Cheshvan
Marcheshvan, sometimes shortened to
Cheshvan, is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. In a regular year Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, in some years an additional day is added to Marcheshvan to make the year a "full" year. Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar. Given the Akkadian etymology, it seems likely the
מ and the
ו were switched at some point in time, since
y-r-ḥ is the Semitic root for "moon", and
š-m-n is the Semitic root for "eight". Since then, the first two letters
מַר have been reinterpreted as the Hebrew word for
bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts. The Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd on the 29th day of Marcheshvan, as recognized by the Israeli Knesset July 2008. The Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as
Bul.