The travel period for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot begins approximately on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, and ends approximately on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Observant Jewish travelers may carry four plants – a palm branch, myrtle twigs, willow twigs, and a citron – in airports and through security checkpoints. These plants are religious articles and may be carried either separately or as a bundle. Jewish travelers may be observed in prayer, shaking the bundle of plants in six directions. Sukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblical pilgrim festivals, when it was traditional for Jews to visit the Temple in Jerusalem. It's generally a harvest festival. The holiday lasts seven days. The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of the fragile dwellings in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Many families build a sukkah in their yard, and throughout the holiday the sukkah becomes the living area of the house. All meals are eaten in it.

It's currently the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (or Sukkos in some dialects)- one of the three major "pilgrimage" festivals of Judaism and it lasts for seven days (till this coming Friday, 9 Oct). In Temple times, Jews would travel to the Temple in Jerusalem for the festivals of Pesach (Passover) in the spring, Shavuot around late May/ June and Sukkot at this time of year. Nowadays, if they're traveling, it's probably to visit family for the holiday. The two main rituals of the holiday are eating in the "sukkah" (a hut with a roof of bamboo or branches) and blessing the "four species" (the plant's you've noticed). These four species include: One palm branch (must be from a date palm and must be the central branch at the top, that hasn't yet opened), two willows, three myrtle leaves (those three are bound together) and an "etrog", a citroen (related to lemons, but quite different inside). Jews say a blessing and then wave these four plants in all six directions. Each plant represents a different type of person. Dates taste good, but have no scent- representing the learned person who doesn't pratice the theory. Myrtles are the reverse: Smell & no taste, representing the person who doesn't know much, but is a good person. The "etrog" smells and tastes good, like a spiritual all-rounder. Willows have neither taste nor smell, representing the Jew who observes little and knows less of their Judaism. The message of putting them all together is to stress Jewish unity and remind us we are all connected, regardless of how religious we are. You can find loads more about it all here: http://tinyurl.com/q8wlow