How to Celebrate Rosh Hashanah in London

Rosh Hashanah means ‘the head of the year’ in Hebrew, and marks the start of ten days of repentance (ending with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar). Jewish New Year offers an important opportunity for reflection; a period in which to look back over the past year and make resolutions for the new one.

Rosh Hashanah also includes a certain amount of indulgence: a time of feasting and celebration, during which many sugary treats are consumed with the aim of ensuring a ‘sweet’ new year. Traditionally, Jews snack on challah bread dipped in honey, apples with yet more honey, and pomegranates (because pomegranates are said to contain the same number of seeds as there are commandments in the Torah – 613, to be precise).

This year, the two-day festival of Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of September 9th and ends on the evening of the 11th. Here’s our pick of things to do in London to mark this important occasion.

‘Bee’ Inspired

For an unusual twist on the traditional Rosh Hashanah activities, take advantage of some of London’s top bee-themed treats.

Wolfgang Buttress’s 40-tonne installation, The Hive, offers an immersive experience for the whole family to enjoy. Set amidst the beautiful gardens at Kew, The Hive is more than just a stunning sculpture: it’s an interactive experience, with lights, sensors, and a soundscape powered by a living beehive hidden at Kew Gardens. Buttress wants ‘visitors to feel enveloped, wrapped-up and involved in the experience, rather than adopting the position of an external observer’, and to highlight the importance of bees by teaching visitors all about honeybees and their role in pollinating the planet.

Alternatively, if you’d like to learn about beekeeping within the city of London, book a place on one of Urban Bees’ unique tours. During the three-hour tour, visitors will take a trip through secret beehives at a hidden city apiary, make wild flower ‘seed bombs’ with which to feed the bees, and try a variety of top-notch London honeys.

Choose Your Challah

No Jewish New Year celebration would be complete without tearing into some freshly-baked Challah (the traditional bread reserved for Sabbath and special celebrations). Challah is typically braided – with the number of braids carrying different meanings – but for Rosh Hashanah you’re likely to find challah dough baked into round loaves as a symbol of continuity.

There are a plethora of wonderful Jewish bakeries in London, so you’re sure to be spoilt for choice. North London is home to the famous J Grodzinksi and Daughters chain. From humble beginnings in London’s East End – the bakery began with just one kosher oven in 1888 – the family-run bakery has flourished, currently operating two branches in Stamford Hill and one in Edgware. At either shop you can find a variety of fantastic baked goods, though J Grodzinkski and Daughters is particularly famous for its extensive catalogue of celebration challahs.

Another London staple is the Happening Bagel Bakery, which specialises in challah and (unsurprisingly) bagels. Using traditional methods, the team bake their goods in small batches throughout the day to ensure the freshest, tastiest breads in town.

Or, if you’re in Shoreditch, a visit to Beigel Bake is a must: their salt beef bagels are to die for (and the bakery is open 24 hours a day, meaning you can satisfy your bagel cravings at any hour!).

Sweet Treats

Combine two traditional Rosh Hashanah pastimes – sugary snacks and the giving of gifts – with a trip to London’s Biscuiteers. With cafés in Notting Hill and Battersea, as well as an impressive online shop, these boutiques offer biscuits with a difference. Their luxe Rosh Hashanah biscuit tin, which features 16 hand-iced biscuits in appropriately festive shapes (honey, candles, stars of David, and more), would make a fabulous themed gift for any friend or family member (…or yourself. Yum.).

Or, if you have a hankering for honey, call in at the London Honey Company. Founder Steve Benbow started with one rooftop beehive in 1999 and now produces honey from the rooftops of some of the capital’s most prestigious buildings –from the Tate Modern to the Victoria and Albert Museum – as well as keeping bees for iconic purveyors like Fortnum and Mason. Known for their complex, rich honeys, beeswax candles and honey mead, the London Honey Company’s flagship shop in Bermondsey is well worth a visit.

Tasty Tipples

Round off your Rosh Hashanah celebrations with cocktails at one of London’s finest drinking establishments. The Blind Pig in Soho – an award-winning bar owned by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton – offers an inventive menu of children’s-literature-inspired drinks, many of which will provide an appropriate (and delicious) apple or honey fix.

Sip on the aptly-named ‘Hunny Pot’, a Winnie-the-Pooh themed cocktail that blends Bacardi Oro, mead, cider brandy, honey and orange blossom; or, for a zestier kick, opt for the ‘ABC Fizz’: a herbaceous mix including Remy Martin 1738, fennel seed vermouth, apple soda, beetroot and carrot. Bottoms up – or, rather, Shana Tova!

If You Have Time…

The Jewish Museum and JW3 – London’s first Jewish Community Centre – are closed over Rosh Hashanah, but are well worth a visit if you’re in London for an extended stay. Learn more about the traditions of Jewish culture and view some amazing artefacts at the Jewish museum; check out the extensive arts and culture programme at JW3; or try some delicious, authentic Jewish food at Zest.