When is Passover 2024? What do you eat on Passover? What goes on the seder plate?
What is Passover?
Passover is a holiday celebrated every spring by Jewish people all over the world that tells the story of the Jews' Exodus from slavery in Egypt in Biblical times. On the first two nights of the holiday, Jews gather for seders, or ritual meals, in which the story is recounted through the asking of the Four Questions, ritual foods and items, songs, prayers and more. During Passover, which is celebrated for eight days, Jews also refrain from eating certain foods.
When is Passover 2024?
Passover in 2024 begins at sundown on Monday, April 22, and ends at sundown on Tuesday, April 30, for most Jewish people. Jews in Israel and some sects in the diaspora end Passover at sundown on Monday, April 29.
What time does Passover start 2024?
Sunset on Monday, April 22, is approximately 7:44 p.m. EST in the New Jersey area.
What time does Passover end 2024?
Sunset on Tuesday, April 30, is approximately 7:52 p.m. EST in the New Jersey area.
Passover seder plate items
There are six items on the seder plate that are used at different times during the seder.
More: Before Passover, Lakewood joins others around NJ in tradition of burning chametz
These include:
Charoset: A mixure of apples, walnuts, raisins and wine that represents the mortar that Jewish slaves used to build with
Hardboiled egg: Symbolizes the cycle of life
Shank bone: Represents the lamb used as a paschal sacrifice before the Jews fled Egypt.
Maror: Bitter herbs, often horseradish, that symbolize the suffering of the Jews while they were in slavery.
Chazeret: Another bitter herb
Karpas: A green vegetable, often parsley, that symbolizes spring
Other items you will find on or near the seder plate that also have symbolic meaning and are used during the seder are three pieces of matzah, salt water and wine.
Passover food rules
The most well-known rule for food on Passover is to avoid eating food made from leavened grains − wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt made with any leavening agent, like yeast. Generally this means all bread and bread products, pasta, oatmeal and liquors, called chametz. Many foods are specifically marked Kosher for Passover to avoid confusion.
The reason is to recall the haste with which the Jews left Egypt, not even allowing time for their bread to rise.
In the place of leavened bread, Jews eat matzah, or "bread of affliction," which is made of unleavened ingredients under strict rules for baking.
Some Jewish people also refrain from eating kitniyot, which include legumes, corn, rice, beans, peas, millet and seeds.
Happy Passover in Hebrew
According to Chabad, you can wish folks "chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach,” pronounced: "CHAG PEH-sach kah-SHER ve-sah-MAY-ach," which means "a kosher and joyous Passover."
Another alternative is “a zissen Pesach,” or a sweet Passover.
Do you wish someone a Happy Passover?
An English greeting also is appropriate − you can simply wish someone "Happy Passover!"
Is Passover a happy holiday?
Passover is a celebration of freedom, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, where Jews were slaves. It is primarily a happy occasion, although during the seder, it is traditional to express sadness at the death of Egyptians from the 10 plagues that took place, as well as remember the suffering of the Jewish people when they were held in bondage.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: When is Passover 2024? Passover food rules
