...to the mix later, but as I don't seem to be getting to that yet, I'll just put in one thing--goyim is a Hebrew word and is actually plural. Goy is singular. You otherwise used it correctly, though :)

And another language note--people don't always have the l' attached, so one hears shana tova equally frequently (or more frequently, in my experience). What's the difference? Shana tova literally means 'good year', and is used as, essentially, 'happy new year'. L'shana tova is more in line with 'to a good year'--the wording is about how you'd phrase it if you were making a toast: l'shana tova! L'chaim! See? I assume it's used about the same way as 'shana tova', though--Rats, do please correct me if that's not how you've heard it? Like I said, I'm more used to hearing it as shana tova without the l'.

/this has been Language Learning with DawnFire.

Also,Selamat Hari Malaysia one day late! Did you have fun? I know you described in general what people do--did you do anything differently?

(Also, I get the feeling this is the first time we've spoken in a while, which, considering we had some good conversations back in 2013, is a shame. How've you been?)

~DF

Oh man, you got me started and now I will never stop talking.

Yep, Rosh Hashanah! It's a two day holiday, started Sunday night this year and will end tonight. The Jewish calendar itself is lunar based, so every once in a while there's a leap month (literally just called Adar2, lol) to keep the holidays on track with the seasons they're supposed to be in! For example, Passover needs to be in spring, while Rosh Hashanah is in the fall. The date was chosen because of the agricultural cycle.

The holiday itself, while a new year celebration, is also considered part of an atonement time! According to tradition, it's during the course of Rosh Hashanah that the books of judgement are opened in heaven. Names are recorded into books of "wicked" and "good" or something to that regard, and you have the next ten days (until Yom Kippur next Wednesday!) to reflect on your year and try to remedy or feel sorry for any wrongs you committed. You're supposed to fast on the day of Yom Kippur, and there's also this bit I like where you're supposed to make a paper boat and float it down the river to represent your wrongdoings being washed away. I think? I can't find any record of that online but I definitely remember learning about it in Hebrew school. :T

Anyways, with regard to Rosh Hashanah, some traditions include eating round challah bread to represent the circular nature of the year and apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year. Some places have a fish head on the table to symbolize a prayer consisting of "let us be the head (leaders) not the tail (followers)". You're also supposed to go to temple and hear a rabbi blow a shofar, which is a hollowed out horn, because it supposedly resembles a baby's cry and reminds us of our sorrow. Nice stuff haha. . .

So yeah!! Jewish new year. Good times.

Malaysia Day! Is that like an independence day, or something else?