Passover

Passover, called Pesach in Hebrew, commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt in Jewish tradition. The holiday begins at sundown before 15 Nisan, usually in March or April. Its best-known ritual is the Seder, a carefully ordered meal that retells the Exodus through questions, blessings, symbolic foods and discussion. Most traditional US communities observe eight days; some observe seven.

What Passover Commemorates

The biblical book of Exodus describes Israelites enslaved under Pharaoh, Moses demanding their release and a sequence of plagues. The final plague “passes over” Israelite homes marked according to the narrative, after which Pharaoh allows the people to leave. The hurried departure is associated with bread that had no time to rise.

Jewish observance does more than recall a distant event. The Haggadah, the text used at the Seder, asks participants to tell the story as a continuing personal and communal obligation. Themes of freedom, memory, responsibility and welcome give families room to connect the ancient narrative with later Jewish experience and present-day injustice.

Passover should not be described as “Jewish Easter.” Easter developed within Christianity and has a historical calendar relationship to Passover, but each holiday carries its own faith, texts and practices. They may overlap without being equivalent.

How the Passover Date Is Set

Passover begins on 15 Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. A Jewish day starts at sundown, so the first Seder takes place on the civil evening before the date shown as the first full day. For US planning, a range such as “April 21–29” means the observance begins on the evening of April 21 and concludes after nightfall on April 29.

The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar. Months follow lunar cycles, but Passover must remain in spring. A 12-month lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year, so the calendar inserts a leap month seven times in a 19-year cycle. That prevents Nisan from drifting through all seasons while allowing its Gregorian dates to move.

The table below uses the first full civil day as the calendar marker and notes the sundown beginning. A family invitation may list only the Seder evening. Both can be correct; they describe different boundaries in a day that begins after sunset.

Passover sometimes overlaps Western or Orthodox Easter, but no simple rule requires that overlap. Hebrew and Christian calendar calculations operate separately.

The Seder and Its Order

Seder means “order.” A Haggadah guides participants through a sequence that includes Kiddush over wine or grape juice, questions traditionally asked by the youngest participant, the story of the Exodus, ritual foods, a meal, thanksgiving and songs. Different Haggadot add commentary, art, poetry and contemporary readings.

The Seder plate commonly holds bitter herbs for the bitterness of slavery; charoset, a sweet mixture often interpreted as recalling mortar; a green vegetable; a roasted shank bone or substitute; and an egg. Customs vary by community. Sephardi, Mizrahi, Ashkenazi and other Jewish traditions use different ingredients and gestures.

Matzah is unleavened bread central to the meal and week. Three pieces may be placed at the table; part of the middle matzah becomes the afikoman, hidden or set aside and eaten near the meal’s end. Children’s search for the afikoman is a familiar family custom, though details differ.

Four cups of wine or grape juice structure the evening. A cup for Elijah and opening the door connect to hopes for redemption. Many contemporary families also place a cup of water for Miriam, an additional custom inspired by the biblical prophet and a tradition of a sustaining well.

Chametz and Preparing the Home

Jewish law prohibits chametz during Passover. The category concerns fermented products made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt under relevant conditions; it is more precise than the loose phrase “anything with yeast.” Observant households clean kitchens, inspect food labels, separate utensils and sell or remove chametz before the holiday.

Standards vary. Some Ashkenazi communities also avoid kitniyot—rice, corn, legumes and related foods—while Sephardi communities commonly permit them under appropriate preparation. The Reform movement and some Conservative authorities have taken broader positions. A host should ask guests about practice instead of assuming one Passover menu fits everyone.

Kosher-for-Passover certification helps shoppers identify processed foods prepared under supervision. Matzah used for the Seder has specific requirements. Gluten-free products may be suitable for dietary needs but do not all fulfill the ritual role of matzah, so someone with a medical restriction may consult a knowledgeable authority.

Preparation also has a spiritual dimension. Searching for and burning a small amount of remaining chametz creates a formal transition. Charitable giving and invitations to people without a Seder reflect the Haggadah’s call to let all who are hungry come and eat.

Seven Days or Eight Days?

The biblical festival lasts seven days. In Israel, that remains the usual length. Traditional Diaspora communities, including most Orthodox and many Conservative communities in the United States, observe eight days. The extra day developed when communities far from the calendar authority could not immediately know which day a new month had been declared.

Even after a calculated calendar removed that uncertainty, the practice continued as tradition. Reform communities generally observe seven days, and individual family practice varies. Online calendars should therefore state their convention rather than presenting one duration as universal.

In an eight-day observance, the first two and last two days are full festival days under traditional law, with work restrictions. The middle days, Chol HaMoed, have a different status. That pattern explains why one employee may need several dates accommodated rather than only the Seder evening.

Passover in the United States

American Seders reflect centuries of migration. Ashkenazi tables may include gefilte fish, matzah-ball soup and brisket. Sephardi and Mizrahi meals can feature rice where permitted, lamb, herbs, dates, nuts and regional dishes. Families with roots in Ethiopia, Iran, North Africa, the former Soviet Union and many other places bring separate melodies and Haggadah traditions.

Community Seders serve college students, military personnel, travelers, older adults and people without nearby family. The 1987 Freedom Seder movement and other modern Haggadot have linked the Exodus story with civil rights, labor, refugee and environmental themes. Such additions coexist with, rather than replace, the traditional order.

Passover is not a federal holiday. Public schools and workplaces often remain open, but observant people may avoid work and driving on major festival days. Sunset times differ by location, so an early departure may be necessary even when the calendar lists the next civil date.

Reading Passover on a Historical Calendar

When matching a diary or newspaper to Passover, look for whether it describes the first Seder, the first daytime service or the entire festival. A phrase such as “Passover night” belongs to the evening beginning the Hebrew date.

Open the linked year in the table below to see Passover beside other US observances. For example, the 1999 calendar shows how the spring holidays aligned that year. The dates are calculated references; personal practice, sunset boundary and seven- or eight-day duration still require context.