What Is Sukkot? Meaning, Traditions, Foods, and How It Is Celebrated

There’s something special about a holiday that brings the table outside. During Sukkot, families and communities gather in a temporary sukkah, share festive meals, welcome guests, and take part in traditions that center on gratitude, joy, and togetherness. The holiday begins on the 15th of Tishrei and includes customs such as eating in the sukkah and taking the Four Species.

So, what is Sukkot, and why is it celebrated? Sukkot is a Jewish festival that remembers the temporary dwellings associated with the Jewish people’s journey through the wilderness while also carrying themes of harvest and thanksgiving. In this guide, we’ll walk through the meaning of Sukkot, its traditions, the foods often shared during the holiday, and the ways people celebrate—just like we would if you stopped by our neighborhood market and asked us to tell you a little more about the holiday.

Key Takeaways

• Sukkot is a seven-day Jewish festival beginning on 15 Tishrei, centered on remembrance, harvest gratitude, joy, and gathering together.
• Two defining Sukkot traditions are spending time and eating in a sukkah and taking the Four Species, alongside festive meals, prayer, and hospitality.
• Sukkot food traditions vary by family and community, but festive meals may include challah, seasonal produce, stuffed dishes, and other foods that suit sharing in the sukkah.
  
  

What Is Sukkot? Meaning, History, and Why It Is Celebrated

Sukkot is a seven-day Jewish festival that begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. The holiday commemorates the temporary dwellings associated with the Jewish people’s journey through the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt, while also carrying ancient agricultural themes of harvest, gratitude, and joy. It is one of Judaism’s three traditional pilgrimage festivals, together with Passover and Shavuot.

If you are wondering what the Jewish holiday Sukkot is about, it helps to picture both a simple temporary shelter and a table gathered after the harvest. Sukkot brings those ideas together: remembering a journey marked by temporary shelter while pausing to appreciate provision, community, and what has been gathered.

What Does Sukkot Mean?

Sukkot means “booths” or “huts” and is the plural form of the Hebrew word sukkah. This is why the holiday is often called the Festival of Booths.

The name points directly to one of the festival’s most recognizable traditions: the temporary sukkah built for the holiday. During Sukkot, the sukkah becomes a place for meals, gathering, and spending time together. In that way, the temporary dwelling is not simply something remembered from the past—it becomes part of how the holiday is experienced.

What Does Sukkot Celebrate?

Sukkot brings together two central themes: remembrance and harvest gratitude. It recalls the temporary dwellings connected with the Jewish people’s wilderness journey and also celebrates the gathering of the harvest with thanksgiving and rejoicing. Chabad refers to these dimensions as Chag HaSukkot, the Festival of Booths, and Chag HaAsif, the Festival of Ingathering.

The harvest theme encourages gratitude for food and provision, while the sukkah draws attention to the experience of temporary shelter and dependence. Together, these ideas can invite appreciation for things that are easy to take for granted: a place to gather, food on the table, and people with whom to share it.

That combination helps explain what Sukkot is about beyond its individual customs. It is a Jewish festival rooted in remembrance, gratitude, faith, joy, and gathering together.

What Is the History of Sukkot?

Sukkot has biblical roots as both an agricultural festival and a religious observance associated with temporary dwellings. Biblical texts describe a festival connected with gathering the harvest and establish its observance on the 15th day of the seventh Hebrew month for seven days.

Sukkot also became one of the three major Jewish pilgrimage festivals, alongside Passover and Shavuot. In ancient times, these festivals were occasions for communal pilgrimage and religious observance.

Over time, traditions practiced in the home and synagogue became especially recognizable parts of Sukkot. Building and spending time in a sukkah, taking the Four Species, gathering for prayer, and sharing festive meals continue to give the holiday its distinctive rhythm. 

When Is Sukkot and How Long Does It Last?

Sukkot begins on the 15th day of Tishrei and lasts seven days, through the 21st of Tishrei. It starts five days after Yom Kippur and usually falls in September or October on the Gregorian calendar.

Because Jewish holidays are determined by the Hebrew calendar, the corresponding Gregorian dates change each year. That is why Sukkot may arrive a little earlier or later on your September or October calendar from one year to the next.

Why Is Sukkot Called a Festival of Joy?

Sukkot is traditionally known as Z’man Simchateinu, or the “Season of Our Rejoicing.” Joy is one of the festival’s defining themes, tied to gratitude for the harvest as well as the religious celebration of Sukkot itself.

