Over the past two years, plant-based food consumption has grown by 49% across the EU, reaching a total sales volume of €3.6 billion.
2016 Jewish New Year Holiday Notice
2025-05-15
We are delighted to welcome Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of the year 5778. Rosh Hashanah, October 2-12, 2016, is a 10-day holiday for Jewish priests. During this period, we will not be able to handle kosher inspections or certifications. However, our China office will be available to handle kosher certification inquiries, application submissions, and preliminary reviews. Please be advised of this.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish festival marking the beginning of the new year. It falls on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the civil calendar, which coincides with the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashana), the beginning of the Jewish year. It means "the most precious month" of all months. The Bible does not recognize this day as a New Year's Day celebration, but rather stipulates that it should be observed as a "day to blow trumpets" (overlapping with the Feast of Trumpets mentioned in the Bible). Because it falls on the seventh new moon of the year (according to the Jewish civil calendar), it carries special significance, much like the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. Therefore, it is celebrated as a particularly sacred day. During the Second Temple period, the widespread adoption of the civil calendar made this day the first day of the new year, gradually becoming a special festival celebrating the recurring beginning of the new year.
Rosh Hashanah, the first day of a ten-day period of awe that includes Yom Kippur, is primarily a day of repentance and atonement. On this day, people review their actions and words from the past year and reflect on any sins they may have committed. Judaism believes that all people will be judged by God on this day, so Jews also call it "Judgment Day." One way to celebrate the new year is to attend religious ceremonies in the synagogue. Three prayers are said and the shofar is blown three times, expressing both reverence and faith in God. Devout Jews also perform an atonement ceremony in the afternoon by the sea, river, or nearby flowing water. The verse from the Bible, "I cast all our sins into the depths of the sea," is recited, and the hem of the garment is shaken three times to symbolize the casting away of sin and becoming pure. Some also write their reflections on the past year's sins on a piece of paper and throw it into a fire to cleanse themselves of their sins.
Although Jewish New Year is a day of reverence and repentance, it should not be considered a time of pain or sorrow, but rather a time of celebration, as God's forgiveness of sins ensures the coming of happiness. Families typically gather on this day, and New Year's Eve dinner includes candied apples and bread dipped in honey, symbolizing the sweetness and happiness of the coming year. People also exchange New Year's cards and gifts, and many travel to express their joy.