The events celebrated were the sojourning of the children of Israel in the wilderness (Lev. 23:43), and the gathering-in of all the fruits of the year (Ex. 23:16).
The sacrifices prescribed by the law were more numerous than for any other feast, and impressive ceremonies were added in later times, that is, (1) the drawing of water from Siloam and its libation on the altar (of this it was said that he who has not seen the joy of the drawing of water at the Feast of Tabernacles does not know what joy is); and (2) the illumination of the temple courts by four golden candelabra. It is probably to these ceremonies that our Lord refers in John 7:37 and 8:12. (3) The making of a canopy of willows over the altar.
The characteristic rite of the Feast of Tabernacles was the dwelling in booths made of the boughs of trees. This rite seems to have been neglected from the time of Joshua to the time of Ezra (Neh. 8:17). It is practiced by the Jews of modern times. The Hebrew word for the Feast of Tabernacles is Sukkot. Following is a photo of Sukkot booths in Jerusalem:
Remarkable celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles took place at the opening of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs. 8:2; 2 Chr. 5:3; 7:8), and in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh. 8:14). Jeroboam adapted this feast to the later seasons of the northern kingdom (1 Kgs. 12:32). Zechariah in prophetic imagery represents the nations as coming up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, and describes the curse that should fall on those who did not come (Zech. 14:16–19).
From "Feasts" in the Bible Dictionary
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