Rosh Hashanah is Jewish New Year, the High Holy Days of the Jewish calendar. In 2012 Rosh Hashanah is celebrated from 16-18 September.

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The feast starts on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, and comes just before Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. Traditional festive foods include a spiced honey cake and new season fruits, to mark the start of a sweet new year. The traditional Sabbath bread, known as challah, is baked as a round loaf rather than the traditional braid.

Families will eat festive meals over the two high holydays.

Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of the world, while, 10 days later, the fast of Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year when Jews repent their sins. Other festivals include Passover (Pesach); Pentecost (Shavu'ot); and Tabernacles (Sukkot), which commemorate events in Jewish history. Pesach recalls the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt; Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai; and Sukkot remembers the journey of the Jews through the desert on the way to the Promised Land.