Sukkot is a week-long Jewish holiday that celebrates the fall harvest and commemorates the 40 years that Jews spent in the desert after escaping slavery in Egypt. It is one of the most joyful festivals in Judaism, meant to bring families, friends, and communities together. The holiday begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, which comes five days after Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. This year, Sukkot started after sunset on Sunday, Oct. 9, and lasts until sunset on Sunday, Oct. 16. In 2023, the holiday will begin on the evening of Friday, Sept. 29, and go until the evening of Friday, Oct. 6.

During Sukkot, many Jews build a sukkah, which is a small hut. Jews live, eat, and sometimes even sleep in the booth during Sukkot, commemorating the time the Israelites spent in the wild — in huts of their own — after being freed from slavery in Egypt. The sukkah is a gathering place, a place where it is traditional to welcome guests and enjoy spending time together. Observant Jews take the four kinds of plants, recite a blessing over them, and wave them in a special ceremony each day of the Sukkot holiday, excluding Shabbat.

The holiday is known as "the Time of our Happiness" and is a time of unbridled joy, which may seem a bit strange since on Sukkot, Jews are asked to leave the material comfort of their homes and build a structure that is imperfect, temporary, and open to the elements. But the sukkah’s reminder that our existence is fragile helps us to treasure the joyous moments of life, and its outdoor location helps us focus on the beauty of the world in which we live.

Sukkot is celebrated by a number of Christian denominations that observe holidays from the Old Testament. These groups base this on the belief that Jesus celebrated Sukkot.