Passover Date: Sunset on March 29 to sunset on April 5
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival.
Passover is a festival celebrated by the Samaritans and the Jews remembering the escape of the Hebrews from enslavement in Egypt.
Passover in Israel is a seven-day festival of which the first and the last days are considered as holy days with abstention with work, special prayers to the Lord, and holiday meals. The other days in the middle are festival days known as Chol HaMoed. However, the Diaspora Jews historically have celebrated this festival for eight days.
History of Passover
As the story of Exodus goes in the Bible, God imposed ten plagues (calamities) upon Egypt in order to make the pharaoh free the poorly treated Hebrew slaves. The tenth and likely worst plague was the death of all the first-born children of Egypt by an Angel of Death sent by God. The Hebrew were asked to mark the doorsteps of their houses with spring lambs blood, and upon seeing this the Angel of Death would spare the first born children of the Hebrews and “pass over” to the next Egyptian residence, hence the name “Passover”.
It was only after the tenth plague that the pharaoh released the Hebrews from enslavement. It is said that when the pharaoh released the Hebrews, they left their houses in such a hurry that they couldn’t even wait for their bread to rise. In remembrance of this, leavened bread is never eaten during Passover, and the festival is referred to by many as the “Festival of Unleavened Bread”. Matza is the token symbol of this festival.
Passover Traditions, Customs and Activities
On the tenth of Nisan, an unblemished lamb is chosen and kept separately. On the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan, the lamb is slaughtered, and on the evening of the fifteenth it is cooked without removing its organs, served with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. After sunrise the next day, anything remaining from the lamb is burnt in sacrifice. This sacrifice is performed only in Jerusalem.
During the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Chametz (breads, cakes, fermented and leavened products) of any sort is not to be eaten during the seven days of this celebration. To make sure that that the households are clean from any traces of Chametz, a spring cleaning is done. Every morsel of Chametz is removed, and all the vessels and dishes which contained it are washed and cleaned thoroughly. All remaining Chametz is burnt before the start of the holy days.
In its place, Matzo, the unleavened bread which is the symbol of this festival, is made in all the houses and enjoyed with almost all food during the Passover celebrations.
The firstborn of the Jews are to fast on the first morning of Passover in remembrance to God sparing the lives of the first born during the tenth plague. The firstborn fast till the Morning Prayer on the first day of Passover.
Other interesting posts:
- Yom Kippur Observed by Jews Around the World
- Palm Sunday Observed by Christians Around the World
- Maundy Thursday Observed by Christians Around the World
- Tu B’Shevat Celebrated by Jews Around the World
- Shavuot
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