Jewish Holidays 2026–2027: Dates, Calendar & Meanings

Jewish holidays 2026–2027 span two Hebrew years, 5787 and 5788, and include 29 holidays, fast days, and modern observances between Friday, September 11, 2026, and Friday, December 24, 2027.

Jewish holidays run on the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, so they land on different Gregorian dates every year. Between August 2026 and December 2027, 29 holidays and fasts occur; check the table below.

Jewish Holidays 2026–2027 at a Glance

The remaining 2026 calendar opens with Rosh Hashanah on Friday, September 11, and the 2027 calendar closes with Hanukkah beginning Friday, December 24.

Twenty-one of the 29 entries fall within Hebrew year 5787 (September 2026–September 2027) and eight fall in the final months of 5786 and the opening of 5788.

Holiday	Hebrew Date	2026–2027 Gregorian Dates	Category	Work Restricted
Rosh Hashanah	1–2 Tishrei 5787	Friday, September 11 – Sunday, September 13, 2026	Major	Yes
Fast of Gedaliah	3 Tishrei 5787	Monday, September 14, 2026	Minor fast	No
Yom Kippur	10 Tishrei 5787	Sunday, September 20 – Monday, September 21, 2026	Major fast	Yes
Sukkot	15–21 Tishrei 5787	Friday, September 25 – Friday, October 2, 2026	Major (first two days)	Yes, first two days only
Shmini Atzeret	22 Tishrei 5787	Friday, October 2 – Saturday, October 3, 2026	Major	Yes
Simchat Torah	23 Tishrei 5787	Saturday, October 3 – Sunday, October 4, 2026	Major	Yes
Hanukkah	25 Kislev–2 Tevet 5787	Friday, December 4 – Saturday, December 12, 2026	Minor	No
Fast of the Tenth of Tevet	10 Tevet 5787	Sunday, December 20, 2026	Minor fast	No
Tu BiShvat	15 Shevat 5787	Friday, January 22 – Saturday, January 23, 2027	Minor	No
Fast of Esther	13 Adar II 5787	Monday, March 22, 2027	Minor fast	No
Purim	14 Adar II 5787	Monday, March 22 – Tuesday, March 23, 2027	Minor	No
Shushan Purim	15 Adar II 5787	Tuesday, March 23 – Wednesday, March 24, 2027	Minor	No
Passover (Pesach)	15–22 Nisan 5787	Wednesday, April 21 – Thursday, April 29, 2027	Major, first two and last two days	Yes, first two and last two days
Yom HaShoah	27 Nisan 5787	Monday, May 3 – Tuesday, May 4, 2027	Modern/civil	No
Yom HaZikaron	4 Iyyar 5787	Monday, May 10 – Tuesday, May 11, 2027	Modern/civil	No
Yom HaAtzma’ut	5 Iyyar 5787	Tuesday, May 11 – Wednesday, May 12, 2027	Modern/civil	No
Lag BaOmer	18 Iyyar 5787	Monday, May 24 – Tuesday, May 25, 2027	Minor	No
Yom Yerushalayim	28 Iyyar 5787	Thursday, June 3 – Friday, June 4, 2027	Modern/civil	No
Shavuot	6–7 Sivan 5787	Thursday, June 10 – Saturday, June 12, 2027	Major	Yes
Fast of the 17th of Tammuz	17 Tammuz 5787	Thursday, July 22, 2027	Minor fast	No
Tisha B’Av	9 Av 5787	Wednesday, August 11 – Thursday, August 12, 2027	Major fast	No, though work is customarily curtailed
Tu B’Av	15 Av 5787	Tuesday, August 17 – Wednesday, August 18, 2027	Minor	No
Rosh Hashanah	1–2 Tishrei 5788	Friday, October 1 – Sunday, October 3, 2027	Major	Yes
Fast of Gedaliah	3 Tishrei 5788	Monday, October 4, 2027	Minor fast	No
Yom Kippur	10 Tishrei 5788	Sunday, October 10 – Monday, October 11, 2027	Major fast	Yes
Sukkot	15–21 Tishrei 5788	Friday, October 15 – Friday, October 22, 2027	Major (first two days)	Yes, first two days only
Shmini Atzeret	22 Tishrei 5788	Friday, October 22 – Saturday, October 23, 2027	Major	Yes
Simchat Torah	23 Tishrei 5788	Saturday, October 23 – Sunday, October 24, 2027	Major	Yes
Hanukkah	25 Kislev 5788 onward	Friday, December 24, 2027 – Saturday, January 1, 2028	Minor	No

How to Read These Dates: Sundown to Nightfall

Every Jewish holiday begins at sundown on the evening before its listed Gregorian date and ends at nightfall on its final listed date.

