And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years" Genesis 1:14

The Jewish Calendar

Fishing boats, Jaffa Harbour

The Jewish holidays appear to shift around relative to our, Western - Gregorian, calendar.  Thus Tabernacles, for instance, may fall in September or October.  This is because the Jewish calendar is Lunar while the western calendar is Solar. (See also Christian Calendar)

Every four years the western calendar has to add a day ( 29th February ) to keep the calendar in step with the Earth's progress around the Sun.

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, with twelve lunar months of 29 or thirty days, which is about ten days short of a solar year, so seven years in every nineteen have an extra month.  This ensures that the seasonal feasts keep to their correct season.  

Rosh Chodesh is the New Moon, which is the start of each month.  Biblically, Rosh Chodesh was determined by witnesses observing the first thin crescent of the moon.    In days before modern communication the new moon could not be notified to all dispersed communities so Rosh Chodesh is celebrated on two consecutive days outside Israel.

In Genesis Ch1 v14 GOD said, 

"Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky ..... to serve to mark the seasons and days of years." 

Biblically, the dates can not be predetermined, but are fixed by observation.   

See Karaite Korner on Biblical Holidays.

See also Rosh Chodesh to understand the importance of observation of the New Moon, as opposed to calculation.   

The same is true of the start of the year - The Month of the Aviv - The biblical year begins when the first new moon after the barley in the land of Israel reaches the state in its development that the Bible calls Aviv.    Only by checking the state of the barley crop can we fulfill the Biblical commandment to "Keep the Month of the Aviv"  (Deut 16:1).    This obviously determines when the other feasts should be celebrated,  for example, the Feast of Unleavened Bread;  ( "at the time of the month of the Aviv, because in the month of the Aviv you went out of Egypt."  -  Exodus 34:18)    (The 19 year cycle is an un-Biblical substitute for this observational method)

In Leviticus 23, Moses instructed the people that Nisan ( or Aviv  or Abib ) was to be the first month.   This is the religious calendar, as opposed to the civil calendar which starts at Rosh Hashanna.  

The seven seasonal feasts start with Passover (Pessach) (14th Nisan), which celebrated the creation of God's nation of Israel, and followed through to Tabernacles (Sukot) which celebrates Ingathering ( both as a harvest celebration and looking to God's ingathering of the righteous).  

Rosh Hashanna  ( New Year ) ( described with Yom Kippur) is now celebrated on the day of the feast of Trumpets.  Thus the Jews start the year with a call to self examination and repentance before God.

Jewish  calendar month	Corresponding western calendar months in 2000
Nisan	April May
Iyar	May June
Sivan	June July
Tamuz	July August
Av	August
Elul	September
Tishri	September October
Heshvan	October November
Kislev	November December
Tevet	December January
Shevat	January February
Adar	February March
Adar Bet (Leap month)	March April

Feasts in the year 2021 to 2024 CE (Gregorian)    (5782 to 5784 Jewish)

* Some days can be moved, if they fall on Shabbat for instance

		5784	5785	5786
Feast	Hebrew date	2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026
Rosh Hashanna	1 Tishri	Sept	3 Oct	23 Sep
Fast of Gedaliah	3 Tishri	Sept	6 Oct	25 Sep
Yom Kippur	10 Tishri	Sept	12 Oct	6 Oct
Sukot	15 Tishri	Oct	17 Oct	7 Oct
Shemini Atzeret   (8th day)	22 Tishrei	Oct	24 oct	14 Oct
Simchat Torah	23 Tishri	Oct	25 Oct	15 Oct
Chanukah	25 Kislev-3 Tevet	Dec	25 Dec	14 Dec
Tu B'Shvat	15 Shvat	25 Jan	13 Feb	nyk
Esther / Purim	14 -15 Adar	24 Mar	14 Mar	nyk
Erev Pessach  (Seder Night)	after 14 Nisan	22 Apr	12 Apr	nyk
Pessach	15 Nisan	16 Apr	6 Apr	nyk
Counting of the Omer  (1st day)	21 Nissan	24 Apr	14 Apr	nyk
Yom Hashoah	3 Iyar	4 May	24 Apr	nyk
Independence	4 Iyar	7 May	25 Apr	nyk
Lag B'Omer	Iyar 18	26 May	16 Apr	nyk
Yom Yerushalayim	27 Iyar *	5 Jun	24 May	nyk
Sha Vu Ot	6 Sivan	12 Jun	2 Jun	nyk
17th of Tammuz	17 Tamuz*	23 Jul *	13 July	nyk
Tisha Be Av	9 Av	13 Aug	3 Aug	nyk

These dates were obtained from Aish.com using Their Jewish Calendar.

It may be wise to use this to check the dates given above before planning anything.

Note, the Jewish calendar is calculated from Creation and therefore needs no BC or AD.   Jewish reference to the Western, Gregorian, calendar are CE or BCE;  CE standing for Common Era and Before Common Era.

Updated 03/02/24

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