How to Create a Sukkah Decoration (with red)
We are in the middle of celebrating the holiday of Sukkot, in which observant Jews around the world eat (some sleep) outside in little booths called Sukkot (singular = sukkah). With my son’s guidance, this post will teach how to create a sukkah decoration (recipes vary wildly from family to family – there are no set traditions for decorations).
Ingredients:
- 1 creative, artistic mind
- paper
- 1 box of markers
- 1 pencil for initial sketch
- Clear contact paper for laminating
First my son drew the initial sketch with pencil. Then he painstakingly colored in the drawing:
The spaceships have no religious significance. The Hebrew says “Brukhim Ha’Baim” – Welcome to All Those Who Come, which is a common greeting to put at an entrance to a sukkah. You can see those words on the front of our sukkah at the bottom of this post.
When the drawing is complete, one cuts some clear contact paper slightly bigger on all sides than the drawing. Then one cuts one more piece of contact paper the same size as the first. Carefully peel off the backing and place the contact paper on both sides of the drawing.
Here is the drawing hanging in our sukkah. There are also a lot of red apples in the sukkah; my son made a game for our guests of “count the apples” – he claimed we had 50 apples pictured in the decorations.
Here is a photo of the sukkah from further back. Unfortunately, this may be the last year of this sukkah. My husband says it takes too long to put up (he created it himself), and it is also not big enough for hosting guests. So we may get a new one, probably a pre-fab that is easier to put up.
Do you have any decorating traditions?
For more photos with a little or a lot of red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
Ilana-Davita says
Wow, two great posts in one day. Thanks for sharing the technique and the photos, we feel almost there! It is a pity for the sukkah though. Ship it over when you're done with it!
Leora says
Oh, you don't want this particular one. Takes two strong people about 6 hours to put up each year. Each year, my husband has to drill new holes.
The canvas pre-fabs take people about an hour or two to put up. But my husband and I both like the look of the wood ones. The pre-fab wood ones are costly.
Ralph says
Your son is an artist, the detailing exquisite as it can be. It seems obvious where his talent derives from :>)
Our traditions lean to the turkeys at Thanksgiving and red and green in December.Nicely, your sense of decorations are rooted in a grand tradition, going back eons. I have never heard of a sukkah until now.We hope your husband will reconsider building this again next year. Excellent!
Leora says
He'll build a sukkah, but maybe not this one. There are pre-fab ones that take much less work.
ellen b says
I enjoyed reading about and seeing your sukkah.
Shoshana says
That is a good sukkah decoration! How do you keep yours rainproof? It's pouring here every day.
Leora says
The lamination helps. Light rain doesn't effect the decorations. Pouring rain gives them a worn, watercolory-look at times. Some decorations have been tossed. There's one with a photo of my son from kindergarten that has a bit of a bubble look from a pouring storm one year.
Carletta says
Your posts of your traditions are always so informative.
I think it's wonderful the whole family takes part in making the traditions meaningful.
Enjoyable post Leora with it's spots of red!
Meikah Delid says
Nice one and very creative! Happy RT! :)
My RT entry is here.
phyllis says
I love your sukkah - it's so well-decorated!!!
fickleinpink says
i could use that sukkah anyday here! what a way to celebrate!
come and visit my RubyTuesday if you have the time!
have a great day ahead!
xoxo
felisol says
Beautiful and very artistic drawing by your son.
I also like the sukkah made by your husband, sad he will not continue the tradition.
Somehow I find women stronger bearer of tradition, at least in my country.
I am pretty sure that sukkah is the feast translated as the feast of the leaf huts in the Norwegian Bible.
It's often mentioned and I know it is an important feast, but sadly I have forgotten the the reason for holding this special feast.
From felisol
Leora says
He will certainly continue the tradition! But he may get a different sukkah, that's all. I'm sorry that was misunderstood.
Mar says
How interesting and what a talented son you have! this is all very new to me, thanks for the detailed explanation and nice shots.
Happy Ruby Tuesday!
Rona Michelson says
Loved the photo essay on sukkah decoration. Usually, we don't have rain on Sukkot here in Modi'in, but last night we had a little sprinkle and again today. For us decorating is easy as there are lots of strung (fake) pomegranates and grapes available. We liven it up with pictures that the grandchildren draw.
Leora says
Glad to hear about the rain in Israel. My friend on Facebook said her kids got wet in their sukkah!
marian says
how verry interesting..love your son's artwork btw!..thanks also for visiting my blog...happy RT :)
Robin from Israel says
What a lovely looking sukkah, the artwork gives it a real heimische feeling.
felisol says
Hello, Leora,
Sorry i kept blogging from the middle of the night till early morning.
You did write that you would get a new sukkah next year, probably a prefab one. I just missed it.
Hope this will not offend your husband. (I like that he made the "old" sukkah himself. Kind of more authentic.)
I've also red about sukkah or "the feast of the leaves' hut" in the Bible.