Its timing adds to that feeling. Sukkot follows the reflective High Holiday period and brings a noticeable shift toward celebration. Festive meals, prayer, singing, time in the sukkah, and gatherings with family, friends, and guests all create opportunities to rejoice together. Reform Judaism describes Sukkot as one of the Jewish calendar’s most joyful festivals, while My Jewish Learning likewise identifies it as the “season of our joy.”

And there is something fitting about finding that joy in a temporary place. For a few days, a sukkah can become a table, a gathering spot, and a place filled with conversation and shared food—a reminder that some of the fullest moments can happen in the simplest spaces.

How Is Sukkot Celebrated? The Sukkah, Four Species, and Traditions

Sukkot is celebrated through several distinctive traditions, especially spending time in a sukkah and taking the Four Species. Festive meals, prayer, hospitality, and gathering with family and community are also important parts of the seven-day festival. Chabad identifies dwelling in the sukkah and taking the Four Species as two of the holiday’s central observances.

If you have ever passed a backyard or synagogue and noticed a temporary structure decorated for the season, you may already have seen one of the most recognizable signs that Sukkot has arrived. For a week, ordinary routines move into a different setting, and meals, conversation, prayer, and celebration take on a special rhythm.

What Is a Sukkah?

A sukkah is a temporary outdoor structure used during Sukkot for meals, gathering, and other activities associated with the holiday. Traditionally, it has at least three walls and a roof made from natural plant material, often called schach, and it is built beneath the open sky.

During the seven days of Sukkot, the sukkah is treated in many ways like a temporary home. Meals are traditionally eaten there, and people may spend additional time studying, talking, relaxing, or welcoming guests inside. Some also sleep in the sukkah, depending on their religious practice, custom, and circumstances.

The structure itself is intentionally temporary. That simplicity is part of what gives the sukkah its meaning: for a short time, a place made from modest materials becomes the setting for some of the holiday’s most memorable moments.

Why Do People Eat in the Sukkah?

Eating in the sukkah makes the temporary dwelling part of everyday life during Sukkot. The practice connects the holiday’s remembrance of temporary shelter with something familiar and immediate: sitting down for a meal.

For a week, the dining room moves outside, and a temporary space becomes somewhere people gather, eat, talk, and celebrate. Meals in the sukkah can bring together remembrance, gratitude, hospitality, and community around the same table.

Welcoming guests is especially fitting here. Whether the table is set for a large gathering or a quieter family meal, the sukkah creates a setting where food and togetherness naturally meet.

What Are the Four Species of Sukkot?

The Four Species are four plants brought together and used as part of the religious observance of Sukkot. They are:

• Etrog — citron
• Lulav — palm frond
• Hadassim — myrtle branches
• Aravot — willow branches

Traditionally, the lulav, myrtle, and willow are held together with the etrog. A blessing is recited, and the Four Species are waved in different directions during the festival, except on Shabbat.

Why Are the Four Species Waved?

Taking and waving the Four Species is a religious commandment associated with Sukkot. They are brought together and traditionally waved in six directions as part of the holiday observance.

Jewish teachings offer several ways of understanding their symbolism. Some interpretations connect the directions with Divine presence everywhere, while others emphasize the unity of different kinds of people coming together. The Four Species are also closely tied to Sukkot’s themes of vegetation, harvest, and rejoicing.

Because there are several traditional interpretations, it is better to think of these explanations as different layers of meaning rather than one single answer for why the ritual is performed.

What Happens During Chol HaMoed Sukkot?

Chol HaMoed refers to the intermediate days of Sukkot, between the opening festival days and the final day of Sukkot. These days retain the character of the holiday while allowing more flexibility in ordinary activities than the opening Yom Tov days. Exact practices and restrictions depend on the level and tradition of religious observance.

The holiday itself continues throughout Chol HaMoed. People continue spending time and eating in the sukkah, and the Four Species are taken on applicable days. Hallel, a series of psalms of praise, is also included in the morning prayers throughout Sukkot.

For many families, these intermediate days also create more room for meals, visits, outings, and time with relatives or friends. The pace may feel a little more relaxed, but the sukkah and the spirit of the festival remain very much part of the week.

What Is Hoshanah Rabbah?

Hoshanah Rabbah is the seventh and final day of Sukkot. It is marked by distinctive prayers and synagogue rituals and serves as an important culmination of the seven-day festival.

Throughout Sukkot, special prayers known as Hoshanot are recited while participants traditionally circle the bimah, the platform where the Torah is read. On Hoshanah Rabbah, the procession expands to seven circuits, and another traditional practice involves willow branches.

It brings the week of sukkah meals, Four Species, prayer, gratitude, and gathering toward its close. After seven days spent making a temporary space feel meaningful, Hoshanah Rabbah marks the final chapter of Sukkot before the Jewish calendar moves into the holidays that immediately follow.

