Here's a general guide to Israel's holidays in 2014:

 

Jan 26 : Tu Bishvat

Thousands of singing and dancing schoolchildren traipse off to plant trees all over the country. Synagogues and some restaurants have special Tu b'Shevat dinners

 

Feb 24 :Purim

Recalling how Queen Esther saved her people in Persia (5th c. B.C.), this is an exciting time when folks, especially children, dress up in fancy or zany (or sometimes irreligious) costumes, have parties, parade in the streets, give food baskets, spray shaving cream at passersby, and generally make merry

 

March 26 - Apr 1: Pesach

The first night of the holiday is devoted to a Seder, a family meal and ritual recalling the exodus of the ancient Israelites from Egypt. Many hotels and restaurants have special Seders for tourists. The first and last days of this holiday are Sabbath-like affairs, which means the country more or less closes down. During the half-holiday days of the Passover week, many shops, museums, and services are on reduced schedules. As schools are shut, Israelis travel during this week. Reservations at hotels, B&Bs, and kibbutzim are impossible to get unless you've booked well ahead, and rates are the highest of the year

 

Apr 8: Holocaust Memorial Day

This day marks the time of the year in 1945 when the last of the concentration camps in Europe were liberated and the Holocaust came to an end. All places of entertainment are closed. As the day begins (like all Jewish days, at nightfall), most restaurants are closed, although public transportation continues and most shops and businesses are open. At 10am on Yom Ha-Shoah, a siren sounds throughout the nation, and a period of silence is observed in memory of the six million Jews who perished. A special memorial ceremony is held at Yad VaShem in Jerusalem.Apr 15: Memorial Day

One week after Yom Ha-Shoah, the nation remembers its war dead. Restaurants and places of public entertainment are closed, but transportation operates and most shops are open. At 11am, a siren sounds, and a period of silence is observed. Throughout the country, memorial services are held.

 

Apr 16: Independence Day

The day after Memorial Day, Israel commemrates the day in 1948 when the British Mandate ended and the State of Israel was proclaimed. It is celebrated with house parties and municipal fireworks at night.

 

Apr 28 : Lag Ba'omer

Ending 33 days of mourning, this is an especially happy celebration for the Hassidim, who leave Jerusalem and other cities at this time to sing and dance around bonfires at the Meiron tomb of the mystical Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in Galilee. There are also pilgrimages made by Jews to the tombs of great rabbis. Children around the country sing, dance, and light evening bonfires.May 8: Jerusalem Day

Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to thank God for victory in the Six-Day War and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of "Next Year in Jerusalem".

 

May 15: Shavuot (Pentecost)

The early-summer harvest celebration is a joyous time, a special favorite of agricultural settlements. It is often marked by plays, entertainment, and children dressed in white, wearing floral crowns. Since it also recalls the receipt of the Ten Commandments, as well as the bringing of the "first fruits" to The Temple, it is observed as a religious holiday. Dairy foods such as blintzes and cheesecakes are traditionally prepared for the holiday, and at synagogues throughout the country, as well as at the Western Wall, the Torah is studied throughout the night.

 

Jul 16: Tisha B'Av.

The fast day on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av is a time set aside to remember the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which by ominous coincidence were destroyed on the same calendar day in the years 586 B.C. and A.D. 70, respectively. Entertainment facilities are closed. 

 

Sep 5: Rosh Hashana

The start of the High Holy Days. Because the Jewish calendar starts in September or October, that's when New Year falls. It is a 2-day religious festival, not an occasion for revels but rather for solemn contemplation and prayer. Almost everything in the Jewish sector of the country is closed.

 

Sep 14: Yom Kippur

On the 10th day of the Jewish year, the High Holy Days culminate in the most solemn of Jewish holidays. Observant Jews spend nearly the whole day in synagogue. Places of worship are crowded, but the large synagogues reserve seats for tourists, and some of the larger hotels organize their own services. Yom Kippur is a fast day, but hotel dining rooms serve guests who wish to eat. Everything comes to a standstill; even television and radio stations suspend broadcasting.

 

Sep 19-26: Sukkot

This 7-day holiday recalls how Moses and the children of Israel dwelled in "booths" (or "succot") as they left Egypt to wander in the desert. Observant families have meals and services in specially built, highly decorated yet simple huts, located outside in gardens or on balconies. Succot is also a harvest festival and thus an agricultural and kibbutz favorite.

Nov 28-Dec 5: Chanukah

Celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over Syrian Greeks and the consequent rededication of The Temple in 164 B.C. For 8 days, this history-based holiday is marked by the nightly lighting of the Chanukah, or eight-branch menorah (as opposed to the traditional seven-branch menorah, which was lit in The Temple and is a more ancient symbol of the Jewish people).