Tu B'Shvat (Bishvat)Tree Festival

New Year of Trees, Jewish Arbor Day, landscape plants, landscape traditions

Feb 5, 2007

Tu B'Shvat (Tu Bishvat) (Jewish Arbor Day, New Year of the Trees, or Festival of the Trees) celebrates trees with traditions developed over many generations.

Tu B'Shvat (Bishvat) - TOO bish-VAHT - (Jewish Arbor Day, New Year of the Trees, Festival of the Trees) - occurs in either February or March. This minor holiday celebrates the season in Israel when trees, especially apricots, come into bloom.

One way to celebrate Tu B'Shvat is by planting trees recorded in Torah and Bible passages that symbolize ancient Biblical Landscapes. My recent article about celebrating Tu B'Shivat lists seven accepted trees and one vine, some cultivars of each, and their plant hardiness zones.

Here are some other customs for observing Tu B'Shvat that have developed over generations:

Enjoying with friends and family a community Tu B'Shvat Seder like the one planned at the Morton Arboretum near Chicago, IL.,
Tasting a new fruit – especially those native to Israel,
Organizing a special environmental project,
Collecting funds to plant trees in Israel, and
Planting trees as a family or group to beautify your neighborhood or your own garden landscape.

Here are some resources to bring Tu B'Shvat into your home or classroom:

Books for toddlers about Tu B'Shvat from Kar-Ben Publishing:

It's Tu B'shevat (Board Book) by Edie Stoltz Zolkower; illustrated by Richard Johnson
Grandpa and Me on Tu B'Shevat by Marji E. Gold-Vukson; illustrated by Leslie Evans
Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shvat (Paperback) by Sylvia A. Rouss; illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn
A Seder for Tu B'Shevat (Paperback) by Harlene Applebaum and Jane Shapiro; illustrated by Chari R. McLean.

These Suite 101 articles will tell you more about Celebrating with Trees:

©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage February 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited