Tu B’Shvat is on the Fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Shevat and is the “New Year for the Trees” or Rosh Hashana La-ilanot. In Israel everything is green and it is the start of spring.
It is just the right time to plant trees. On the fifteenth (Tu in Hebrew) we plant trees which will grow strong and tall.
An ancient custom in Israel when a baby was born, the parents planted a tree in its honor. The tree was planted on Tu B’Shvat following the child’s birth. If the baby was a boy, a cedar was planted. If the baby was a girl, a cypress was planted. As the children grew so did the trees. When children got married the wood from the trees built their chupah (wedding canopy). As the wood from the two trees were joined in the chupah so were the bride and groom in their marriage.
Many hundreds of years Tu B’Shvat has been celebrated throughout the world. Even when we had no homeland we still remembered and celebrated Tu B’Shvat. Although many could not plant trees because it was not spring during the fifteenth of Shevat where they lived, they ate the “fruit of the trees” and remembered. The fruits of the trees they ate were like those in Israel: almonds, dates, figs, raisins, and carob. It was considered a mitzvah to eat these fruits during Tu B’Shvat and recite the blessings.
A modern tradition for people who live outside of Israel is to plant a tree in Israel by contributing to the Israel National Fund. They will plant a tree for you in Israel.