What Foods Are Eaten on Sukkot? Festive Meals and Kosher Pantry Ideas

There is no single universally required Sukkot dish. Sukkot meals often reflect the harvest season, family traditions, festive Jewish meals, and foods that are practical and welcoming to serve in the sukkah. The holiday table may include challah, warm dishes, seasonal produce, stuffed foods, fruits, and other foods that make sense for gathering and sharing.

Because Sukkot is also a harvest festival, food naturally becomes part of the holiday’s themes of gratitude and abundance. Chabad notes that festive Sukkot meals traditionally begin with Kiddush and include challah, while warm, hearty foods can be especially welcome when meals are eaten outdoors in cooler fall weather.

Festive Meals Shared in the Sukkah

Sharing festive meals in the sukkah is one of the most recognizable food traditions of Sukkot. Kiddush traditionally begins the festive holiday meal, followed by challah and the rest of the dishes gathered around the table.

The menu itself can vary widely from one family to another. What matters is that the meal becomes part of dwelling in the sukkah and celebrating the festival. Depending on the weather and family traditions, that might mean soups, casseroles, roasted vegetables, stuffed dishes, breads, salads, or something warm that feels especially good when dinner has moved outdoors.

And that outdoor table changes the feeling of the meal a little. You carry the plates outside, make room for another chair, pass the dishes around, and suddenly a temporary structure feels wonderfully full of life. 

Harvest-Inspired Foods for Sukkot

Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and other seasonal foods fit naturally into Sukkot meals because the holiday has ancient roots as a harvest festival. They are not required ritual foods, but they can be a thoughtful way to reflect the season at the table.

A bowl of fruit or dried fruit can be one of the easiest additions to a shared spread. Galil Sun-Dried Figs contain sun-dried figs as their sole listed ingredient and currently carry Star-K kosher certification. They can be served as-is or added to baked dishes, salads, grain dishes, or a simple platter.

Galil Organic Roasted Chestnuts offer another fall-friendly option. They are already roasted and peeled, with organic roasted chestnut kernels as the listed ingredient, and the current package information lists OK kosher certification. They can sit in a snack bowl or find their way into stuffing, grain dishes, salads, or other seasonal recipes.

For something sweet to pass around with bread or dessert, Galil Fig Preserve brings fruit into the meal in another form. The current product is made with figs and currently lists OU-P certification.

None of these foods needs to be labeled a “traditional Sukkot food” to belong comfortably on the table. Think of them instead as pantry ideas that echo the holiday’s harvest season while giving everyone something easy to share.

Stuffed Foods and Shared Dishes for Sukkot

Stuffed foods are associated with Sukkot in some families and communities, although the custom is not universal. Chabad, for example, notes a custom in some families of serving stuffed cabbage on Hoshanah Rabbah or around the close of the Sukkot period and specifically describes the practice as varying from family to family.

Stuffed dishes also make practical sense for a sukkah meal. They combine filling and vegetables or leaves in one neat dish, are easy to pass around, and work well when several foods are being shared.

Galil Stuffed Cabbage combines cabbage leaves with a filling of rice, onion, tomato paste, herbs, and spices. The current product is OU Parve certified and can work as a convenient shared side or appetizer.

Galil Stuffed Grape Leaves offer another easy-to-share option, with tender grape leaves wrapped around a rice-and-herb filling. They come fully prepared, can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature, and currently list K Kosher certification.

Stuffed dishes can feel right at home on a Sukkot table: easy to pass, easy to share, and well suited to a meal where everyone reaches across the table for a little of this and a little of that.

Dips, Olives, Pickles, and Easy Foods for Hosting

When guests are coming, not every dish needs to involve another hour in the kitchen. A few bowls of dips, olives, pickles, and prepared vegetables can help turn bread, crackers, or fresh vegetables into an easy opening spread while everyone settles into the sukkah.

Here are a few ways pantry foods can fit naturally around the table:

LiOR Tahini is made from stone-ground sesame seeds and currently carries Badatz certification. Its creamy texture lends itself easily to dips, dressings, marinades, and sauces. Achva Tahini offers another simple option in a squeeze bottle, with 100% ground sesame listed as the ingredient and current Badatz/OU Parve certification.

For something smoky, Galil Grilled Eggplant can be served as a dip or spread alongside bread and vegetables, and the current product carries OU Parve certification. Green pitted olives and cucumber pickles can add something salty and tangy to the table without extra preparation; their current OurBasket listings identify them with BDMC Tartikov kosher certification.

