It’s Tu B’Shevat! Time to celebrate the birthday of the trees!
Some celebration ideas:
* Plant a seedling, or give a small tree as a gift for someone else to plant.
* Eat of the “Seven Species”, the seven kinds of food for which God praised the land of Israel: wheat and barley, [grape] vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olives and [date] honey (Deuteronomy 8:8).
* Eat almonds. Almond trees produce the first blossoms in Israel, so they are called shaked, or “watcher”. Almond trees keep watch for spring. Americans use a groundhog to watch for spring, but that’s another story.
* Eat a fruit you haven’t eaten yet this year, preferably jam made from etrog saved from your Sukkot celebration.
* Eat fifteen kinds of fruit, one for each day of Shevat until now.
* Decorate the trees at your home.
* Make a birthday cake for the trees. Make a cake that looks like a tree by using a loaf pan for the trunk, and a round pan for the top. Decorate with dried fruits and almonds. Or make a fruitcake using the recipe at www.completerecipes.com/Ever-So-Easy-Fruitcake.html
* Hold a seder, with four cups of wine or grape juice, progressing from colorless white to vibrant red, representing four seasons, from the pale winter to the warmth of the summer sunshine. Tu B’Shevat seders are available online, or you can make up one of your own.
When we celebrate Tu B’Shevat, we recognize the providence of God. If God does not bring the sunshine, rain and harvest, the farmer plants in vain.
Tu B’Shevat blessing: “Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, for creating the fruit of the trees.”
Copyright 2009, Kathryn A. Frazier http://preciousholidays.wordpress.com
See also: How to Dry Fruit in Your Oven for Tu B’Shevat
Plant a Tree in Israel for Tu B’Shevat
Filed under: Family, Holidays, Judaism, Tu B'Shevat Tagged: | Christianity, holiday, Holidays, Israel, Judaism, Religion, trees, Tu B'Shevat
