Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) in United States
Quick Facts
Tu B’Shevat is known as the “New Year for Trees”, is a Jewish festival similar to Arbor Day.Local names
| Name | Language |
|---|---|
| Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | English |
| Tu Bishvat | Spanish |
Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013Note: Jewish holidays begin at sundown the day before the date specified for the holiday.
List of dates for other years
Tu B’Shevat (Tu Bishvat) is the 15th day of the Jewish months of Shevat. This festival is also known as the “New Year for Trees” and is observed in Jewish communities in countries such as the United States.
Tu B'Shevat is a Jewish observance known as the "New Year for Trees". ©iStockphoto.com/Niko Vujevic
What do people do?
Many Jewish communities in the United States observe the festival by eating fruit on this day. The Torah praises seven “fruits”, in particular grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Many Jewish people also try to eat a new fruit, which can be any seasonal fruit. Some Jewish communities plant trees on Tu B’Shevat.
Public life
Tu B’Shevat is not a public holiday in the United States. However, some Jewish organizations may be closed or offer a limited service to allow for festivities to occur on this day.
Background
Tu B’Shevat is first referred to in the late Second Temple period (515 BCE to 20 CE) when it was the cut-off date for levying the tithe on the produce of fruit trees. When Jewish colonists returned to Palestine during the 1930s, they reclaimed the barren land by planting trees where they could. It became customary to plant a tree for every newborn child – a cedar for a boy and a cypress or pine for a girl.
About Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) in other countries
Read more about Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day).Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) Observances
Note: Jewish holidays begin at sundown the day before the date specified for the holiday.| Weekday | Date | Year | Name | Holiday type | Where it is observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat | Feb 2 | 1980 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Tue | Jan 20 | 1981 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Feb 8 | 1982 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 29 | 1983 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Jan 19 | 1984 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Feb 6 | 1985 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 25 | 1986 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Feb 14 | 1987 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Feb 3 | 1988 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 21 | 1989 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Feb 10 | 1990 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Jan 30 | 1991 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Jan 20 | 1992 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Feb 6 | 1993 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Jan 27 | 1994 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Jan 16 | 1995 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Feb 5 | 1996 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Jan 23 | 1997 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Feb 11 | 1998 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Feb 1 | 1999 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 22 | 2000 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Feb 8 | 2001 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Jan 28 | 2002 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 18 | 2003 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Feb 7 | 2004 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Tue | Jan 25 | 2005 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Feb 13 | 2006 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Feb 3 | 2007 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Tue | Jan 22 | 2008 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Mon | Feb 9 | 2009 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 30 | 2010 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Jan 20 | 2011 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Feb 8 | 2012 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Sat | Jan 26 | 2013 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Thu | Jan 16 | 2014 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday | |
| Wed | Feb 4 | 2015 | Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) | Jewish holiday |
Related holiday
- Arbor Day ―Friday, April 27, 2012
Other holidays in February 2012 in United States
- National Freedom Day ―Wednesday, February 1, 2012
- Groundhog Day ―Thursday, February 2, 2012
- World Cancer Day ―Saturday, February 4, 2012
- Prophet's Birthday ―Sunday, February 5, 2012
- e-Day ―Tuesday, February 7, 2012
- Lincoln's Birthday ―Sunday, February 12, 2012
- Lincoln's Birthday ―Monday, February 13, 2012
- Valentine's Day ―Tuesday, February 14, 2012
- World Day of Social Justice ―Monday, February 20, 2012
- Presidents' Day (Washington's Birthday) ―Monday, February 20, 2012
- Daisy Gatson Bates Day ―Monday, February 20, 2012
- Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras ―Tuesday, February 21, 2012
- International Mother Language Day ―Tuesday, February 21, 2012
- Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras ―Tuesday, February 21, 2012
- Ash Wednesday ―Wednesday, February 22, 2012
- Leap Day ―Wednesday, February 29, 2012
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