This past Sunday, Ethan got to celebrate his very first Sukkot!
Most of you might be wondering: What is Sukkot?
Sukkot is a week long Jewish Holiday that comes five days after Yom Kippur and celebrates the gathering of the harvest. During this holiday, people eat and sometimes sleep in a Sukkah, a little outdoor shed that commemorates the time the Israelite’s spent in the wilderness after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. Although we’re not religious, we’re raising Ethan in an interfaith family and want him to learn about his Jewish heritage. Sukkot is a great time of year to celebrate the gifts of the earth and to spend time with family and friends.
We first made a quick stop at the DANI Grand Succos Festival.
We loved cuddling all the animals and enjoyed supporting this amazing organization.
Our next stop? Visiting our friends and family in their sukkahs!
In the Sukkah, our cousins Tammy and Wally taught us how to recite the blessing, hold the “etrog” (a lemon) and wave the “lulav”, a bouquet of palm, willow and myrtle.
Our friends Lonny and Mitch also had very specific instructions posted in their sukkah on how to get shaking!
One of the best parts of owning your own Sukkah? The decorations! It is customary to decorate the Sukkah with art and home made decorations.
We had an amazing time celebrating Sukkot with our friends and family. If it’s not practical to have a Sukkah at your home, many synagogues build their own that you can visit!
Whether you spent this Sukkot as a guest or a host, I hope you were able to spend the weekend with people you love and took time to get outside and enjoy the weather!
Until next time!
xo
Jen
Loved your visit, maybe next year Ethan can make a decoration for our Sukkah.
He had so much fun and didn’t want to leave!