Subject Guide: Holidays

American Jewish Historical Society

National Jewish Welfare Board records​

Subgroup I, Series C, Subseries 4: Holiday Files

The National Jewish Welfare Board's (NJWB) was founded in 1917 to provide support for soldiers in times of war to an agency involved in all aspects of Jewish life in the United States and abroad. In 1990 JWB recreated itself as the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America. Materials on holidays can be found primarily in Subgroup I, Series C, Subseries 4: Holiday Files. 

The Book of Jewish Holidays / by Ruth Lurie Kozodoy. Revised ed. West Orange, N.J.: Behrman House, 1997.

The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen / Joan Nathan. New York: Schocken Books, 1987.

The Jewish home: a Guide for Jewish Living / Daniel B. Syme. New York, N.Y.: UAHC Press, ©1988.

The Jewish way: living the holidays / Irving Greenberg. Northvale, N.J.: J. Aronson, c1998.

Living a Jewish Life : Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families / Anita Diamant with Howard Cooper. Updated and Rev. ed. New York: Collins, 1996.

American Sephardi Federation

Celebrations and Stories / Lea-Nora Kordova, Annette and Eugene Labovitz.

Jewish Holiday Companion: insights into the meaning of the Holidays, their prayers, Symbols and Biblical Readings / Rabbi Hayyim Angel. New York, NY: Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, 2014.

Sephardic Holiday Cooking: Recipes and Traditions / by Gilda Angel; Introduction by Marc Angel; Illustrated by Rosemary Campion. Mount Vernon, N.Y.: Decalogue Books, 1986.

Leo Baeck Institute

Salfeld Postcard Collection : [Judaism depicted by Hermann Junker]. [Digitized and available online]

Series of postcards depicting painted scenes of Jewish life by the artist Hermann Junker. The postcards depicting Jewish customs and scenes from the Franco-Prussian War were published by Verlag Paul Grödel in Frankfurt/Main.

Hebrew Publishing Company Collection

Collection contains Jewish New Year greeting cards printed in Germany for the Hebrew Publishing Company in the early 20th century

YIVO

Collection on Jewish Customs [Digitized and available online]

A composite collection of materials from the YIVO Archives in Vilna relating to Jewish customs and practices in Europe between the 1830s and 1930s. The collection consists of documents, artifacts, printed material, correspondence, and photographs. Series II and Series V contain material related to a variety of holidays.

Displaced Person Camps and Centers in Germany [Digitized and available online]

These records detail the history of the DP camps in Germany, primarily in the American zone. The collection primarily consists of administrative records such as reports, correspondence, and lists as well as cultural materials from political, theatrical, and literary groups. There are also a large number of records of court proceedings, centering on accounting for actions taken during the Holocaust as well as the formation of new families in the DP camps. Materials on holidays can be found in Series XVI: Printed Matter, amongst others.

Postcards and Greeting Cards 1910's-1960's

The collection consists of several thousand illustrated postcards and greeting cards. Included are rare postcards bearing artistic illustrations, photographic images and poetic texts, and cards and depicting folklore and religious themes, such as the Jewish New Year and other holidays. Also included are invitations to weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Encyclopedia of Jewish folklore and traditions / Raphael Patai, founding editor; Haya Bar-Itzhak, editor. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, 2013.

Jewish holiday dances / poems by Alfred Hayes; music arr. by Trudi Rittman; photos by Slavko Vorkapich; book designed by Alvin Lustig. New York: Behrman House.

Jewish holiday songs for children: with dances and games for all seasons / by Rachel Buchman; cover art by Susan Marsh. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications.

The Jewish woman's prayer book / edited by Aliza Lavie. New York : Spiegel & Grau, 2008.

Milk and honey: a year of Jewish holidays / Jane Yolen; illustrations by Louise August ; musical arrangements by Adam Stemple. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.

Seventy and one tales for the Jewish year: folk tales for the festivals / Barbara Rush, Eliezer Marcus; illustrated by Yaacov Limon. New York: A.Z.Y.F.