This rule comes from the Genesis account of creation (“And it was evening, and it was morning”) and applies to every entry in the table above, not just to Shabbat.

Rosh Hashanah 2026, for example, is listed as September 11–13, but the first candle is lit at sundown on September 11 (a Friday), and the holiday itself is observed on September 12 and September 13.

Employers and schools scheduling around these dates should treat the evening before the first listed date as the actual start of the observance.

Why Jewish Holidays Begin the Evening Before the Listed Date

Jewish holidays begin the evening before because the Hebrew day starts at sundown, not at midnight. Nightfall (tzeit hakochavim, literally “emergence of the stars”) marks the transition, typically defined as the point when three medium-sized stars become visible.

This differs from the Gregorian civil day, which starts at midnight, so a Gregorian date printed on a calendar always understates when a Jewish holiday actually begins by several hours.

For major fasts, including Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, this same sundown-to-nightfall window defines a full 25-hour fast rather than a single calendar day.

Categories of Jewish Holidays: Major, Minor and Modern

Jewish holidays fall into three factual categories: major holidays with work restrictions, minor holidays and fast days without them, and modern civil observances established after 1948.

This categorization, not a subjective ranking, is what determines whether a given date closes schools, businesses, or government offices.

The Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Shalosh Regalim)

Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot are collectively known as the Shalosh Regalim, or Three Pilgrimage Festivals, because they required travel to the Temple in Jerusalem during the periods when the First and Second Temples stood.

Each marks an agricultural season in the Land of Israel in addition to its historical narrative: Passover marks the barley harvest, Shavuot the wheat harvest, and Sukkot the fall harvest.

All three carry full work restrictions on their leading and, where applicable, concluding days.

The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim) and Fast Days

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together form the High Holidays, also called Yamim Noraim or the Days of Awe. The ten days between them, including Rosh Hashanah itself, are known as the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance.

Separately, the Hebrew calendar includes six fast days: Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av are major 25-hour fasts, while the Fast of Gedaliah, the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet, the Fast of Esther, and the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz are minor dawn-to-nightfall fasts that do not carry work restrictions.

The Remaining High Holidays of 2026

Rosh Hashanah 2026: September 11–13 (Year 5787 Begins)

Rosh Hashanah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, September 11, and concludes at nightfall on Sunday, September 13, marking the start of Hebrew year 5787.

The holiday is observed for two days everywhere, including in Israel, unlike most other major holidays where Israel observes one day and the Diaspora observes two.

Traditional practices include hearing the shofar (a ram’s horn) blown in a synagogue service, eating apples dipped in honey to symbolize hope for a sweet new year, and Tashlich, a ceremony in which participants symbolically cast away sins by throwing bread crumbs or pebbles into flowing water.

Rosh Hashanah Greetings: What to Say

The standard Rosh Hashanah greeting is “Shana Tova,” meaning “good year,” or the fuller “Shana Tova U’Metukah,” meaning “a good and sweet year.” “L’Shana Tova Tikatevu,” meaning “may you be inscribed for a good year,” references the belief that a person’s fate for the coming year is written during this period.

Any of these three phrases is appropriate in a card, an email, or spoken directly to someone observing the holiday.

Fast of Gedaliah 2026: September 14

The Fast of Gedaliah falls on Monday, September 14, 2026, the day immediately following the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah.

The fast commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah ben Achikam, the governor appointed over Judah after the First Temple’s destruction in 586 BCE, an event that ended the last vestige of Jewish self-governance in the land at that time. It runs from dawn to nightfall and does not restrict work.

