ICEJ NEWS 98-10-02  The seven-day Succot festival begins at sunset on Sunday, and runs until sunset on Monday, October 12.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, publishers of [ICEJ NEWS] news service, has for the past 19 years hosted a major Christian celebration during Succot, attended each year by thousands of pilgrims from about 100 countries.

Succot's observance is mandated by Leviticus 23:34-35, 39-43. The first and last days are full public holidays. All seven days are marked by special prayers and scripture readings, including the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Succot is described as a happy, family oriented holiday which follows -- and provides a contrast to -- the very serious and contemplative character of Yom Kippur.

During Succot, Jews are enjoined to build, take all of their meals in, and (if possible) sleep in, temporary huts topped with thatch or palm fronds during the festival. These huts (tabernacles, or "succot" in Hebrew) commemorate the temporary dwellings in which the Jewish people lived during their 40 years in the wilderness following their liberation from slavery in Egypt.

The second main aspect of the Succot observances is the special bouquet -- comprising a closed palm frond, a citron, a myrtle branch, and a willow branch -- which is held during morning prayers on each of the seven days (although not on the Sabbath), and whose use is mandated by Leviticus 23:40. There are also many traditional explanations as to the symbolism of the bouquet.