A spoonful of Galil Amba Pickled Mango Sauce can also bring a tangy, savory accent to vegetables, grains, and shared dishes. Its current product information lists Landau kosher certification.

These are not ritual Sukkot foods. They are simply the sort of pantry helpers we would point out if you stopped by and said, “I’m having people over—what can I put on the table without making one more complicated dish?”

OurBasket’s Kosher Pantry Collection brings together ready-to-eat foods, tahini, preserves, olives, pickles, snacks, grains, and other pantry staples, making it a natural place to browse when planning a Sukkot meal.

Planning a Kosher Sukkot Meal

For people who observe Kashrut, a Sukkot meal should be planned according to the kosher requirements they follow. That means looking beyond the name or appearance of a food and checking the current kosher certification on packaged products.

It is also important to consider whether foods are designated meat, dairy, or pareve when planning what will be served together. Similar-looking products can carry different certifications or designations, so the current package should guide the decision. 

For example, the Hashahar Chocolate Spread currently carries an OU-Dairy designation. If you would like to bring it out for dessert or breakfast during Sukkot, it should therefore be considered in the context of an appropriate dairy meal rather than treated as a pareve sweet that fits automatically with any menu.

Most of all, plan the table around the religious observance and the people who will be sitting at it. Check certifications, choose foods that work together, and leave enough room for the part of the meal that matters just as much as what is being served: passing the dishes, welcoming a guest, and enjoying some unhurried time together in the sukkah.

What Is Sukkot About Today? Joy, Hospitality, and Community

Sukkot is about remembrance, gratitude, joy, and making room for others. Its ancient traditions remain deeply connected to the present: people gather in the sukkah, share festive meals, welcome guests, and spend time outside the routines and comforts of everyday life. The sukkah itself becomes a setting where faith, food, family, and community come together.

That sense of gathering is an important part of the holiday. A sukkah may be temporary, but for seven days it can become a remarkably lively place—filled with conversation, meals being passed around, visitors arriving, and the simple pleasure of spending time together.

Welcoming Guests During Sukkot

Hospitality is an important theme of Sukkot, with family, friends, and community members traditionally welcomed into the sukkah for meals and time together. AJC describes the sukkah as a gathering place where welcoming guests and enjoying one another's company are central parts of the holiday experience.

There is something especially fitting about making room for another chair in a temporary space. You may not have the usual dining room around you, but the welcome can feel just as warm. A meal in the sukkah can become an opportunity to reconnect with relatives, invite friends over, meet neighbors, or gather with the wider community.

The menu does not need to be elaborate for that hospitality to matter. Sometimes it is simply about setting out the food, passing a dish across the table, and making sure everyone has a place to sit.

What Are Ushpizin?

Ushpizin is a Sukkot tradition of symbolically welcoming honored ancestral guests into the sukkah. The word ushpizin means “guests” in Aramaic, and the traditional custom involves inviting seven biblical figures symbolically into the sukkah over the course of the festival.

The custom grew out of Jewish mystical tradition and adds another layer to Sukkot's emphasis on hospitality. Alongside the people physically gathered around the table, the ushpizin tradition creates a symbolic connection with earlier generations and Jewish history.

Not every Jewish family observes ushpizin in the same way—or at all. Some communities follow the traditional practice closely, while others have developed variations that recognize additional important Jewish figures. It is best understood as one meaningful Sukkot custom rather than a universal requirement.

Gratitude, Simplicity, and Temporary Shelter

The temporary sukkah can encourage reflection on gratitude, shelter, and the comforts that are easy to take for granted. Moving outside a permanent home for meals changes the ordinary routine and places attention on the simplicity of having a roof overhead, food to share, and people nearby.

AJC notes that the sukkah's temporary and exposed nature can serve as a reminder of life's fragility while encouraging appreciation for joyful moments. Different Jewish teachings may draw different lessons from the sukkah, but gratitude, humility, and an awareness of dependence are recurring themes.

There is also something quietly grounding about stepping away from the usual dining room for a few days. The walls are temporary, the roof is made from natural materials, and the setting is intentionally different. Yet inside, there may still be familiar dishes, favorite stories, laughter, and another helping being passed around the table.

For some, that contrast is part of the meaning of Sukkot: comfort does not come only from permanent walls. It can also be found in faith, gratitude, community, and the people gathered beside us.

Does Everyone Celebrate Sukkot the Same Way?

No. Sukkot observance varies among individuals, families, communities, and Jewish movements. People may share the same holiday while following different customs and levels of religious observance.