Yom Kippur 2026: September 20–21

Yom Kippur 2026 begins at sundown on Sunday, September 20, and ends at nightfall on Monday, September 21. It is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, observed through a 25-hour fast, extended prayer services, and a full restriction on work identical to Shabbat.

Yom Kippur Fasting Rules

The Yom Kippur fast prohibits eating, drinking, bathing, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations from sundown to nightfall the following day.

Healthy adults are expected to observe the full fast; exemptions exist for children under bar or bat mitzvah age, pregnant or nursing women in specific circumstances, and individuals whose health would be endangered by fasting, determined in consultation with a physician and, where applicable, a rabbi.

Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2026: September 25 – October 4

Sukkot 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, September 25, and runs through nightfall on Friday, October 2, followed immediately by Shmini Atzeret (October 2–3) and Simchat Torah (October 3–4).

Only the first two days of Sukkot and the Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah days carry full work restrictions; the intermediate days, September 27–October 1, are Chol HaMoed, on which most forms of work are permitted.

Central rituals include building and eating meals in a sukkah, a temporary outdoor booth roofed with organic material, and waving the lulav (a bundle of palm, myrtle, and willow branches) together with the etrog (a citron) during daily prayers.

Simchat Torah marks the completion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and the immediate start of the next cycle.

Hanukkah 2026: Dates, Candle-Lighting and the Christmas Overlap

Hanukkah 2026 Dates: December 4–12

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and concludes at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. The eight-day festival commemorates the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the second century BCE and the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

Each evening, one additional candle is lit on a nine-branched hanukkiah, using a helper candle called the shamash to light the others, until all eight branches are lit on the final night.

Does Hanukkah 2026 Overlap With Christmas?

No, Hanukkah 2026 does not overlap with Christmas. The holiday concludes on December 12, thirteen days before Christmas Day.

This differs from the following year: Hanukkah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, December 24, 2027 — Christmas Eve — producing the direct calendar overlap that some 2026-dated planning content mistakenly attributes to this year instead.

Fast of the Tenth of Tevet 2026: December 20

The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet falls on Sunday, December 20, 2026, marking the anniversary of the start of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar II in 588 BCE.

Like the other minor fasts, it runs from dawn to nightfall without work restrictions.

Jewish Holidays 2027: The Full Year Ahead

Tu BiShvat 2027: January 22–23

Tu BiShvat 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, January 22, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, January 23. Known as the New Year for Trees, it is one of four dates the Mishnah designates as a Jewish new year, and it is marked today with tree-planting and, in some communities, a seder featuring fruits associated with the Land of Israel.

Purim 2027: March 22–23

Purim 2027 begins at sundown on Monday, March 22, and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, March 23. It commemorates the events of the Book of Esther, in which Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai foiled a plot by Haman to destroy the Jewish population of the Persian Empire.

Observance includes a public reading of the Megillah (Book of Esther), giving mishloach manot (gift baskets of food to friends), matanot la’evyonim (charitable gifts to the poor), and a festive meal.

Hamantaschen, triangular filled cookies, are a standard food association. Shushan Purim, observed a day later on March 23–24 in cities historically walled at the time of Joshua, such as Jerusalem, follows the same narrative on a one-day delay.

Why Purim 2027 Falls in “Adar II,” Not “Adar”

Purim 2027 is recorded as 14 Adar II because 5787 is a Hebrew leap year containing two months named Adar. When a leap month is inserted, it is placed before the standard Adar and named Adar I (or Adar Rishon), while the original Adar is renamed Adar II (or Adar Sheni) and retains all of the original month’s observances, including Purim.

A minor, secondary observance called Purim Katan falls on 14 Adar I in leap years but carries none of Purim’s formal requirements.

Passover (Pesach) 2027: April 21–29

Passover 2027 begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 21, and concludes at nightfall on Thursday, April 29. It commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The first two nights include a Seder, a structured ritual meal following the Haggadah, during which participants eat matzah (unleavened bread) and maror (bitter herbs) and, in many households, conclude with children searching for a hidden piece of matzah called the afikoman.

Chametz, any leavened grain product, is removed from the home before the holiday begins and avoided throughout its eight days in the Diaspora.

