So which is it, Rosh Ha Shanah or Feast of Trumpets -- are they same? It can be confusing - kind of like what does Santa Claus have to do with the birth of Christ at Christmas? What seems to be two different themes, sacred vs secular, is actually the same concept that begins in one affording the other. We give gifts because God gave the gift of His Son. Yes, there are secular and often exploited versions of that, but by and large we give because God gave! 

Similarly, the Feast of Trumpets is the END of the SACRED calendar year and Rosh HaShanah is the BEGINNING (or head) of the secular year -- both commemorate the same day. What is completed in the SACRED begins anew in the secular! 

The Feast of Trumpets and Rosh HaShanah are not stand alone days, but uniquely connected to Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement, and the following week of festivities, the Feast of Tabernacles. There is NO fresh and new without ATONEMENT -- it is exactly because of ATONEMENT that we have hope in the future to celebrate during the Feast of Tabernacles, what God has DONE and what God WILL DO is the basis and Source of all our celebrations! 

Since the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, there have been no sacrifices to fulfill the Temple period requirements for the Day of Atonement. So as a substitution, Judaism evolved through the last millinia to observe the biblical High Holy Day Feasts with a hybrid admixture of Rabbinical traditions. 

With that said, Jews around the world observe the High Holy Days in faith that Messiah will come and restore the fulfillment of the SACRED. In another words, there is nothing wrong with wishing someone a happy New Year, Shana Tova, with apples and honey -- but it's not ATONEMENT! 

This locates us in the present narrative -- AFTER the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jews were dispersed into their second exile, as prophesied by Daniel. God was not passive during this time, but proactively pursued and offered salvation to the Gentiles! At the closing of what is known in the Scriptures as the Age of the Gentiles, God began RETURNING the Jews from exile, back into the Land of Israel -- just as He said He would! 

On a prophetic trajectory, this time period is illustrated as the SACRED FULFILLMENT in the biblical prophetic timeline of Earth's history -- nearing what the Bible calls the END TIMES -- the end of the Sacred that will bring the New! 

This is the longing of the Jewish people that Messiah would come, that the Holy Temple would be restored and that God and the Jewish people would be FULLY restored in their Echad (Oneness). This is prophesied in EVERY book of the Bible, whether metaphorically or directly! It is called the Final Redemption of the Jewish people! 

Though the restoration of ethnic Israel is exclusive, God in His usual generous form, is inclusive to invite the Gentiles into His Family by adoption -- just as He did for Joseph's sons (Manasseh and Ephraim)  or the metaphor used by Paul, grafting Gentiles into an already existant Israel! 

Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah, that He has provided ATONEMENT IN FULL and we have great cause to joyfully celebrate His ATONEMENT as we, too, are looking for Messiah's Coming! 

Both believing Jew and Gentile are longing for the Day of Messiah's Coming, defeating evil and claiming His rightful, uncontested Throne in Jerusalem to rule and reign as THE KING and JUST JUDGE over all the earth! This is known as the Messianic Kingdom and it is a time of great abundance and justice for all. 

So which is it, the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh HaShanah? Both blow the trumpets to herald, 

"Attention! Attention! The King is coming! Attention! Get ready -- the Day of His Judgement is at hand!"

He will fulfill the SACRED and begin the New Era, the Messianic Kingdom on earth -- and those who are His will rest in His ATONEMENT, His FINISHED WORKS, and will enjoy the millennial Sabbath in celebrating His Kingdom Come!