Sukkot is a week-long Jewish holiday that is both an agricultural festival of thanksgiving and a commemoration of the forty-year period during which the children of Israel wandered in the desert after leaving slavery in Egypt, living in temporary shelters as they traveled. It is one of the three major festivals in Judaism, along with Passover and Shavuot.
The origins of Sukkot are found in an ancient autumnal harvest festival, often referred to as hag ha-asif, "The Harvest Festival". The holiday celebrates the gathering of the harvest and is known as "the Time of our Happiness". It is also called Zman Simchateinu, meaning "Season of Our Rejoicing," and is the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice.
During Sukkot, it is traditional to eat and, for some, to sleep in a sukkah, a small, temporary booth or hut. The sukkah represents the huts that the Israelites lived in during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. The sukkah has no roof but is instead covered with schach, greenery, or bamboo, so that the stars can be seen at night. It is a gathering place, where it is traditional to welcome guests and enjoy spending time together.
Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Inside the Land of Israel, the first day is celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals. Outside the Land of Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals. The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah and has a special observance of its own.