Passover 2027 vs. Easter: Why the Dates Fall Weeks Apart This Cycle

Passover and Easter are usually close together because both are calculated from a spring full moon, but in 2027 they fall more than three weeks apart.

Western Easter lands on Sunday, March 28, 2027, following the first full moon after the spring equinox, while Passover does not begin until Wednesday, April 21, 2027.

The gap exists because 5787’s intercalary Adar I delays the start of Nisan, the month in which Passover falls, by roughly a full lunar month relative to a non-leap year.

Jewish law requires Nisan, and therefore Passover, to fall after the spring equinox; the leap month exists specifically to prevent Passover from drifting backward into winter, and in years like 2027 that correction pushes it well past Easter instead of alongside it.

Israel’s Modern Holidays 2027: Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma’ut

Three consecutive modern observances fall in the same three-week window in spring 2027. Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, runs from sundown Monday, May 3, through nightfall Tuesday, May 4.

Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s memorial day for fallen soldiers and terror victims, follows on Monday, May 10, through Tuesday, May 11.

Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day, begins immediately afterward at sundown on Tuesday, May 11, and runs through Wednesday, May 12, deliberately scheduled to transition directly from mourning into celebration.

Lag BaOmer and Yom Yerushalayim 2027

Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, falls on Monday, May 24, through Tuesday, May 25, 2027, and marks a temporary suspension of the semi-mourning customs observed during the Omer period, including a customary pause on haircuts and weddings.

Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, follows on Thursday, June 3, through Friday, June 4, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in June 1967.

Shavuot 2027: June 10–12

Shavuot 2027 begins at sundown on Thursday, June 10, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, June 12. It falls exactly fifty days after the second night of Passover, at the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer, and commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Dairy foods are customary during the holiday, and many communities hold all-night Torah study sessions called Tikkun Leil Shavuot.

The Three Weeks and Tisha B’Av 2027

The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz, Thursday, July 22, 2027, opens a three-week mourning period that concludes with Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, observed from sundown Wednesday, August 11, through nightfall Thursday, August 12.

Tisha B’Av is a 25-hour fast commemorating the destruction of both the First Temple, by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple, by the Romans in 70 CE, along with several other calamities traditionally dated to the same day.

Tu B’Av, a minor holiday associated with love, follows six days later on Tuesday, August 17, through Wednesday, August 18.

Rosh Hashanah 2027: October 1–3 (Year 5788 Begins)

Rosh Hashanah 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 1, and concludes at nightfall on Sunday, October 3, opening Hebrew year 5788.

Fast of Gedaliah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah follow on the same pattern as 2026, shifted to October 4, October 10–11, October 15–22, October 22–23, and October 23–24, respectively.

Which Jewish Holidays 2026–2027 Require Time Off Work or School?

Six of the 29 dates in this calendar carry a full Melacha restriction, the traditional prohibition on creative work that applies on Shabbat and major holidays alike; the remaining 23 do not.

This distinction, not a holiday’s popularity, determines whether an employee or student needs the day off.

Holidays requiring no work include the following, each observed with the same restrictions as Shabbat:

• Rosh Hashanah, both days, in both 2026 and 2027
• Yom Kippur, one day, in both 2026 and 2027
• The first two days of Sukkot, in both 2026 and 2027
• Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, both days, in both 2026 and 2027
• The first two and last two days of Passover, April 21–23 and April 28–29, 2027
• Shavuot, both days, June 10–12, 2027

Holidays and fasts where work is permitted include:

• Hanukkah, all eight days, in both 2026 and 2027
• Purim and Shushan Purim, March 2027
• Tu BiShvat and Tu B’Av, minor holidays with no ritual restrictions on work
• The four minor fast days: Gedaliah, the Tenth of Tevet, Esther, and the 17th of Tammuz
• Tisha B’Av, a major fast where eating and drinking are prohibited but formal work restrictions do not apply, though many observant employees still avoid non-essential activity
• The Chol HaMoed intermediate days of Sukkot and Passover
• The modern civil observances: Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzma’ut, and Yom Yerushalayim

Sample Wording for Requesting Holiday Leave

A time-off request for a major Jewish holiday should name the holiday, state that it begins the evening before the listed date, and specify the return date.

