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Tradition is that on Hoshana Rabbah (7th day of Sukkot) the judgment of G-d, passed on Yom Kippur, is sealed by a written verdict. During Sukkot the world is judged for water and for blessings of the fruit and crops.

It is tradition, since it is a day of judgment, to stay awake all night, studying Devarim, Tehillim, the Zohar and recite Tikkun. Some go during the night and immerse in the mikveh and to inject extra Kedusha (holiness) into the night.  One of the reasons for reading Tehillim is because of the impending finalization of the judgment. (When reciting the book of Tehillim one should say the Yehi Ratzon after each of the five books.)
The minhag of the Sefardim is to gather in family groups at home instead of in the synagogues. They read the Tikkun is turn one man after the other.

On Hoshana Rabbah eve, the women are busy baking long wheat loaves with braided ladders on top, such as are made and served the day before Yom Kippur and serves as a reminder during the pre-fast Yom Kippur meal that G-d decides who will ascend and descend the ladder of life. Similarly, for Hoshana Rabbah, the ladder is meant to help our prayers reach heaven. A lesser-known tradition is embellishing the round challah with birds or shaping the entire challah in this form, recalling the phrase of Yeshayahu 31:5 "As hovering birds, so will HaShem protect Yerushalayim."  Yet another theme is shaping the challah like a hand beseeching Heaven, or adding a motif of hands to the top of a round challah..  During this time dough is also rolled out which will be filled with meat for kreplech, a dish traditionally served during this time.

On Hoshana Rabbah morning, the attitude in the synagogue is a varied one.  It is still part of the semi-holiday period, yet the services are as rich as on a full holiday.  In addition the day is a mixture of Yom Kippur and Sukkot; there are the etrogim and willow branches of Sukkot, together with the candles, the white robes (kittels) and the chants of Yom Kippur.

A tradition (passed down from the Baal Shem Tov) was that as much as one exerts himself in the tefillot (prayers) of Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, it will help him in his kavanot (intention) in prayer during the rest of the year.

A very ancient custom that was observed even in the time of the First Temple, and the highest point in the ceremonial of Hoshana Rabbah, is the procession around the bimah.  During the first six days of Sukkot the procession winds around the bimah only once and there is but one Torah-scroll on the bimah.  On the seventh day, however, on Hoshana Rabbah, the procession makes seven circuits around the bimah, on which every Torah-scroll from the ark is held by members of the congregation.  It differs from the Simchat Torah procession in that it is earnest and serious.  The procession winds its way around and around, the men bearing the lulavim and etrogim in their hands and chanting their prayers earnestly and fervently.

After the procession the lulav and the etrog are laid aside and the willow branches are taken up, five of them bound with a leaf of the lulav.  At the close of the Hoshanot prayers, the worshipers beat their willow branches on the ground and chant a ritual passage.  According to the ritual law it is necessary to beat the branches only five times, but the mass of the congregation beats and beats, until all the leaves have been knocked off the twigs.  Anciently in the Temple, the Kohanim marched around the altar seven times and they would beat the earth with their willow branches.

Everyone performs this ceremony, including the women in their section of the synagogue, but none enjoy it as much as do the children.  They keep beating their branches long after the others are through and continue until their elders tell them to cease!  Many carry their bundle of branches home and save them for Pesach, to use in the yearly search for the leaven.

After the services a festive meal is served and eaten in the sukkah for the last time.  There is usually soup with kreplech served, exactly as the meal on the day before Yom Kippur.  But after the holiday services and the festive meal the day becomes again a part of the semi-holiday period and all go about their regular tasks.

This is the happy day in general for the children.  They carry around the long palm leaves of the lulav and braid themselves rings and bracelets from them.


Hoshana Rabbah on a Deeper Level

A person's life hangs in balance until Hoshana Rabbah, which is the final day that the judgment is sealed.  The circuits that one makes around the bimah allude to the running around that a person does in this world when he wastes time earning money for vanities.  It is all a continual circuit, as is a water wheel in the garden.  The buckets on one side lift the water up, while the buckets on the other side spill it out.  Similarly, some people are on the upswing where their buckets are full, but they can come to the other side of their cycle where they are turned upside down and their "buckets" are emptied.

Therefore, no person can be sure of his wealth, his goods, or his property.  If a box is tuned over, everything spills out.  Similarly, when the wheel reaches it apex and is on the downswing, all the water spills out.  From one moment to another, a person does not know what will be happening to him.

The seven circuits made on Hoshana Rabbah allude to the seven judgments which must be passed on a person when he leaves this world.

The seven circuits also have the power to protect a person from the seven great archangels who are in charge of the seventy nations, where each archangel is in charge of ten nations.  These archangels are constantly denouncing us.  However, each time we make a circuit we destroy the power of one of these archangels, and on Hoshana Rabbah we destroy the power of all seven.

The aravah which we take and beat on Hoshana rabbah, alludes to the person subjugating his heart on this day.  On this day, the account books of each person are given to those in charge, whether for life or for death.  A person should say to himself, "Just as the willow has neither taste nor fragrance I too have neither mitzvot or good deeds."  What a person must do is shake all worldly vanities form himself and not waste his time with them.

A person must also think about the fact that a willow's leaves look like human lips, and they dry out very quickly.  If a person's lips are accustomed to speaking maliciously or maligning or scoffing at his neighbor, they will dry up quickly and be cut off.  It is thus written, "G-d shall cut off all smooth lips, every tongue speaking big things" (Tehillim 12:4).  If a person subjugates his heart he will certainly be inscribed for life. (Sheyarei Kenesset HaGedolah; Chemdat Yamim)

-Bachya; MeAm Lo'ez