Tu Bishvat (Hebrew: ט״ו בשבט‎) is a minor Jewish holiday, occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat (in 2012 this occurred from sunset on February 7 through the time when you can see three stars in the sky on February 8). It is also called "Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot" (Hebrew: ראש השנה לאילנות‎), which means the "New Year of the Trees". Tu Bishvat is one of four "New Years" mentioned in the Mishnah.^[1]

The name Tu Bishvat is derived from the Hebrew date of the holiday, which occurs on the fifteenth day of Shevat. "Tu" stands for the Hebrew letters Tet and Vav, which together have the numerical value of 9 and 6, adding up to 15.^[2] Tu Bishvat is a relatively recent name; the date was originally called "Ḥamisha Asar BiShvat" (חמשה-עשר בשבט), which means "Fifteenth of Shevat".^{[citation needed]}