A sample request reads: “I will be observing [holiday name], which begins at sundown on [date] and continues through [end date]. I will be unavailable during this period and will return to work on [next business day].”

Providing the sundown start time in the request itself reduces the likelihood of a manager scheduling an evening meeting or deadline that conflicts with the observance.

How Jewish Holiday Dates Are Calculated

Jewish holiday dates shift on the Gregorian calendar every year because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar: its months follow the moon (about 29.5 days each) while a periodic leap month keeps the whole system aligned with the solar year.

A purely lunar calendar of twelve months totals approximately 354 days, eleven days short of the 365-day solar year, which is why holiday dates drift roughly eleven days earlier on the Gregorian calendar each year that no leap month is added.

Is 5787 a Leap Year? Correcting a Common Misconception

Yes, 5787 (September 2026–September 2027) is a Hebrew leap year, not 5788. It is the 11th year of the current 19-year Metonic cycle, one of seven leap years that occur in each 19-year cycle (years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19), and it contains an intercalary 30-day month, Adar I, inserted before the standard Adar (renamed Adar II in leap years).

This is confirmed by Hebcal’s own date data: Purim 2027 is recorded as 14 Adar II 5787, which is only possible in a year containing two Adar months. Hebrew year 5786, the current year as of this writing, is the 10th year of the cycle and is not a leap year; the next leap year after 5787 is 5790 (2029–2030).

Why Rosh Hashanah 2026 and Rosh Hashanah 2027 Fall Three Weeks Apart

Rosh Hashanah 2027 falls on October 1, twenty days later on the Gregorian calendar than Rosh Hashanah 2026’s September 11 date, instead of roughly eleven days earlier as would happen in a non-leap transition.

The reversal happens because the intercalary Adar I, added during 5787, inserts thirty additional days into that Hebrew year. Those extra thirty days more than offset the usual eleven-day backward drift, pushing the following Rosh Hashanah forward on the Gregorian calendar rather than backward.

Diaspora vs. Israel: Why Holiday Length Differs

Several holidays are observed for one additional day outside Israel, a practice with roots in the historical delay in confirming the new moon by messenger before a fixed calendar existed. Modern communities retain the extra day by tradition even though the calendar is now fixed and known in advance.

Holiday	Diaspora Length	Israel Length	Reason for the Difference
Rosh Hashanah	2 days	2 days	Observed 2 days everywhere; the only major holiday where Israel and the Diaspora match
Passover, leading/concluding Yom Tov days	2 + 2 days	1 + 1 day	Extra day retained from the pre-fixed-calendar messenger-delay rule
Shavuot	2 days	1 day	Same messenger-delay rule
Sukkot’s eighth day	Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah observed as 2 separate days	Combined into a single day	Diaspora keeps Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah distinct; Israel merges them

Jewish Holiday Greetings and Etiquette

What to Say for Each Holiday

“Chag Sameach,” meaning “happy holiday,” is the general-purpose greeting appropriate for any major festival, including Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. Holiday-specific alternatives exist and are generally preferred when known.

Holiday	Common Greeting	Meaning
Rosh Hashanah	Shana Tova	“Good year”
Yom Kippur	G’mar Chatimah Tovah	“May you be sealed for good [in the Book of Life]”
Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot	Chag Sameach	“Happy holiday”
Hanukkah	Chag Urim Sameach	“Happy Festival of Lights”
Purim	Chag Purim Sameach	“Happy Purim”

Is It Appropriate for Non-Jewish People to Say “Happy Holidays”?

Yes, “Happy Holidays” is an appropriate general greeting from a non-Jewish colleague or acquaintance to someone observing a Jewish holiday, particularly when the specific holiday is not known with certainty.

A more specific greeting, such as “Chag Sameach” or “Happy Hanukkah,” is well received when the exact holiday is known, but a generic well-wish carries no risk of error.

Non-Jewish coworkers, managers, and interfaith family members attending a Seder or High Holiday service for the first time are not expected to know Hebrew terminology or ritual procedure; asking a host directly what to expect is standard practice and is not considered impolite.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jewish Holidays 2026–2027