered a symbol of purity. The holiday ends after nightfall with the Ne’ila prayer, which "seals" God’s verdict. Afterwards, there is a communal fast-breaking.

Sukkot — the Feast of Tabernacles

Date: 15 Tishri (first month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated over a period of seven days in autumn to commemorate the Jewish exodus from Egypt and the period of 40 years when the Israelites wandered in the desert, living in makeshift shelters. Traditionally, all meals during this holiday season are taken in a hut known as the sukkah, which does not have a solid roof but is covered with twigs or straw. Adults and children get together to decorate the sukkah, for example with fruits. Those who take the biblical commandment literally will even spend the nights of Sukkot in the sukkah.

Sukkot is a celebration of the harvest. This is symbolised by arba'at ha-minim (the four species), a special bouquet made of palm leaves, myrtle, willow branches and yellow citron. On Sukkot this bouquet is waved in all directions to thank God for the harvest.

Shemini Atzeret

Date: 22 Tishri (first month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

On the eighth day of Sukkot, Jews celebrate what is known as Shemini Atzeret, the end holiday of Sukkot, which marks the beginning of winter. In addition to other prayers, the Yizkor, a memorial prayer for the departed, is recited.

Simchat Torah

Date: 23 Tishri (first month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

The holiday season concludes with Simchat Torah, a joyful holiday to celebrate the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah readings, which means that the entirety of the five books of Moses has been read in the Shabbat morning prayers and a new reading cycle can start. This transition is cheerfully celebrated at the synagogue: All Torah scrolls are taken out of the Aron Kodesh, the Torah ark where they are stored, and carried around the synagogue and sometimes also outdoors, while worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing. Traditionally, many children participate in the ceremony and are presented with lavish amounts of sweets.

Hanukkah

Date: 25 Kislev (third month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, brightens the dark winter season. The term "Hanukkah" means "consecration" and stands for the rededication of the Temple following the Maccabean victory over the Hellenes around the year 167 BCE. This holiday serves to celebrate not only this victory but also the miracle that the single container of kosher ritual olive oil which was left in Jerusalem’s Temple kept the menorah burning for eight days, even though it was only enough oil for one day. This gave the Jewish community enough time to press new consecrated oil.

The festival is observed for eight nights and days by lighting one additional candle of the menorah every evening until, on the last day, there are eight candles burning plus the shamash ("attendant"), a special candle which is used to light the other candles. The menorah is placed in the window of the home so that it can be seen from outside and bear witness to the miracle of Hanukkah. The ritual candle-lighting is accompanied by blessings and Hanukkah songs. Traditionally, fatty food is served to commemorate the oil miracle. This includes latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts known as sufganiyot. Children are presented with chocolate coins and play with the dreidel, a four-sided spinning top with Hebrew letters on each side (nun, gimel, hei, shin), which stand for the sentence "nes gadol haya sham" ("a great miracle happened there").

The rules of the game are as follows: nuts, chocolate coins or similar sweets are distributed among the players and some are put into the centre of the table. If the dreidel lands on nun, you do not get anything; if it lands on gimel, you win everything in the pot; if the dreidel lands on hei, you collect half the pieces in the pot and if it lands on shin, you have to put everything you have into the pot.

Tu BiShvat

Date: 15 Shvat (fifth month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

On 15 Shvat, Jews celebrate the New Year of the Trees. On Tu BiShvat, which is celebrated in January or February, the first trees, especially almond trees, are already blossoming in Israel. There are various traditions associated with this holiday, all of them involving fruits and flowers. Traditionally, typical (dried) fruits from Israel are eaten (such as dates, apricots, figs, raisins and locust beans). In the late 19th century, a new tradition of planting trees to mark the beginning of spring developed in Israel.

Purim

14 Adar (sixth month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Purim is a holiday to commemorate Queen Esther saving the Jewish people in Persia. The story is recounted in the Megillat Ester (Esther scroll).
The influential royal vizier Haman planned to kill all the Jews in Persia, whom he regarded as enemies. Through skilful diplomacy, the Jewish Queen Esther managed to thwart his plan. She persuaded her husband, King Ahasuerus, to allow the Jews to defend and thus rescue themselves.

Every year on Purim, this story is read out in the synagogue. Traditionally, children and adults wear colourful costumes and there is a joyful party. Whenever the name of the villain Haman is mentioned during the recital, the members of the congregation shake rattles to drown out his name in the noise. On Purim, quite a lot of alcohol is drunk because the commandment stipulates that one should drink until one is no longer able to distinguish between Haman (the villain) and Mordechai (the hero). The food traditionally served on Purim includes not only many sweets but also oznei Haman or hamantashen, which are shortbread triangles filled with poppy seed, chocolate or jam.

Passover

Date: 15-22 Nissan (seventh month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Passover is also known as the Festival of Matzah, the Festival of Freedom or the Spring Festival. It commemorates the exodus of the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery. Since they fled unexpectedly, the Israelites did not have time to leaven their bread dough. This is why matzah, or unleavened bread, is a symbol of this holiday. During the eight days of Passover, it is forbidden to even possess leaven or leavened food (chametz), especially baked goods containing yeast or leaven. To comply with this commandment, homes are thoroughly cleaned and all food that is not kosher for Passover is either given away or sold.
Passover begins with the evening of the first seder, when the story of the exodus from Egypt (the Haggadah) is retold and families gather for a festive dinner. The seder is generally celebrated at home with friends and family; earlier in the evening, prayers are also held in the synagogue. On the seder plate, there are symbolic foods such as bitter herbs and Charoset, a sweet mixture of nuts and fruits. According to the rite, four cups of wine should be drunk and certain foods should be dipped into salt water. The reading of the Haggadah often ends late at night with traditional songs including Echad mi Yodea and Chad Gadya. Some Jews also celebrate additional seders on other evenings of Passover.

Shavuot

Date: 6 and 7 Sivan (ninth month of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar)

Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, commemorates the divine revelation and the giving of the Ten Commandments by God to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. This event is the basis for the covenant between God and the people. Shavuot is also one of the three pilgrimage festivals on which the first fruits were offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. For this reason, homes and synagogues are decorated with fresh greenery.

Another tradition involves staying up all night until dawn to study the Torah, a practice known as Tiqun ("improvement", "rectification"). On the first night of Shavuot, Jews the world over customarily wear white clothes and stay awake to study together and prepare mentally for the revelation, thus emulating the example of the biblical Israelites in the desert. The studies end with the morning prayer at daybreak.

Traditionally, dairy products such as cheesecake, blintzes (pancakes filled with sweet cheese) and kugel (a cheesy bake) are served on Shavuot. In the synagogue, the Book of Ruth, who converted to Judaism, is read out.