What are the other Jewish holidays and how are they celebrated?

Rosh Chodesh. New Month. Celebrate the new moon as a time of a reflection and renewal.

Sukkot. Commemorate Israelites who wandered Sinai desert for 40 years after Exodus (see Passover). Build a backyard sukkah to replicate the moveable huts in which they lived.

Shemini Atzeret. Complete the annual reading of the Torah on this eighth day after the start of Sukkot. Shemini Atzeret marks the start of the rainy season in Israel. Therefore, people recite the Tefillat Geshem (the Prayer for Rain) for the first time of the year (this prayer is then recited every day until Passover). The holiday is the day before Simchat Torah.

Simchat Torah. Complete the annual reading of the Torah after reviewing a portion each week. Sing and parade around the synagogue.

Purim. Read the Megillah, the story of Esther, who helped rescue the Jews of Persia from destruction by the king's evil advisor Haman, ca., 356 BCE. Children dress in costume and spin groggers (noisemakers) when Haman's name gets mentioned. Adults celebrate with excessive spirits, encouraged on this festival only.

Tu B'Shevat. Jewish Earth Day, the Birthday of Trees. Give thanks for trees and eat fruit native to Israel in appreciation for the harvest.

Yom HaShoah. Holocaust Remembrance Day. Solemnly memorialize the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazis, 1933-1945. Help ensure "Never Again."

Yom HaZikaron. Israeli Memorial Day. Mourn the Israeli soldiers killed in defense of the Jewish homeland.

Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Israeli Independence Day. Commemorate the 1948 declaration by David Ben-Gurion of the birth of a modern Jewish state in formerly British-controlled Palestine, ending 2,000 years without a sovereign Jewish country.

Lag B'Omer. Suspend for one day the mourning period between Passover and Shavuot (see below) called the "counting of the Omer," which originated as an agricultural tradition but became associated with tragic memories.

Yom Yerushalayim. Jerusalem Day. Celebrate Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem that followed.

Shavuot. Commemorate the "covenant" made between God and Jews with the giving of the Ten Commandments and Torah on Mt. Sinai. Decorate with flowers, eat dairy products, and stay up all night studying.

Tisha B'Av. Fast and mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and other tragedies of Jewish history associated with this date, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av.