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Leon County schools will be closed Thursday, Oct. 3, in honor of the Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashanah.

The district-wide closure is referred to as a “fall holiday” for that one day; Rosh Hashanah begins on Wednesday evening and ends on Friday evening. Students are expected to attend Friday classes.

Because Rosh Hashanah is not a federal holiday, school districts are not required to honor it.

Some parents expressed concern on Facebook that their students might miss even more instructional time after schools closed due to Hurricane Helene last Thursday and Friday. The district said no school days would be added at the end of the school year to make up for lost time.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, ten days of introspection and repentance, ending with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Jewish people's holiest holiday.

Rosh Hashanah is also important to some Jews as a celebration of the creation of humanity. It can be called the “birthday of the world” and marks the time when God created Adam and Eve – or when the breath of life came.

What are the traditions of Rosh Hashanah?

Jewish people may take time off from work to attend services with special prayers and songs to celebrate the New Year, although celebrations do not only take place within the walls of a synagogue. Many Jewish communities blow a shofar, a curved ram's horn, during services.

Some Jews may also pray near a body of water in a Tashlich ceremony, additionally throwing pieces of bread or other food into the water to symbolize saying goodbye to sins.

USA Today's Camille Fine and Marina Pitofsky contributed. Alaija Brown covers children and families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.

On By John Fenwick

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