Rosh Hashanah is one of the high holy days of the Jewish calendar. Observed the first and second days of Tishri, the holiday is also referred to as the Jewish New Year. It is marked by prayers of self-reflection and festivities with loved ones. Because many of the Rosh Hashanah customs are faith-based, and many have to do with celebrating with family and friends, the holiday is rightly described as a combination of the weighty and the joyful. If you are away from loved ones on Rosh Hashanah, send a heartfelt bouquet fromBreen’s Florist to tell them you are thinking of them.

Rosh Hashanah is traditionally an opportunity to look back at the past, confess, and pray penitent prayers. While the holiday does not have an official color associated with it, white is considered appropriate symbolically, as it represents new beginnings, purity, and innocence. For thoughtful floral accents, blue blooms such as delphinium or hydrangea signify divinity and a reverence for the deity of God.

Here are some customary Rosh Hashanah traditions:

• The Yamim Nora’im include the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The month leading up to this period is meant for contemplation and contrition, and penitential prayers are recited.
• The shofar, played like a trumpet, is made from a ram’s horn and is used to produce 100 different tones during this period. It is blown each morning for the month preceding, as well as during Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the shofar is meant to rouse the faithful from their sleep and remind them to the coming judgment.
• Rosh Hashanah is also the day of “Yom Hadin”, known as Judgment day.
• On Rosh Hashanah, families share challah bread and apple slices, dipped in honey.

If you want to wish your friends and family L’Shanah Tovah (a good year), simply call Breen’s Florist for a meaningful floral design. Send flowers across the miles, or bring an arrangement to dinner. In Houston and Belleaire, we are your best choice for holiday florals.