Tu B'Av

The 15th as a Holiday

Celebration of this day as one of the 2 happiest days of the year, with Yom Kippur: Taanit 26b
On the 15th of Av, after the Jews entered Israel, permission was granted for the 12 Tribes to marry each other: Taanit 30b
On the 15th of Av, permission was granted for the tribe of Binyamin to marry other tribes, after the tragedy of The Concubine in Giv'ah: Taanit 30b
On the 15th of Av, the people dying for the Sin with the Spies stopped dying: Taanit 30b
On the 15th of Av, Hoshe'a ben Aylah destroyed the roadblocks which Yeravam ben Nevat had erected to keep people from ascending to the Temple: Taanit 30b
On the 15th of Av, permission was granted for the Jews to bury the dead of the Betar rebellion: Taanit 31a
On the 15th of Av, they completed chopping wood for the Temple Altar: Taanit 31a

How the 15th was Celebrated, Historically

Custom of the single girls to dress in white clothing, all of them borrowing the clothing to prevent embarrassment of those who don't have: Taanit 26b, 31a
Which strata of society borrowed from which: Taanit 31a
All of the clothing was immersed to prevent embarrassment of girls who were menstruating: Taanit 31a
The girls telling their virtues to the single men, in an attempt to attract them for marriage: Taanit 26b, 31a

(has comparison to Tu Be-Av)

Torah, Society, and State: The Fourth Blessing
by Rabbi Uri Dasberg [Zomet: Shabbat-B'Shabbato -- Parshat Eikev No 607: 18 Av 5756 (3 August 1996)]
"Tu B'Av or Not Tu B'Av" - But Who is Asking the Question?
by Gedalia Gurfein [Forum for Alumni of Livnot U'lehibanot (Tue, 30 Jul 1996 )]

All photographs and other multimedia resources were thought to be in the public domain, if not please let me know.