To fulfill the commandment of lulav and etrog, you must hold them together the way they grow: stems down. But since you fulfill the commandment as soon as you hold the Four Species together this way, you must first pick up the etrog inverted (stem up) and then say the blessing, as follows:

• Hold the lulav with the spine facing you and the myrtle on the right, willows on the left, and the etrog with the pitom (opposite the stem) down;
• Say the blessings for the lulav;
• Turn the etrog right side up (stem-side down) and hold the lulav and etrog together; and
• Shake the Four Species together.  

Ideally, take your lulav and etrog to synagogue and say hallel with the minyan.  B'di'avad, it is OK to say hallel and the blessings and wave the lulav at home.
 

Say blessings on the lulav and etrog in the sukka or in synagogue.
 

To dispose of items used for mitzvot (tashmishei mitzva) such as tzitzit or etrog, you may wrap in one layer of plastic and throw it into dry garbage, or wrap in two layers of plastic and throw it into wet garbage.

You do not need to buy a fancy or expensive lulav and etrog if the first day of Sukkot is Shabbat, since the Torah requirement for the etrog to be beautiful is only on the first day of Sukkot.

Hoshanot were done in the Temple in Jerusalem and the community is required to do hoshanot. Individuals are not required to join, but it is the proper practice to join if holding a lulav and etrog.

Wave the lulav in all six directions each time when saying Hodu l'Adonai… and, later, Ana Adonai… and again in the final Hodu in Hallel:

• Hold together the lulav and etrog during the entire procedure, pitom up, etrog in left hand.
• At each word in Hodu l'Adonai… and at each syllable in Ana Adonai, shake the lulav/etrog together three times, advancing through the sequence of east, south, west, north, up, down.

• At Hodu, shake three times to the east;
• At l'Adonai, don't shake but hold the lulav and etrog up while standing straight;
• At ki, shake three times to the south, etc..

• At “A,” shake three times to the east;
• At “na, shake three times to the south;
• At Adonai, stand straight and hold the lulav and etrog up;
• At “ho,” shake three times to the west;
• At “shi,” shake three times to the north, etc.

 

You may borrow a lulav on all days of Sukkot except the first day (or first two days outside of Eretz Yisrael). On the first (two) day(s), you may acquire a lulav and etrog by having a friend “give” them to you as a gift, even if you will later “give” them back to your friend, also as a gift.
Note If you intended to use someone else's lulav on the first day of Sukkot, it is considered as if the lulav is yours, even without doing the normal acquisition.

Sukkot means “huts.” The Jewish festival of Sukkot celebrates and commemorates the shelters in which the Israelites lived for 40 years after leaving Egypt.
 
Symbols
The main symbols associated with Sukkot are living in a sukka (eating and, when possible, sleeping in the sukka) and the lulav and etrog.
 
Sukkot is observed at fall harvest time.  When many Jews were feeling wealthy due to their produce, we were commanded to live in temporary shelters--in part, to ward off feelings of arrogance or pride in what we had accomplished in the material world. Instead of thinking or feeling that our hard work or great wisdom has made us wealthy, we are reminded that whatever we have comes from God, and that God will take care of us, even in a flimsy “house.”
 
The lulav and etrog have many meanings.  Here are two:
 
Likening to the Human Body
The four components are compared to four parts of the human body:

• Palm branch: Spine.
• Myrtle leaves: Human eyes.
• Willow leaves: Human lips.
• Etrog: Human heart.

When we hold the four parts of the lulav/etrog together, we are symbolically taking the various components of our bodies together to serve God.
 
Likening to Types of Jews
The four components are likened to four types of Jews:

• Etrog smells nice and tastes nice--like a tzadik who is knowledgeable in Torah and does mitzvot;
• Myrtle smells nice but does not have a good taste--like a person who does mitzvot but is not knowledgeable in Torah;
• Palm tree (date palm) has a nice tasting fruit but no scent--like someone who has knowledge but lacks mitzvot;
• Willow does not smell nice nor has a good taste--like a person who has neither.

