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Beginning of grape harvest was celebrated around the middle of summer. It's one of the minor Jewish holidays in modern times, but a joyous one, observed as a Day of Love (''Tu be'Av''), or a kind of Jewish Valentine's Day. At the onset of the autumn rainy season came an almost month-long period of major holidays: Jewish New Year (''Rosh ha'Shanah''), the fasting Day of Atonement (''Yom Kippur'') and the week-long Feast of Booths (''Sukkot''). During that period, the grape harvest was coming to an end, while other fruits were being gathered as well. To this day, apple and pomegranate are symbols of the New Year's Day, while citron is associated with the Feast of Booths (the citron is a fruit that was hybridized with the lime to produce the lemon). The latter festival is also a relic of the times when the Jews' pastoral ancestors lived as nomads in their tents and sheds.
Around the time of Christmas there is the eight-day long Feast of Lights (''Hanukkah''), when Jews indulge on fat-heavy treats like doughnuts and potato pancakes. Back in ancient Israel it was the time for harvesting olives and pressing oil out of them. The oil was used both in culinary applications and as fuel for lamps. The occasion was eventually associated with the Maccabean Revolt (2nd century {{small|BCE}}) and the alleged miraculous increase of the amount of oil used to illuminate the Temple. And in January, when almond trees blossom in Israel, Jews observe the New Year of the Trees (''Tu bi'Shevat''). If a four-year -old fruit tree blossoms before that day, its fruits are not going to be kosher, but if it blossoms later, then they are.
=== Passover ===