When is Passover 2024? What you need to know about the Jewish holiday

Seth Jacobson, USA TODAY NETWORK
·4 min read
7

Passover is coming up, and so the Jewish holiday is top of mind.

You might be wondering why, and how the holiday of Passover, which is the most observed holiday in the Jewish faith, is celebrated.

Called Pesach in Hebrew, the celebration of the holiday lasts a week, and it has close ties to the Biblical character of Moses, who was supposedly responsible for ultimately leading the Jewish people out of captivity in Egypt. The holiday carries a message of freedom and liberation.

But there is a lot more to the story.

When is Passover this year?

Passover 2024 will begin at sundown on April 22 and ends after nightfall on April 30 in the United States. The first Passover Seder will be on April 22 after nightfall, and the second Seder will be on April 23 after nightfall.

Is Passover late in 2024?

Last year, Passover began at sundown on April 5 and ended at sundown April 13. Why the big difference? The date for Passover is based on the Hebrew lunar-based calendar. It always falls on the 15th day of the month of Nissan, which is the first full moon after the spring equinox.

What is Passover?

Passover is a holiday in the Jewish faith celebrating the ancient Hebrews' exodus from slavery out of Egypt. For decades, the Jews had been slaves of the Egyptian pharaohs until Moses led them out of captivity, according to Chabad.org.

The Old Testament of the Bible states that it was God that sent Moses to Israel to lead the Hebrews out of captivity.

In the Bible, Moses visited Pharaoh several times while the Jews were in captivity, telling him, "let my people go." Moses warned Pharaoh that Egypt would feel God's wrath if he ignored the warnings. But Pharaoh ignored them anyway.

Passover questions answered: What you need to know about the Jewish holiday

The Bible states that as a result, God unleashed 10 plagues against Egypt and its people. The plagues included:

  • Blood: Bodies of water in Egypt turned to blood.

  • Frogs: Frogs rained from the sky.

  • Lice: An infestation of lice.

  • Wild beasts: Evil creatures that could harm humans and animals.

  • Cattle disease: Disease upon the land's source of meat

  • Boils: A disease.

  • Hail: Ice from the sky.

  • Locusts: An infestation of the insects.

  • Darkness

  • The slaying of the firstborn sons of Egypt: The Bible explains that after ignoring all of Moses' warnings, God killed all of the firstborn sons of all the Egyptian families in the land.

  • Chabad.org explained, while God killed all the Egyptian firstborn sons, he spared the all the Jews, "passing over" their homes. That's how the holiday got its name.

Matzo ball soup is a dish sometimes served during the Passover Seder.
Matzo ball soup is a dish sometimes served during the Passover Seder.

How is Passover traditionally celebrated?

Jews around the globe typically celebrate the Passover by holding a Seder each night of the holiday. A Seder is a meal that recognizes many of the aspects of the Jews' time in slavery and exodus out of Egypt.

A traditional Seder plate includes:

  • Matzoh: A large, flat cracker representing the "unleavened" bread the Hebrews had to eat as they had no time to let the bread rise as they escaped Egypt.

  • Lamb shank: Represents the lamb sacrificed before the exodus from Egypt "and annually on the afternoon before Passover in the Holy Temple" in Jerusalem, according to Chabad.org.

  • Hard-boiled egg: This represents "the pre-holiday offering that was brought in the days of the Holy Temple," Chabad.org states.

  • Bitter herbs: These are on the Seder plate to signify the bitter tears the Hebrews cried while they were enslaved. Usually, horseradish is used as the "bitter herbs" on the traditional Seder plate.

  • Charoset: A paste-like mix of apples, pears, nuts and wine that is on the Seder plate to represent the mortar and brick the Hebrews used during slavery.

  • Parsley: This herb is supposed to signify the hard toiling the Hebrews had to endure under Pharaoh. It is typically dipped in salt water and then eaten. The saltwater is supposed to represent the tears the Hebrews cried during slavery.

A past Passover Seder plate belonging to Mark Borenstein, an attorney in Worcester.
A past Passover Seder plate belonging to Mark Borenstein, an attorney in Worcester.

What is one of the most famous historical Passover Seders?

According to the New Testament, Jesus' last supper was a Passover Seder. Jesus was a Jew when he was crucified. After the crucifixion, the Christian religion eventually became more widespread.

This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Passover 2024: When is it? And how is it celebrated?