Decorations to sweeten up the Rosh Hashanah party

No Rosh Hashanah celebration is complete without apple centrepieces, shofar place settings, and a banner proclaiming Shanah Tovah. Here's how to create them.

No Rosh Hashanah celebration is complete without apple centrepieces, shofar place settings, and a banner proclaiming shanah tovah. Here's how to create the decorations that incorporate important concepts of the day that recalls the creation, or the "head of the year." Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holy Days of the Jewish Calendar, followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement 10 days later.

On Rosh Hashanah, it's traditional to eat apples dipped in honey. The apple is symbolic of the sweet new year that Jewish people hope God will grant them. It also symbolizes the Garden of Eden, which is known as the holy apple orchard. To commemorate the importance of the apple, you can create an apple centrepiece for your Rosh Hashanah party. There are many ways to make this centrepiece: you could fill a bowl with ripe apples and apple blossoms to create a beautiful and fragrant piece or you could stack yellow, red, and green apples in a pyramid for a multi-coloured design. Apple centrepieces are easy to create and very fitting for this holiday.

The shofar is a trumpet-like instrument made from a ram's horn, and it's blown 100 times during Rosh Hashanah services. The sound of the shofar is a call to repentance. To create shofar place settings, trace the outline of a shofar onto a piece of construction paper. If you want need a reference while you're drawing, you can find pictures of traditional shofars online. Create as many of these as you need, and then cut them out and write your guests' names on them. If you want, you can write the guests' names in Hebrew.

Shanah Tovah is the traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah, and it means "Good year." A banner boasting this phrase is the perfect decoration for your walls. To make this banner Rosh Hashanah-themed, you can draw 11 apples onto red construction paper. You should then write each letter of the phrase Shanah Tovah onto each apple. Then, punch holes in the top of the apples and run a string through them. You can hang this banner on a fireplace mantle or a window ledge, or you could tape it onto the wall. This decoration will make your Rosh Hashanah party feel truly festive.

When decorating for your Rosh Hashanah celebration, use the items that are a traditional part of the holiday. Apple centrepieces, shofar place settings, and a banner with the traditional Shanah Tovah greeting are the perfect decorations for a party symbolizing a hope for life, health and prosperity in the coming year.