Shavout (Continued) -שבועות

Traditions:
Many Shavout traditions stem from legends describing the experience at Sinai:

Legend has it that on the morning that G-d was going to tell the Ten Commandments to the people, the people actually overslept! In compensation for this, some Jewish people choose to stay awake the night before Shavout studying Torah andTalmud to prevent oversleeping on the anniversary of the morning that the Torah was presented, in preparation of receiving the Torah again. This custom is called Tikkun Leil Shavout, which means “repair on the night of Shavout”.
Another custom is the eating of diary foods, such as cheese Blintzes (cheese filled pancakes) and cheese cake. Some people believe that this practice refers to a verse in the Torah in which a farmer said of G-d: “And He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey”. Other people believe that we eat dairy food to commerate the day on which the people received the Torah and the laws of Kashrut. Before this, people could eat what they liked, including pork. However, upon receiving the Torah, they had no kosher meat or utensils, so could only eat dairy foods.
It is customary to decorate the home and synagogue with flowers and greenery. Some people believe that this takes the place of bikkurim – bringing the “first fruits” to the temple, in thanksgiving for the harvest and in celebration of spring. Others believe that this is to commemorate the legend that Mount Sinai bloomed with beautiful flowers and greenery in expectation of G-d’s revelation of the Ten Commandments.

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