Why Is Rosh Hashanah Called Rosh Hashanah

The Feast of Trumpets (aka Rosh Hashanah) begins at sunset tonight (9/20/2017)!

Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year". On the Hebrew calendar, it's the first day of the month of Tishri. Although i's popularly known as the Jewish New Year, any rabbi will tell you that the actual beginning of the year is 6 months earlier on the first day of the month of Nisan. Biblically, Tishri 1 is called Yom Teruah, which literally means "Day of Shouting", but is more commonly translated as "Feast of Trumpets".

So why is this day called Rosh Hashanah or New Years?

1. It's thought to be the anniversary of the creation of Adm and Eve.
2. Debts are to be forgiven, slaves released, and family land restored in the month of Tishri.
3. The shemitah year is counted from the month of Tishri.
4. Traditionally, kings were coronated on this date.
5. Prophetically, Yom Teruah signifies the start of the reign of Messiah on earth.

Every culture maintains multiple annual cycles without contradiction. In America, we have fiscal years, election years, and school years. Even though the school year for the class of 2018 starts in September of 2017, everyone knows that New Years Day is January 1st and nobody gets them confused.