Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of repentance, considered to be the holiest
and most solemn day of the year. Its central theme is atonement and
reconciliation. Eating, drinking, washing, cosmetics, wearing leather shoes, and
conjugal relations are prohibited (Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:1).
Fasting - total abstention from all food and drink - begins a bit before sundown
(called "tosefet Yom Kippur", the "addition" of fasting a bit of the previous
day is required by Jewish law), and ends after nightfall the following
day. Contrary to popular belief, Yom Kippur is not a sad day. Sephardic Jews
(Jews of Spanish, Portuguese and North African descent) refer to this holiday as
"the White Fast". Consequently, many Jews have the custom of wearing only white
clothing on this day, to symbolize their "white" purity from sin, akin to
angels.