Kapparot

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/407513/jewish/Kapparot-The-Chicken-Thing.htm


"Kapores is a custom carried out before Yom Kippur. Some do it in the days preceding Yom Kippur, others on the evening beforehand or in the early morning of the day preceding the Holy Day. It is observed by both men and women. Each man takes a live rooster, and each woman takes a hen. Pregnant women take both a rooster and a hen since they may give birth to a male. Preferably the chicken should be white. Some authorities say that one should not search out a white chicken, but if there is a choice, a white one should be chosen. Why? Because in Isaiah it says. 'And if your sins be like scarlet, they shall become as white as snow.'"