I think it's good that sukkahs are being built even today.
Maybe more important now than ever before, cause lack of history and the ongoing secularization are making people forget the importance of their roots.
From Felisol
Leora says
Felisol, I added that line about the pre-fabs later! (after reading your comment)
American Thanksgiving was influenced by the holiday of Sukkot. There are similarities.
Jientje says
I remember this tradition from last year's posts. Has it been a year already eh? Where did it go?
Have a great Tuesday Leora!
Leora says
Glad we have been connected for over a year, Jientje! May we continue for years to come.
Jew Wishes says
How artistic and talented your son is! I love the concentration, and love the "apple-counting" game.
annie says
Thank you for sharing this charming tradition. I've googled for more info too. Your son is a very handsome young man.
annie says
p.s. - Wikipedia had a really interesting and detailed explanation of this celebration and observance. Thanks again for sharing this tradition.
Leora says
I like how you took the time to learn more. :-)
Mrs. S. says
The spaceships have no religious significance.
LOL! :-)
This is the kind of thing my son would make, but he would probably add a few aliens for good measure...
Leora says
Glad you enjoyed that line! I was hoping you noticed it. I think the whole drawing is supposed to be a futuristic sukkah.
One of my mother's friends looked at pictures of our wedding and asked "What is the religious significance of Darth Vader?" - inspiring my spaceship line.
Klara Le Vine says
maybe if I could get the kids to put up the pictures of our sukkah you can share in my talented kids - and hubby (I just do the cleaning). The first round was a scene on every wall, each one depicting a different holiday.
Then that changed to yetziat mitzrayim (leaving Egypt) with us in the sukkah in the middle of it all, Moshe in front of us (you see the back of his head, people and camels walking along the sides of us and Miriam and women and tambourines behind us - and you see the sea parting. every year more details are added - this year the people got face details put in.
In the States when I was in charge, we had burlap walls (California had nice weather) and I would get wonderful fall vegetables (gourds, colored corn, date palms, grapes) for decorations from the ceiling and wonderful posters for the walls. And we had loads of trees in our yard that we were able to cut for schach.
storyteller says
Thanks for visiting my Ruby post at Small Reflections and sharing about your traditions here ... I love learning as I visit in this virtual world. Your son is quite the artist ;--)
Hugs and blessings,
Dianne says
beautiful decorations
and a very handsome artist :)
amanda says
Leora thsi is fascinating, I lovelearning about new tradtions. I am going to go dig up some more info.Our decorating traditions are the usual holidays in which every one watches "mom" lug stuff out of the attic and set it up, take put all away LOL!
Arlene says
This is an interesting celebration. I can see the effort your son is existing into his decorations. He is so talented. :)
Baila says
Happy Sukkot, Leora to you and your family. Very nice looking Sukkah. I also like the look of the wood, but it is so much easier to have a pre-fab. It took Isaac an hour on Motzei Yom Kippur to put up the frame, and then another hour later in the week to finish it.
(In Israel very few people have wooden sukkot, because you would melt from the heat!)
Patti V. says
Your son is quite the artist. He inherited his talent from Mom, that's for sure.
Like my husband I had never heard of a Sukkah, I had heard of the holiday of Sukkot but that was the extent of my knowledge.
Thank you for this informative post, Leora! I look forward to decorating for the holidays. It's getting to be that time of year already. Amazing how time flies.
ramblingwoods says
Oh..thank you son for me will you as I am learning so much and how sweet it was of him to let you photograph what he was doing...
Leora says
I think he tolerates me and my blogging more than he "lets me"...
AscenderRisesAbove says
what a fun little area to create some art. I think I will have one of those cashew snacks in there! I love that you place his art on the walls; I did that when the girls were little. The walls were completely covered.
EG Wow! says
Leora,
This was such a great post to read. Thank you, thank, thank you!
Leora says
Thank you so much for saying so!
Abbi says
Aww, your sukkah looks exactly like the one we had growing up- love those plywood sukkahs! They don't really have those here in Israel- it's either the fold up cloth kind of these "dfanot" that you can by ready made that are made of plywood on a frame.
My favorite sukkah decoration I made one year by stringing cranberries on thread and tacking it into the map of Israel onto the wood. :D (another red decoration idea for next year)
Klara Le Vine says
Abbi,
I cordially invite you to our PLYWOOD sukkah next year (we're in Har Adar) and just seems to me we are definitely not the only ones. The bees don't come to your cranberries?? when I used to try to hang up fruit (grapes) had huge problems with bees.
Leora says
I have memories of stringing cranberries with my mom z"l when I was a young teen.
I do remember a lot more bees in our sukkah of youth than this one, so maybe it was partly the real cranberries! But we probably only did that one year, not every year.
Jewish Side says
wow, that's a really great drawing, I see your son takes after you with the art too!
Amazing that your husband made the sukkah himself.
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