Judaism has many important holidays throughout the year that are wonderful opportunities for family bonding and creating lasting memories. As a foster carer to a Jewish child, participating in these holidays can help them feel connected to their culture and community. Here are some of the major Jewish holidays and tips for celebrating them meaningfully with your foster child.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival, celebrated in September or October. It marks the beginning of the High Holy Days and is a time of prayer, reflection and renewal. Together you can:
- Attend synagogue services. Listening to the shofar (ram’s horn) being blown is a focal point.
- Enjoy a festive meal with symbolic foods like apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year.
- Send Rosh Hashanah greeting cards to friends and family.
- If your child is old enough, encourage them to reflect on the past year and set goals.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, falling 10 days after Rosh Hashanah. Jews observe this Day of Atonement with fasting, prayer and repentance. To take part:
- Light memorial candles at sundown when the fast begins.
- Avoid work, school and technology to focus on prayer and self-reflection.
- Attend synagogue services, which may last much of the day.
- Break the fast together with a nourishing meal at nightfall.
Sukkot
Sukkot is a weeklong harvest festival five days after Yom Kippur. It commemorates the temporary dwellings Israelites lived in after the Exodus. To celebrate you can:
- Eat meals in the sukkah and even camp out in it if theweather permits.
- Say blessings over the lulav (palm branch) and etrog (citron).
- Extend hospitality by inviting friends and neighbours to visit the sukkah.
- If you are fostering a Jewish child with Active Care Solutions, build a sukkah (booth) in your garden and decorate it with fruit and greenery.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the lively Festival of Lights around December. It celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
- Menorah lightings, starting with one candle the first night and adding one each night, are the highlight.
- Fry up potato latkes and play dreidel, a traditional spinning top game.
- Exchange small gifts like gelt (chocolate coins) to honour the miracle of oil lasting eight nights.
- Sing Hanukkah songs like “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” and “Maoz Tzur.”
Passover
Passover in March or April commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in Egypt. The ritual Seder meal is rich with symbols of freedom.
- Do a thorough house cleaning and remove all leavened bread and grains.
- Set the Seder table with symbolic plates and decorations.
- Hold a Seder with traditional prayers, stories, songs, food and drink like matzah.
- Hide the afikoman (matzah) for kids to find for a reward.
Celebrating holidays meaningfully creates joyful memories for your foster child while teaching them about their Jewish identity. Keep traditions alive but also start new ones to help develop your own family rituals.