By holding them together, we show that all types of Jews are to be consider as one nation.

You may dispose of a lulav in any way that is not degrading. So, you may drop it into a field or put it on a lawn--unless animals might eat it or step on it or if it will be subject to poor treatment before it decays.  Don't dispose of a lulav or etrog directly into the garbage. Burn, bury, or wrap them in a bag or one layer of plastic and you may throw it into normal garbage.

By surrounding ourselves with reminders of the commandments and with objects for observing the various Jewish rituals, we can be constantly aware of what we should be doing to live our lives as Jews.
There are two categories of items used for mitzvot:

• Holy items (tashmishei kedusha), such as tefilin and its boxes, Torah books and commentaries, and Torah scrolls and covers. 
• Items used for mitzvot (tashmishei mitzva), such as lulav, etrog, and talit/tzitzit.

Women
Sacred scrolls (Torah, mezuza, tefilin) may not be written by women for sacred purposes. However, if they were written by a woman, you may study from them. You may not use them for public Torah reading, putting on tefilin, or affixing to doorposts (for mezuza).


Disposal
Both tashmishei kedusha and tashmishei mitzva should be disposed of in a respectful manner. Tashmishei kedusha should ideally be buried. Newspapers with Torah or Torah commentary must be double-wrapped and then may be put in the trash, since they contain material that should not be buried with holy writings (only a newspaper's Torah or Torah commentary contain inherent holiness).
To dispose of tashmishei mitzva, you may wrap in one layer of plastic and throw it in normal garbage.

Almost all mitzvot may be enhanced by:

• Making them beautiful (hidur mitzva), or
• Observing non-required stringencies (mehadrin).

K'zayit is variously defined as being the volume of 1/3, ½, or 1 whole egg; 0.6 - 1.9 fl. oz. (18-56 ml), depending on the application.

• K'zayit for Seder Matza and Afikoman:  1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of matza.
• K'zayit for Bracha Achrona and Birkat HaMazon: 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of solid food.

Beitza, K'Beitza = 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml); an egg size by definition.

These holy writings (tashmishei kedusha) may not be thrown directly into the trash, but should ideally be buried with like items (sheimot):

• Holy writings that contain God's name.
• Parts of Tanach (24-book Jewish Bible).
• Explanations of the Torah or commandments.

However, if a printed or written page (in contrast to parchment scrolls such as tefilin, Torahs, or mezuzas) contains God's name plus secular content, it must be double wrapped in plastic before being thrown in the trash.
Do not throw into trash, even if double wrapped:

• Handwritten scrolls of Torah, tefilin, mezuza.
• Printed Torah, Talmud, siddur, books of halacha, or Torah commentaries.

Rather, put them into a sheimot collection box or wrap in plastic and bury in a place where they will not be dug up. It does not need to be a cemetery.

Double wrap and throw into trash:

• Newspapers and flyers that have Torah psukim or Torah commentaries and also have non-Torah content.
  Reason Non-Torah material should not be buried as sheimot. 
• Children's school handouts with psukim from the Torah or halachot that also contain non-Torah content (if they ONLY contain words of Torah, they should be buried as sheimot).

For disposal of items used for mitzvot (tashmishei mitzva), you may wrap in one layer of plastic and throw it in normal garbage:

• Lulav,
• Etrog, or
• Talit/tzitzit (but NOT tefilin!)

Choose the correct smell blessing (Note that these blessings are not said on synthetic scents!): 

• Borei minei vesamim Generic; this is the default blessing if you are not certain which category applies; also say this when smelling a mixture of scents;
• Borei isvei vesamim  Plants which do not have stiff stems;
• Borei atzei vesamim  Trees and stiff-stemmed plants (such as roses); and
• Ha'notein rei'ach tov ba'peirot  Fragrant fruits, such as lemons and some etrogs.