Editing Liturgical year (section)

==Biblical calendars==
Scholars are not in agreement about whether the calendars used by the Jews before the [[Babylonian exile]] were [[solar calendar|solar]] (based on the return of the same relative position between the Sun and the Earth), [[lunisolar calendar|lunisolar]] (based on months that corresponded to the cycle of the moon, with periodic additional months to bring the calendar back into agreement with the solar cycle) like the present-day [[Jewish calendar]] of [[Hillel II]], or [[lunar calendar|lunar]], such as the [[Islamic calendar|Hijri calendar]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Sacha |last=Stern |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiFIKURVNRwC&q=jewish+calendars |title=Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-19-827034-8 |pages=2–3}}</ref>

The first month of the Hebrew year was called {{Lang|he|אביב}} (Aviv), meaning the month of green ears of grain. Having to occur at the appropriate time in the spring, it thus was originally part of a [[tropical year|tropical calendar]]. At about the time of the [[Babylonian exile]], when using the Babylonian civil calendar, the Jews adopted the term {{Lang|he|ניסן}} ([[Nisan]]) as the name for the month,<ref>"In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar" ({{bibleverse||Esther|3:7}}),</ref> based on the Babylonian name Nisanu.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/months-of-the-jewish-calendar.html|title=Jewish (Hebrew) Calendar - List Of Months|website=[[Angelfire]]}}</ref> Thomas J Talley says that the adoption of the Babylonian term occurred even before the exile.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_O8F_iGcqkC&q=Babylonian+name+Nisan&pg=PA82 |first=Thomas J. |last=Talley |title=The Origins of the Liturgical Year |publisher=Pueblo Publishing Company |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8146-6075-1 |pages=82–83}}</ref>

In the earlier calendar, most of the months were simply called by a number (such as "the fifth month"). The Babylonian-derived names of the month that are used by Jews are:
# [[Nisan]] (March–April)
# [[Iyar]] (April–May)
# [[Sivan]] (May–June)
# [[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]] (June–July)
# [[Av (month)|Av]] (July–August)
# [[Elul]] (August–September)
# [[Tishrei]] (September–October)
# [[Marcheshvan]] (October–November)
# [[Kislev]] (November–December)
# [[Tevet]] (December–January)
# [[Shevat]] (January–February)
# [[Adar 1]] (February; only during leap years)
# [[Adar]] (February–March)

In Biblical times, the following Jewish religious feasts were celebrated:
* [[Pesach]] (Passover) – 14 [[Nisan]] (sacrifice of a lamb), 15 Nisan ([[Passover seder]])
* [[Chag HaMatzot]] (Unleavened Bread) – 15–21 Nisan
* [[Reishit Katzir]] (Firstfruits) – 16 Nisan
* [[Shavuot]] (Weeks) – Fiftieth day counted from Passover, normally 6–7 [[Sivan]]
* [[Rosh Hashanah]] (Trumpets) – 1–2 [[Tishrei]]
* [[Yom Kippur]] (Atonement) – 10 Tishrei
* [[Sukkot]] (Tabernacles) – 15–21 Tishrei
* [[Chanukah]] (Dedication) – 25 [[Kislev]]–2/3 [[Tevet]] (instituted in 164 BC)
* [[Purim]] (Lots) – 14–15 [[Adar]] (instituted in {{Circa|400 BC}})