Sukkot
With the final blowing of the Shofar, The Jewish High Holy Days draw to a close and the focus of the Jewish community shifts from the solemnness of Yom Kippur to the jubilant celebration of the festival of Sukkot.

The festival of Sukkot, also known as Chag’ha Succot, the “Feast of Booths” (or Tabernacles), is named for the huts (sukkah) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert.

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photo caption: A front yard sukkah on Ordway Street, NW in Washington, DC. The sukkah was built for the Jewish holiday, Sukkot, which celebrates the harvest. photo credit: billadler via flickr

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Harvest Moon
The full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox is so named because it is believed the longer illumination allows the farmers to work later harvesting their crops.