Sukkot · Day 1

Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, is one of the biblical pilgrimage festivals. It recalls the temporary shelters of the Israelites in the wilderness and also carries an agricultural meaning as a festival of ingathering. Families build or visit a sukkah, a temporary structure open to the sky, and meals move outdoors when possible.

Only the first day is a statutory day of rest in Israel; the intermediate days are generally regular workdays, even though many workplaces and schools operate with shortened schedules. The festival makes hospitality especially tangible: guests are welcomed into a fragile temporary space, and the rhythm of eating, weather and neighbourhood becomes part of religious practice. The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, so this Gregorian date is for planning. Israel’s official annual calendar and any employer, school or municipal notice should be checked before fixed travel or work arrangements.

In 2026 the first statutory day of Sukkot begins on Friday evening, September 25, and the listed civil daytime is Saturday, September 26. Its coincidence with Shabbat does not add an automatic replacement day. The following Chol HaMoed period remains religiously festive but is not composed of general statutory rest days; schools are commonly closed and many employees take leave or work reduced hours. That distinction is particularly important for travellers because attractions may be busy even while government administration and some services follow vacation schedules. A calendar should record legal rest, school vacation and religious observance as related but separate concepts.