After Ĥanuka and before Purim, there is a minor holiday – Tu Bi-Shevat (the fifteenth of Shevat), the new year for trees. In Israel, by this point, the height of winter has passed, and the trees are beginning to bloom. The date of this holiday is relevant for determining various agricultural laws, including those of tithing and orla. (See 24:2 above.)
Tu Bi-Shevat has some holiday elements. For example, we neither recite Taĥanun (22:8 above) or deliver eulogies. Some have a custom to eat fruits grown in the Land of Israel, to thank God for the wonderful land He gave us, and its magnificent fruits.
