Sukkot 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 15, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Friday, October 22, 2027. The Jewish holiday is also called the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, and it lasts seven days.
Sukkot is the seven-day harvest festival that begins five days after Yom Kippur, when families eat and often sleep in a sukkah, a temporary hut with a roof of branches.
English-language Bibles call it the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, which is why the same holiday turns up under three names.
It is also the holiday with the most moving parts: two festival days at the start, five ordinary-looking days in the middle, a bundle of four plants waved each morning, and two more holidays tacked on at the end.
This page sorts out the names, the dates through 2030, the sukkah, the four species, and where Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah fit.
Table of Contents
When is Sukkot?
Sukkot 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 15, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Friday, October 22, 2027. The holiday always runs from 15 to 21 Tishrei.
| Year | Begins at sundown | Ends at nightfall | Hebrew year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, September 25, 2026 | Friday, October 2, 2026 | 5787 |
| 2027 | Friday, October 15, 2027 | Friday, October 22, 2027 | 5788 |
| 2028 | Wednesday, October 4, 2028 | Wednesday, October 11, 2028 | 5789 |
| 2029 | Sunday, September 23, 2029 | Sunday, September 30, 2029 | 5790 |
| 2030 | Friday, October 11, 2030 | Friday, October 18, 2030 | 5791 |
The 2027 schedule day by day
The first two days outside Israel are full festival days, and the middle days are working days with holiday customs attached. Chabad states that “the first two days (or one day in Israel) are yom tov, when work is forbidden,” and that the remaining days are “quasi holidays, known as chol hamoed.”
| Day | Date in 2027 | Status outside Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Erev Sukkot | Friday, October 15, 2027 | Sukkot begins at sundown |
| Day 1 | Saturday, October 16, 2027 | Yom tov, and Shabbat |
| Day 2 | Sunday, October 17, 2027 | Yom tov |
| Days 3 to 6 | Monday, October 18 to Thursday, October 21, 2027 | Chol Hamoed, the intermediate days |
| Day 7, Hoshanah Rabbah | Friday, October 22, 2027 | Last day of Sukkot |
| Shemini Atzeret | Saturday, October 23, 2027 | Separate holiday |
| Simchat Torah | Sunday, October 24, 2027 | Separate holiday outside Israel |
In Israel the first day alone is yom tov, and Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah fall together on Saturday, October 23, 2027.
What is Sukkot?
Sukkot is a biblical harvest festival that commemorates the shelter God gave the Israelites after they left Egypt. Chabad states that “Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection G‑d provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt.”
Hebcal describes it as “a Biblical holiday beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei” that marks both “the autumn harvest and the Israelites’ desert journey following Egypt’s exodus.”
My Jewish Learning explains the name: the holiday “is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration.” The same source notes that Sukkot is “justifiably referred to as zeman simchateynu, the ‘season of our joy.'”
Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles and Feast of Booths
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Booths are three names for the same holiday. Hebcal lists it as “Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות, sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths).”
The English names come from Bible translations, where the Hebrew sukkot is rendered as tabernacles or booths, both meaning temporary shelters. Chabad gives two Hebrew names: Chag HaAsif, the Harvest Festival, and Chag HaSukkot, the Festival of Booths.
| Name | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Sukkot | Hebrew for booths or huts |
| Feast of Tabernacles | English Bible translations |
| Feast of Booths | English Bible translations |
| Chag HaSukkot | Festival of Booths, per Chabad |
| Chag HaAsif | Harvest Festival, per Chabad |
| Zeman simchateynu | Season of our joy, per My Jewish Learning |
Where Christian groups observe the Feast of Tabernacles, they follow the same Hebrew dates, which is why the feast falls in September or October rather than on a fixed date.
The sukkah
A sukkah is a temporary hut with at least three walls and a roof of unprocessed plant material, and meals are eaten in it through the week. Chabad specifies “at least three walls and a roof of unprocessed natural vegetation, typically bamboo, pine boughs or palm branches.”
My Jewish Learning describes it as “a flimsy structure with at least three sides, whose roof is made out of thatch or branches, which provides some shade and protection from the sun, but also allows the stars to be seen at night.”
| Feature | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Walls | At least three |
| Roof | Unprocessed natural vegetation, such as bamboo, pine boughs or palm branches |
| Light | Some shade by day, stars visible at night |
| Use | Meals through the seven days; some people sleep in it |
| Where | Gardens, balconies, courtyards, synagogue grounds |
My Jewish Learning also describes ushpizin, “a welcoming ceremony” in which “ancestors are symbolically invited to partake in the meals.”
