Happy New Year

Few days on the Hebrew calendar bring as much joy, love, and hope as Rosh Hashanah. Literally, the phrase translates to head of the year. Up north, the celebration is synonymous with fall. I remember as a child, just as we shopped for back-to-school clothes, Mom always took us for new High Holidays dresses and tights, finished off with our Mary Janes. Around the same time, the trees were beginning to change to beautiful shades of gold and orange and red and purple wine colors. The weather was drying out, leaving a crisp cool bite in the air. Camp and swimming were replaced by pumpkin patches and apple picking. There was nothing like it.

It's not quite the same here in Florida. Our season "changes" aren't as drastic, and lately, not even noticeable. Our leaves don't change much, and there are no apple orchards. Pumpkin patches are really just pumpkin sales, brought mostly to neighborhood churches on big trucks and set up with scarecrows and other decorations in attempt to celebrate the autumn we wish we had. The apples we traditionally eat with honey to symbolize a sweet new year, come from somewhere else via Publix. And the challah also comes from Publix, as there are no Jewish bakeries anywhere nearby. At least we have local honey!

It's ok though. It's still Rosh Hashanah, and I am still filled with hope and promise for a new year. My house is filled with the delicious aroma of home cooked recipes. Homemade chicken soup has been simmering on the stove, and sliced apples dusted in cinnamon and sugar are waiting for their dive in the Dutch Apple cake batter I'm about to put together. I bought a fresh round challah and local honey, and tonight my little family of three will sit around our dining room table and enjoy a quiet meal together in celebration.

We won't have fall weather or a change in the leaves outside, but we will have a delicious dinner and the pleasure of sharing a meal that will remind us how lucky we really are. I didn't wait for the new year, I've started already in small ways, but my goal for the year is to be more giving.

This says Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year) in Hebrew.
Image retrieved from myhadassah.org