Although there's still snow on the ground and a chill in the air, members of the Hillel Jewish Student Center celebrated the coming of spring on Tuesday by eating several types of fruit for the Jewish festival Tu B'Shvat.
Students gathered around a table laden with fruit and had a seder, which is a traditional Jewish meal. To put their own spin on the holiday, the students dipped their fruit in chocolate fondue.
The holiday is known as the Birthday of the Trees, and is Judaism's version of Earth Day, said Jeffrey Lazor, program director for Hillel, located at 360 Charles St.
It usually is celebrated in January or February by Jews around the world. This year, it fell on Jan. 25, but the students chose to celebrate it Tuesday night.
"Traditionally, if we were in Israel, we would plant trees or beans, but because (Israel's) winter is a lot shorter than ours, and the ground here is frozen, we're going to be eating different kinds of fruit instead," said Rachel Zuckman, an audiology and speech sciences senior who coordinated the event.
Each fruit has its own significance. The Torah, or the first five books of the bible, describes seven types of fruit that are noted as prominent in Israel. The group chose to sample the fruits, which included bananas, apples and strawberries, during the celebration, said Jennifer Stotter, program associate for Hillel.
Lazor said several types of fruit are consumed to celebrate the harvest because the fruit comes from trees.
"It's a fun celebration, and it involves food," Zuckman said, adding that the holiday isn't as serious as other Jewish holidays. "We love our food."
Lazor said Hillel is a Jewish home away from home, and the group coordinates different kinds of programming for students.
"We want to be a place all Jewish students can come to for any reason," he said.
Communication junior Danielle David said she was excited about participating in the event.
"I haven't been to Hillel in a while," David said. "And I wanted to come for this event because it's to celebrate spring."
