What is Passover? When is it? Guide to the Jewish festival

When is the Passover?

The Jewish festival is celebrated between Monday April 10 and Tuesday April 18 this year. Passover is observed from sundown.

The eight-day celebration is held on the 15th day of the Hebrew Month of Nissan around the beginning of Spring.

What is Passover?

Passover is a Jewish festival celebrating the emancipation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

The holiday recounts the Exodus – when Moses lead his people towards freedom from the clutches of the Pharaoh.

It also remembers the 10 devastating plagues that were sent down to punish the Pharaoh of Egypt who refused to release the Israelites.

These plagues included turning Egypt’s waters to blood, a swarm of crop-destroying locusts and the death of Egypt’s first-born sons.

The last two days of the Passover remember the crossing of the Red Sea when Moses parted the waters to escape the Egyptian army following the refugees.

Why is it called Passover?

The common belief is that the name Passover stems from the phrase “He passed over us” in reference to God’s plagues not affecting the Jewish slaves in the Exodus.

The Hebrew word for Passover, Pesach, may also refer to a sacrificial lamb or goat designated for sacrifice.

Four days before the Passover, Jewish people historically set aside a lamb to slaughter and eat before the first day of the festival begun.

How is Passover observed?

One of the main traditions involves eating unleavened bread in remembrance of the bread the Israelites ate on their journey to the promised land.

Jewish people are forbidden from eating leavened foods, known as chametz, and they are replaced with matzah – a flat and unleavened bread that is usually baked to crispness.

Tradition holds that the fleeing Israelites and no time leaven their bread during the Exodus.

What is the Seder?

Passover begins with the Seder, a ritual observed on the first two nights of the holiday. The Seder is a 15-step tradition that is performed at a family feast.

The key points off the Seder involve eating matzah, bitter herbs as symbol of bitter slavery, drinking four cups of wine or grape juice, and the reciting of liturgy.

The most common Seder tradition is to lay out the Seder plate – a dinner plate with symbolic foods like a lamb shank bone, a roasted egg, bitter herbs, greens and Charoset – a mixture of apples, nuts, sweet wine, cinnamon and sugar. 

All of the dishes symbolise the struggle and resilience of the Jewish people during their escape from Egypt.

All work is strictly forbidden on the first and last two days of the Passover. Jewish people cannot drive, write, or even use electric devices on these day but they are permitted to cook.

On the four days in between the start and end of the Passover work is permitted because the days are considered semi-festive.

People will commonly greet each other by saying “Pesach Sameach” which means “Happy Passover”.

Passover ends on April 18 with “Moshiach’s Feast” – a festive lunch meal which begins before sunset and continues till after midnight to await the arrival of the Messiah.