What Is Sukkot and When Is It Celebrated?

Sukkot, sometimes called the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, is described in the Torah as a time for rejoicing. Jews commemorate both the fall harvest and the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.

The holiday is named after the sukkot, the plural of sukkah, or temporary huts, associated with the Israelites’ time in the wilderness. Today, many Jews celebrate by building their own sukkot, temporary outdoor structures. During the seven-day festival, they are traditionally encouraged to eat their meals in the sukkah and, when practical, sleep there. The structures are often decorated with fruit and paper chains.

During Sukkot, the Four Kinds—one palm branch (lulav), two willows (aravot), at least three myrtles (hadassim) and one citron (etrog)—are gathered and waved during prayers as part of the festival’s traditional observance.

This harvest festival is a time of joy and feasting, following closely behind Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.

Sukkot 2026 takes place from sundown on September 25 to nightfall on October 2. The celebration starts five days after Yom Kippur, a solemn day of fasting and the holiest day of the Jewish year.

This seven-day festival begins on the 15th of Tishrei, the first month of the Jewish civil year and the seventh month in the biblical calendar. Outside Israel, the first two days of the celebration are observed as Yom Tov, Hebrew for “festival day.” In Israel, only the first day is observed as Yom Tov. Certain types of work are prohibited on these sacred days. During the intermediate days, known as Chol Hamoed, or “weekdays of the festival,” people dwell in the sukkah and take the Four Kinds every day but Shabbat. The seventh and final day is called Hoshana Rabbah.

In Jewish tradition, Hoshana Rabbah is considered a final opportunity for repentance and for the divine judgment begun during the High Holy Days to be sealed. Sukkot also includes prayers for rain, reflecting the holiday’s agricultural roots. According to tradition, on Hoshana Rabbah, God determines the amount of rain the world will receive in the coming year.

Sukkot is followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Outside Israel, they are observed on two successive days and in 2026 run from sundown October 2 to nightfall October 4. In Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated together on a single day.

Sukkot is followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Shemini Atzeret, meaning “eighth day of assembly,” is a separate holy day that includes special prayers for rain, while Simchat Torah, or “rejoicing with the Torah,” celebrates the completion of the annual cycle of Torah readings and the beginning of a new one, often with singing, dancing and processions with Torah scrolls. Outside Israel, they are traditionally observed on two successive days and in 2026 run from sundown October 2 to nightfall October 4. In Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated together on a single day.

Ancient Hebrews had many festivals and celebrations surrounding agriculture, which is likely where Sukkot’s beginnings came from. At first, Sukkot had no set date, and was used to thank God for a bountiful harvest. Eventually, the Torah declared when Sukkot would take place. The Book of Leviticus reads, “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, there shall be a Feast of Tabernacles to God for seven days.”

The holiday falls during Tishrei, which corresponds to September or October in the Gregorian calendar. Sukkot always takes place from the 15th through the 21st of Tishrei. Because the Jewish calendar is lunisolar, based on cycles of both the moon and sun, the corresponding Gregorian dates vary from year to year. Sukkot typically begins in September or October.