Differences may include how much time is spent in the sukkah, whether someone sleeps there, synagogue participation, holiday work practices, family meal traditions, decorations, and other customs. Some people may observe the religious requirements closely, while others may connect with Sukkot primarily through family meals, community events, synagogue services, or selected traditions.

Jewish practice is diverse, and levels of religious observance can vary considerably. That is why it is more accurate to say that a tradition may be observed or is traditionally practiced rather than assuming every Jewish person celebrates Sukkot in exactly the same way.

What remains recognizable across many celebrations is the holiday's invitation to gather, remember, give thanks, and find joy during the festival.

What Comes After Sukkot?

Sukkot itself lasts seven days, and Shemini Atzeret follows immediately afterward as a distinct Jewish holiday. Simchat Torah is closely connected on the calendar and celebrates the completion and beginning again of the annual Torah-reading cycle. Chabad specifically describes Shemini Atzeret as an independent holiday in important respects rather than simply an eighth ordinary day of Sukkot.

The way Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are scheduled can vary by community and religious practice. Some communities observe them together on one day, while others observe them on consecutive days.

So while the calendar flows naturally from Sukkot into these celebrations, they have their own meanings and observances. Think of it as the Jewish holiday season continuing rather than Sukkot simply adding another day.

And perhaps that is a fitting way for a festival centered on joy and gathering to end: the sukkah may soon come down, but the season of celebration, community, and shared tradition continues.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sukkot

What is Sukkot?

Sukkot is a seven-day Jewish festival beginning on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. It remembers the temporary dwellings associated with the wilderness journey while also reflecting the agricultural themes of harvest, gratitude, and joy.

What is the Jewish holiday Sukkot about?

Sukkot is about remembrance, gratitude, joy, and gathering. Central traditions include spending time and eating meals in a sukkah, taking the Four Species, praying, and sharing festive meals with family and guests.

What does Sukkot mean?

Sukkot means “booths” or “huts” and is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah. The name refers to the temporary dwelling that plays a central role in the festival.

What does Sukkot celebrate?

Sukkot commemorates the temporary dwellings associated with the Jewish people’s wilderness journey and also celebrates the harvest with gratitude and joy. These themes come together through the sukkah, festive meals, prayer, and other holiday traditions.

Why is Sukkot celebrated?

Sukkot is celebrated because its observance is rooted in the Torah and connects remembrance with the agricultural harvest. The holiday recalls temporary shelter during the wilderness journey while encouraging gratitude, rejoicing, and gathering together.

When is Sukkot celebrated?

Sukkot begins on the 15th of Tishrei and lasts seven days. It begins five days after Yom Kippur and usually falls in September or October, although the Gregorian dates change each year.

How is Sukkot celebrated?

Sukkot is celebrated through traditions such as spending time and eating in a sukkah, taking the Four Species, prayer, festive meals, and hospitality. Specific customs and levels of observance vary among individuals, families, and communities.

What is a sukkah?

A sukkah is a temporary outdoor dwelling built for the festival of Sukkot. It is traditionally used for meals, gathering, and other activities throughout the holiday.

What are the Four Species of Sukkot?

The Four Species are the etrog, palm frond, myrtle, and willow. They are brought together for a blessing and traditionally waved during Sukkot as part of the festival’s religious observance.

What foods are eaten during Sukkot?

Sukkot does not have one universally required signature dish. Festive meals may include challah, seasonal produce, harvest-inspired foods, stuffed dishes, and family recipes, with food traditions varying among households and communities.

Why are stuffed foods eaten on Sukkot?

Stuffed foods are a Sukkot custom in some families and communities rather than a universal requirement. They are sometimes associated with harvest abundance and also work well as practical, shareable dishes for meals in the sukkah.

Is Sukkot the same as Simchat Torah?

No. Sukkot and Simchat Torah are distinct Jewish holidays. Simchat Torah follows the Sukkot period closely on the calendar and celebrates the completion and restart of the annual Torah-reading cycle.

From First Bite to Final Blessing, Stock the Table with Care

Sukkot is a celebration of remembrance, gratitude, joy, and gathering together. From spending time in the sukkah and taking the Four Species to sharing festive meals with family and guests, the holiday brings meaningful traditions into everyday moments around the table. While customs and menus can vary, the heart of Sukkot remains closely tied to appreciating what we have and making room to share it with others.

Planning your own Sukkot table? OurBasket’s thoughtfully curated kosher pantry makes it easy to find ingredients, spreads, sides, snacks, and ready-to-serve favorites for meals shared in the sukkah. Browse OurBasket’s Kosher Pantry Collection and fill your basket with foods made for gathering, sharing, and celebrating together.