When Is Passover

Passover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day that celebrates the historic release of the Hebrews from their Egyptian slave masters

. It begins on the 15th day of Nisan which is estimated to be the months of both March and April on the conventional or Gregorian calendar.

The story of the historic release of the slaves is told in Exodus of the Bible. It alludes to the ten plagues that were brought down on the Egyptians sent by YHWH (God). These were all endured by the Egyptians and subsequently led to the death of Pharaoh's first born son and every son born to the Egyptians. To avoid the death to the first born the Hebrews put a mark on their doors so that the spirit of the Lord would "passover" them without killing their male heirs.When Pharoah released the slaves they were so enthusiastic to leave that they began their journey without allowing their bread to rise as it normally should. Because of this in the course of the celebration Unleavened Bread is eating to celebrate the symbolic victory the slaves achieved. This custom has also inspired the name "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matza, as it is actually called, has become symbolic to the celebrations.

Passover remains one of three festivals that led to the pilgrimage of people of Jewish descent to the temple in Jerusalem. The other two are Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

The celebration of Passover is very pronounced in Israel and is celebrated for seven days. The first and last days are normal Jewish holidays. In more strict Jewish communities no work is carried out on this day. On the first day a seder is kept.

The celebration is still very much significant in places outside of Israel, especially in orthodox and conservative groups where the holiday is celebrated for eight days with the 2 days at the beginning and the two days at the end being consideredmajor holidays. A seder is performed two times with the celebrations on the first and second day. The days that are not considered major holidays do not restrict individuals from not working on those days. Reform Judaism observe Passover for seven days with the first day usually being reserved as a chief holiday that is used to hold the seder.

The days that are not chief holidays in the Passover celebrations are deemed Chol HaMoed or festival weekdays. These days are set aside for family activities like picnics which will be inclusive of the basic matzo with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

by: Bob Jordan

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