Are Jewish deathdates affected by the timing of important religious events

Abstract Earlier studies reported a decline in September mortality in New York City and Budapest during years when Yom Kippur was in the interval September 28 through October 3, and fewer deaths among Californians with Jewish surnames during the week preceding Passover than during the week after Passover. These studies suggest that some Jews are able to postpone their deaths until after the celebration of an important religious event. We reexamine these findings using new data and find no statistically persuasive evidence that Jewish deaths decline before religious holidays. We do find an increase in deaths in the weeks shortly before and after birthdays.