A Holiday for Trees

Consider all the ways trees make our lives better.

They give us shade.

They give us fruit.

They give us nuts.

They help cool the planet by absorbing carbon dioxide.

And by doing that, they also help purify the air we breathe.

Trees do a lot of important things.

So why not have a holiday for trees?

You know what?

There already is a holiday for trees.

It’s called Tu B’Shevat.

And it’s been called, “The Jewish Earth Day.”

(NOTE:  Tu B’Shevat is pronounced too-bish-VAHT.)

This year, Tu B’shevat starts at sunset on Tuesday, February 7th and ends at sunset on Wednesday, February 8th.

The holiday’s date on our day-to-day calendar changes every year, because unlike our solar (sun-based) calendar, the Jewish calendar is lunar (moon-based).

So the days never match up exactly the same from year to year.

But Tu B’Shevat always comes around just as we’re about to see the start of spring on the distant horizon.

In Israel, spring comes a lot earlier than it does in most of the United States.

So around the time of Tu B’Shevat, the almond trees are flowering.

And everything is starting to get green again.

How do people celebrate Tu B’Shevat?

Lots of people plant a tree.

Or they make a donation to pay for a tree for someone else to plant.

Some people also have a special Tu B’Shevat dinner called a seder (pronounced SAY-durr).

It’s kind of like the dinner Jewish people have at the start of the holiday of Passover.

The customary foods for the Tu B’Shevat seder are barley, dates, figs, grapes, olives, pomegranates and wheat.

Why those foods?

All of them are mentioned in the Torah.

(The Torah is “the Five Books of Moses.”   It’s the primary part of the Jewish bible.)

Obviously, you don’t have to be Jewish to celebrate trees.

Anyone can show appreciation for them – at any time of the year.

That’s what the spirit of Tu B’Shevat is all about.