genuinegirly

So, I know very little about this Jewish holy day, and quite possibly all that I know is erronious. I hear that it will be on the 8th of October this year, and that it is a day of atonement. As a kid I was told that it was the big day when Jewish people would put all of their sins on a goat and perform a sacrifice. It sounded very odd, but that's where I was told the term "Scapegoat" came from. It also happened to be such an important holiday for the Jewish kids in my elementary school that they petitioned to get the day off. It was always such a random day to have off from school, and for a holiday that I did not understand. The few occasions in high school when I tried to clarify my understanding of the day, my Jewish friends rolled their eyes and couldn't believe that I was so clueless.

Now, if no one responds to this thread, I'll probably be more diligent about looking the holiday up and reading about it from reliable sources (I'll probably do that anyway), but I'm honestly more interested in what it means to people on an individual, personal level.

Have you ever celebrated this holiday?
What traditions are associated with the day?
Does your extended family come together for such a day, or is it more of a personal day?
Does the day hold as much meaning for modern Jews as it did in ancient times?
Is it celebrated differently now compared with before?
Do the Orthodox celebrate it differently?
Are there special regional customs?
Does the actual date have a special meaning - why isn't it celebrated in, say, June?
Please share anything and everything you can about this mysterious day!

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy