yahrzeit

1 9.9

A yearly day to remember someone who died in the Jewish tradition, often by lighting a candle

noun
/ˈjɑːrzaɪt/

Jargon

: yahrzeit

He'd just have to admit it to the rabbi right up front—there'd be nobody saying kaddish, nobody lighting any yahrzeit candles.
yahrzeit candle
light a yahrzeit

Examples

Not even my wife, my daughter, or my grandchildren know that the yahrzeit candle I light at the end of each summer is not for my mother but for that young German bastard who was caught with me in that downpour and could not let me go.

Fiction book (1994)
Nestled against a railroad tie is an old Yahrzeit candle.

Fiction book (1994)
"Every day," his mother cheerily returned, "should be his yahrzeit."

Academic text (2007)
I was left standing in front of the shul as she walked away; the thought lashed at me: I hadn't said yahrzeit for my father in a very long time.

Fiction book (1995)
On the yahrzeit of his grandmother, he lit a candle to remember her life.
Every year, we gather as a family to observe my mother's yahrzeit.
She took a moment to reflect on her friend's life during the yahrzeit candle lighting.

Synonyms

deathday

vsyahrzeit

1 7.7

A day someone dies or the yearly day people remember them

is the Jewish memorial anniversary usually observed by lighting a candle

Surface Forms

yahrzeit singular

yahrzeits plural

Etymology

Yahrzeit comes from the German words jahr ('year') and zeit ('time'). So a yahrzeit is the yearly day to remember someone who died, and families often mark it by lighting a memorial candle.