Jewish Arbor Day (Leviticus 19:23-25)

This January 20^th (or more accurately the 15^th day of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar), is the minor Jewish holiday Tu B'Shevat, also known as the New Year of the Trees. In short it's kinda like the end of the fiscal year for fruit-bearing trees. Wait? Do you mean to tell me you haven't been keeping the books for your trees? It's not like their going to do it themselves! Well, I guess in theory they kind of do if you use a wooden pencil and write the details on a piece of paper. But if you really loved trees you'd go green and keep digital records instead. (No one seems to care if you make the electrons in your computer mad.)

So what should you be recording? Each Tu B'Shevat a tree advances one year in age. If you plant a tree on the 14^th of Shevat it turns one the next day, but if planted on the 16^th you've gotta wait anywhere from 355 to 385 days for Tu B'Shevat next year. (There's a large variance in the year-to-day ratio for the Jewish calendar. I'm still working out the math.) For the first three years, a tree's fruit is forbidden. On the forth year, it's fruit should be presented as an offering to God. Finally on the fifth year you can eat the fruit. That's a long time to wait for some apple sauce. 

Holiday customs include planting a tree and eating dried fruit, especially from the Shivat Haminim, also know as the Seven Species. The Shivat Haminim is listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as the main produce of the land of Israel which consist of the following: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey/dates. How can honey and dates be one in the same? It is generally believed that the word “honey” used here is not the honey from bees but the syrup of dates. For some reason that doesn't sound as appetizing. Anyways... almonds are also a big deal since the blossoming of the almond tree occurs around this time. 

If you celebrate Tu B'Shevat on January 20^th next year:

(It's on February 8^th in 2012.)