The Four Kinds: lulav and etrog
The Four Kinds are an etrog, a lulav, three myrtle twigs and two willow twigs, held together and waved each morning of the holiday. Chabad lists the bundle as “an etrog (citron), a lulav (palm frond), three hadassim (myrtle twigs) and two aravot (willow twigs),” and describes waving “them in all six directions: right, left, forward, up, down and backward.”
| Kind | What it is | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Etrog | Citron, a citrus fruit | 1 |
| Lulav | Palm frond | 1 |
| Hadassim | Myrtle twigs | 3 |
| Aravot | Willow twigs | 2 |
The Four Kinds are not taken on Shabbat. Chabad notes the exception directly. In 2027 the first day of Sukkot, Saturday, October 16, is Shabbat, so the first waving of the lulav and etrog happens on the second day, Sunday, October 17, 2027.
My Jewish Learning adds that during the Hoshana prayers, “congregants march around the synagogue sanctuary holding the lulav and etrog.”
Chol Hamoed and Hoshanah Rabbah
The middle days of Sukkot, called Chol Hamoed, are working days that keep the holiday’s customs. My Jewish Learning states that “during the intermediate days of Sukkot, one is allowed to pursue normal activity,” while meals continue in the sukkah and the lulav and etrog are waved daily.
The seventh day is Hoshanah Rabbah. My Jewish Learning calls it “the ‘Great Hoshana,'” the last day of the festival. In 2027 it falls on Friday, October 22.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah follow Sukkot but are separate holidays. Chabad notes that Sukkot is “immediately followed by the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on Tishrei 22 (and 23 in the diaspora).”
Hebcal describes Shemini Atzeret as “considered a holiday in its own right rather than a continuation of Sukkot; unlike Sukkot, it has no mandated ritual objects such as the sukkah or the Four Species.”
| Holiday | Hebrew date | 2027 outside Israel | 2027 in Israel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sukkot | 15 to 21 Tishrei | Saturday, October 16 to Friday, October 22 | Same |
| Shemini Atzeret | 22 Tishrei | Saturday, October 23 | Saturday, October 23, combined with Simchat Torah |
| Simchat Torah | 23 Tishrei | Sunday, October 24 | Combined with Shemini Atzeret |
Hebcal notes that “in Israel and Reform Judaism, the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined into a single day.”
Sukkot greetings
“Chag sameach,” meaning happy holiday, fits Sukkot. Reform Judaism states that the greeting is “used only on the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot,” which makes Sukkot one of the holidays where it is the right choice rather than the wrong one.
My Jewish Learning gives the pronunciation as chahg sah-MAY-ach, and lists the Yiddish “gut yontiff,” pronounced goot YUHN-tiff, for the festival days themselves.
This is the clearest split in High Holiday greetings. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, “chag sameach” is disputed or discouraged. On Sukkot, five days later, it is standard.
What Sukkot is not
Sukkot is not one of the High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are, and Sukkot follows them as a pilgrimage festival alongside Passover and Shavuot.
It is not a fast: the week is built around meals. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are not the eighth and ninth days of Sukkot either, but holidays in their own right, which is why the sukkah and the Four Kinds do not carry over to them.
Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles is not a separate Christian holiday with its own date. It is the same festival, on the same Hebrew dates, under an English name.
Frequently asked questions
When is Sukkot 2027?
Sukkot 2027 begins at sundown on Friday, October 15, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Friday, October 22, 2027, according to Hebcal. The Hebrew dates are 15 to 21 Tishrei 5788. Shemini Atzeret follows on Saturday, October 23, and Simchat Torah on Sunday, October 24, outside Israel.
What is Sukkot?
Sukkot is a seven-day biblical festival that celebrates the autumn harvest and commemorates the shelter God gave the Israelites after the exodus from Egypt, according to Chabad. Families eat in a sukkah, a hut roofed with branches, and wave the Four Kinds each morning. My Jewish Learning calls it the season of our joy.
Is Sukkot the Feast of Tabernacles?
Yes. Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Booths are three names for the same holiday, as Hebcal states directly. The English names come from Bible translations of the Hebrew word sukkot, meaning booths or temporary shelters. The dates follow the Hebrew calendar, so they move against the Gregorian calendar each year.
What is a sukkah?
A sukkah is a temporary hut with at least three walls and a roof of unprocessed natural vegetation such as bamboo, pine boughs or palm branches, according to Chabad. My Jewish Learning describes a structure that gives shade by day but still allows the stars to be seen at night. Meals are eaten in it through the week.
What are the four species of Sukkot?
The Four Kinds are an etrog or citron, a lulav or palm frond, three hadassim or myrtle twigs, and two aravot or willow twigs, according to Chabad. They are held together and waved in six directions: right, left, forward, up, down and backward. They are not taken on Shabbat.
How long is Sukkot?
Sukkot lasts seven days, from 15 to 21 Tishrei. Outside Israel the first two days are full festival days and the rest are Chol Hamoed, the intermediate days, while in Israel only the first day is a festival day. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah follow, adding one or two more days depending on where you are.
What is the difference between Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?
Shemini Atzeret falls on 22 Tishrei and Simchat Torah on 23 Tishrei outside Israel, where they are two separate days. Hebcal notes that in Israel and in Reform Judaism the two are combined into a single day. Neither one uses the sukkah or the Four Kinds, because both are holidays in their own right rather than part of Sukkot.
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