Some questions for our Jewish friends on the board asked in ignorance but with a wish to know so said ignorance will be replaced with knowledge (Did I put that diplomatically enough?) ?
Tonight is the New Year—so how do you celebrate it? I’m sure you don’t wait until midnight and go outside and hit a frying pan with a spoon or honk car horn, etc? What year is this? Why is it that year as in when did the Jewish people start counting them? I heard someone at work say these are the “High Holy Days” –what does that mean exactly?
I’m sure I’ll have more questions so be forewarned and forearmed. 
Actually, it's nice that you're interested!
You are correct in that we do not mark the entry of the New Year with blowout parties and drinking too much bad Champagne. (Though Saturday Night Live did a hysterical live news report from Times Square in one of its earlier seasons when the holiday fell on a Saturday night.)
We view Rosh Hashanah as a time of renewal and reflection. Many Jews who do not otherwise go to synagogue will do so on Rosh Hashanah (which means, literally, "head of the year") and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement.) According to tradition, G-d opens up his/her Big Ledger on Rosh Hashanah and over the course of the next ten days determines what the next year holds in store for each of us. The Big Ledger is closed at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. That is why our holiday greeting often includes allusion to being inscribed in the Book of Life. The ten day period from the beginning of RH to the end of YK is considered a very special period in the Jewish year and that is why it is called the High Holy Days. They are also known in some corners as The Days of Awe.
As on most Jewish holidays, we celebrate by eating traditional foods to mark the holiday. At Rosh Hashanah, our challah (the traditional egg bread) is in a round shape as opposed to the usual braid to note the continual cycle of life. We dip apples into honey to reflect our wishes for a sweet year. (That is why honey cake and taiglach are traditionally eaten at RH time, too.)
Yom Kippur, however, is a day of fasting. But even a day of fasting cannot escape Jewish tradition, as the breaking of the fast is usually treated as a celebratory meal of sorts. In our house, we always broke the fast with lox and bagels. Many families traditionally eat boiled potatoes and sour cream to break their fast.
The year beginning this evening is 5765. Theoretically, this is to mean that Creation occurred 5765 years ago tonight. Most Jews view this--and much that is told in the Bible--as metaphoric.
Hope that helps!
