Sukkot is an eight-day fall harvest festival. The sukkot (booths decorated with greens and fruits) were huts built in the fields for shelter during the harvest.

Sukkot offers an opportunity in the fall for communities to come together, to experience the out-of-doors, to recognize the interconnectedness of humanity and the earth and to acknowledge responsibility for the environment. In ancient times, Jews gathered in booths for the harvest to increase efficiency. For Humanistic Jews, Sukkot is an intergenerational holiday that offers an opportunity to work together to build and decorate the sukkah. The sukkah then becomes the center of an outdoor celebration to share a meal or a snack under a roof open to the sun or stars.

Humanistic Jews use the ancient symbols of Sukkot – the lulav (a date palm branch tied together with myrtle and willow) and the etrog (a fragrant citron) – as symbols of the harvest.