Many synagogues will expect to be far less busy on Succot than they were for the High Holy Days a few days earlier.
But still one in two British Jews will mark the “Season of Our Joy” in some way when it begins in the evening on Monday week.
For the first time, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research has collected data on the seven-day festival, with 50 per cent of Jews in the UK reporting that they observed it.
Succot is associated particularly with the building of succot and the use of the lulav and etrog during prayers.
By comparison, 74 per cent observe home rituals for Rosh Hashanah; 63 per cent fast on Yom Kippur most years; 89 per cent attend a candle-lighting for Chanukah; and 84 per cent celebrate Pesach at a Seder meal.
JPR senior research fellow David Graham noted: “Unlike the more universally observed Jewish festivals, the celebration of Succot provides a clearer marker of stronger Jewish identity and broader engagement in Jewish life.”
Families whose children go to Jewish schools are twice as likely to mark Succot as those whose children go to non-Jewish schools, according to JPR.
“The larger the household size, the more likely it is that Succot is observed,” it found.” It is also the case that married Jews are more likely to observe Succot than those who have never been married. Both of these indicate that Succot observance is more common among families.”
While all of observant Orthodox Jews say they observe Succot, 68 per cent of traditional Jews and 48 per cent of Progressive Jews do. The percentage drops to 30 per cent among those who identify as “just Jewish” and just 13 per cent of secular Jews.
READ MORE: What is Succot?
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