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Shavuot Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Shavuot facts for kids
| Shavuot | |
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Ruth in Boaz's Field
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| Official name | Hebrew: שבועות or חג שבעות (Ḥag HaShavuot or Shavuot) |
| Also called | English: "Festival of Weeks" |
| Observed by | Judaism and Jews |
| Type | Jewish |
| Significance | One of the Three Pilgrim Festivals. Celebrates the revelation of the Five Books of the Torah (or Old Testament of the Christian Bible) by God to Moses and to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, 49 days (7 weeks) after the Exodus from Egypt. Commemorates the wheat harvesting in the Land of Israel. Culmination of the 49 days of the Counting of the Omer. |
| Begins | 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan in the Karaite tradition) |
| Ends | 7th (in Israel: 6th) day of Sivan |
| Celebrations | Festive meals. All-night Torah study. Recital of Akdamut liturgical poem in Ashkenazic synagogues. Reading of the Book of Ruth. Eating of dairy products. Decoration of homes and synagogues with greenery (Orach Chayim, 494). |
| Related to | Passover, which precedes Shavuot |
Shavuot is a holiday celebrated by Jewish people. They celebrate it to remember the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai, the holiday association between the giving of the Torah (Matan Torah) and Shavuot is not explicit in the Biblical text.
Shavuot is celebrated on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, which may occur on May or June. It falls 50 days after Passover, which comes before Shavuot. It falls around Pentecost.
In Secular Jews of the Diaspora, Shavuot is one of the Jewish holidays known to not be celebrated as much, while the people in Israel celebrate it every year.
According to Jewish law, Shavuot is celebrated in Israel for one day and in the Diaspora (outside of Israel) for two days. Reform Jews celebrate only one day, as well as the Diaspora.
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Images for kids
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A synagogue sanctuary adorned in greenery in honor of Shavuot
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Cheese blintzes, typically eaten by Ashkenazi Jews on Shavuot.