Preparations for a festival should start thirty days beforehand. At that stage the Sages would start delivering sermons on the laws of the forthcoming festival. Nowadays, when halakhic works are available and accessible to all, each person should review the laws of the festival and refresh his knowledge thirty days before the festival.

As the festival approaches, the husband and father should bring joy to his family. He should buy his wife a new piece of jewelry or clothing, the children can be given a new toy, and the entire family should enjoy festive meals.

Part of honoring the festival is to prepare for it ahead of time, by, e.g., getting a haircut, cutting one’s fingernails, and taking a hot shower (as also noted with regard to the preparations for Shabbat). In addition, due to the honor of the festival, one should not eat a significant meal a few hours before its start, so that he will eat the festival meal with a hearty appetite.

During the Temple period, every adult male was obligated to ritually purify himself for the festival so that he could enter the Temple. Although there is no longer a Temple and therefore there is no longer an obligation to become ritually pure, many have the practice nonetheless to immerse themselves in a ritual bath before each festival.

When the festival falls on a Friday, one must make an eiruv tavshilin (see below, p. 474) prior to the commencement of the festival. Without this eiruv, it is not permitted to prepare food for Shabbat on the festival day or even to light candles for Shabbat.