Tu B’Shevat and the Moon

Tu B’Shevat, a Jewish holiday,  is the New Year for trees. The day is used to calculate the age of a tree, it is essentially all trees Birthday because they all age one year on this day. It comes from when one was not allowed to eat fruit from a tree for the first three years, fruit was given to G-d in the fourth year, and after that you were free to eat from the tree. This reminds me of the gardening practice to not allow trees to bear fruit for the first 1-2 years to allow for more tree growth. I see Tu B’Shevat as a green or ecological awareness holiday and I love that it always falls on the night of a full moon. It adds a mystical sense to the holiday. It makes me feel like we should dance in circles under the moon dressed as trees. Ok… that would be weird.

It is hard to get in the Tu B’Shevat mood in Minnesota in January/February, it is freezing and the ground is (usually) covered in snow. We can’t plant trees, we might not even be able to spend time outside safely. Tu B’Shevat can be celebrated by planting a tree or collecting money to plant trees in Israel. It is also common to try a new fruit. I bought a coconut for us to try and I thought the girls would be into because they love the movie Moana. Enjoy Tu B’Shevat and try and find some green in the sea of white.