Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks, commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah).

A mentioned in the description about Lag B'omer, the period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality.

It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, which we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.

It is customary to stay up the entire first night of Shavu'ot and study Torah, then pray as early as possible in the morning.

It is customary to eat a dairy meal at least once during Shavu'ot. There are varying opinions as to why this is done. Some say it is a reminder of the promise regarding the land of Israel, a land flowing with "milk and honey," while others say it is because our ancestors had just received the Torah (and the dietary laws therein), and did not have both meat and dairy dishes available.

The book of Ruth is read at this time. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive.

Shavout is also another perfect holiday for chocolate, as it is customary to eat dairy during the holiday. What is more dairy then chocolate? - Except for cheesecake which is customarily eaten. Lollipops depicting the Ten Commandments or the Torah Scrolls are great for the kids and perfect for the holiday since we read the Bible portion of the giving of the Ten Commandments during this holiday.