In order to ensure that the festival day will be used for physical and mental rest and for spiritual improvement, and to help people avoid violating explicit Torah prohibitions, the Sages enacted a series of prohibitions and restrictions. In this respect, the halakhot of festivals are similar to those of Shabbat, and actions prohibited on Shabbat are also generally prohibited on a festival.

In this context, there are three categories: The first category includes most of the decrees of the Sages for Shabbat, which likewise apply on festivals. A second category consists of labors prohibited on Shabbat that may be performed for the requirements of the festival (labors for the purpose of preparing food). The third category includes unique actions that are permitted on Shabbat but prohibited on festivals, as detailed below.

The following is a list of actions that were banned by the Sages on Shabbat and festivals, in addition to those prohibited by the Torah: climbing trees, riding animals, swimming in water (the sea, a pool, etc.), playing musical instruments, dancing in a manner that might lead the dancers to fashion or repair musical instruments, holding court hearings, and performing a wedding or divorce ceremony.

Likewise, separation of teruma or tithes may not be performed even on a festival, and one may also not immerse utensils in a ritual bath for the purpose of permitting their use.

The prohibition against a Jew asking a gentile to perform a prohibited labor on his behalf on Shabbat also applies on festivals.

Any object that did not exist prior to the start of the festival is considered nolad (literally, “born”), an item that has just come into being. Such an item is muktze and may not be used or even moved on a festival. The classic example, which appears in the Talmud, is that of an egg that was laid on a festival (see Beitza 2a). This category can apply to a wide range of objects.

Although in many ways the laws of festivals are more lenient than the laws of Shabbat, the category of nolad is more stringent on festivals than on Shabbat. Even an object that existed before the festival but whose intended use has changed on the festival is considered nolad and is muktze, which is not the case on Shabbat. Consequently, if there are chicken or beef bones left on one’s plate after dinner, and one wants to take them to give them to his dog, this is permitted on Shabbat, whereas on a festival the bones are muktze. This is because at the beginning of the festival the piece of chicken or beef was considered food for people, and now the bones are viewed on their own as animal food, which is a new purpose. Nevertheless, even on a festival it is permitted to remove bones, seeds, and peels from the table in order to throw them into the garbage.