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22 November | 2022 Feature celebration, but there is still an opportunity for Jewish households to have fl owers, lining the entranceways into their homes and on their Seder tables. Flower types allowed are spring fl owers such as cherry blossoms, daff odils, English daisies (Bellis perennis), hyacinths, Iris, lilies and tulips, among others. Pesach is celebrated in 2023 from the sunset of April 5 until nightfall on April 13. e 2024 dates are from sunset on April 22 until nightfall on April 30. Shavuot, or Pentecost, is the second of the three Pilgrim Festivals of the Jewish religious calendar. Originally an agricultural festival marking the beginning of the wheat harvest, nowadays, a synagogue will be decorated with fruits and fl owers. According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks, Jews would cook with roses and rosewater and decorate with roses. Celebrated on diff erent dates yearly—the information can be found online—Shavuot lasts for three days. In 2023, Shavuot will be celebrated between sunset of May 25 through nightfall on May 27. In 2024, it will start at the sunset of June 11 until nightfall on June 13. Sukkot is the third of three Pilgrim Festivals, celebrating the Israelites who were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem. Sukkot was originally an agricultural festival celebrating the fruit harvest but came to be a celebration of the 40 years the Jewish people lived in exile outside of Egypt; hence, a celebration of their dwellings. In modern times, a sukkot—a temporary hut-like dwelling—is to be erected, and four species of plant are to be kept together and waved periodically during this time: an etrog citron ( fruit of the Citrus medica tree); lulav (closed date-palm fronds—Phoenix dactylifera or Phoenix canariensis); hadas (leaves from the myrtle tree—Myrtus communis); and aravah (leaves from a willow tree—Salix alba). Other decorations are permitted, and, because of the "harvest" aspect, some people say that dried fl owers are acceptable. e 2023 dates are sunset of Sept. 29 until nightfall of Oct. 6. e 2024 dates of Sukkot are sunset of Oct. 16 until nightfall of Oct. 23. Hanukkah, or Chanukah, is the celebration of the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after rising against their oppressors. Celebrations center on a nine-branch candelabrum, known as a menorah or hanukkiah. One of the nine branches is above or below the other eight, and this shammash "attendant" candle is used to light the other eight, one evening at a time. Flowers in blue and white are used during the celebration. Because blue and white are the "offi cial" colors of Hanukkah (also the colors of the fl ag of Israel), blue and white fl owers are the most popular and are considered the traditional holiday colors. Per Telefl ora, white Alstroemeria, white and blue Hydrangea, white lilies and white roses are popular Hanukkah fl owers. Other options include white carnations and blue Delphinium. is year, Hanukkah is celebrated from the evening of Dec. 18 to the evening of Dec. 26. For the year 2023, it is celebrated from the evening of Dec. 7 through the evening of Dec. 15; and, in 2024, it is celebrated from the evening of Dec. 25 through the evening of Jan. 2, 2025. Sikhism/Sikhi Baisakhi, or Vaisakhi, celebrates the Sikh New Year as well as the founding of the Sikh community in 1699. It was on that date that the 10th Sikh Guru (spiritual leader), Gobind Singh Ji, began the community of Sikhs and gave them their cultural identity. It is the most important festival for the Sikhs. Before its adoption as the founding of the Sikh community, it was celebrated as a harvest festival. It is now a festival consisting of fun, music and dance. For their homes, celebrants like to use color to brighten rooms, with fl owers being a typical way of doing it. ere are no specifi c fl owers to use except that, typically, orange and yellow fl owers are most widely used, e.g., marigolds. Vaisakhi is celebrated on either April 13 or 14—April 14 in 2023 and April 13 in 2024. Soderberg's Floral & Gift, Minneapolis, Minn.

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