How many days until Passover?

About Passover

Passover, or Pesach, is a major Jewish festival commemorating the biblical account of the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt. It begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan and is traditionally observed for seven or eight days depending on denomination and location, with Israel and some liberal communities elsewhere observing seven days and many traditional communities outside Israel observing an additional day. Its date shifts on the Gregorian calendar each year because it is set by the lunisolar Hebrew calendar, which follows lunar months while inserting an occasional leap month to remain aligned with the solar year, ensuring Passover consistently falls in early spring rather than drifting through all seasons the way a purely lunar calendar would. The festival's centerpiece is the Seder, a ritual meal held on the first night or nights, during which the story of the Exodus is retold, symbolic foods are eaten, and specific readings from a text called the Haggadah are recited. Throughout the holiday, observant participants traditionally avoid eating leavened bread and related products, eating unleavened bread called matzah instead, a practice tied directly to the biblical account of the Israelites leaving Egypt in haste, without time for bread to rise. A common point of confusion is assuming Passover is observed for the same number of days everywhere; in fact, the difference between the seven-day observance common in Israel and the eight-day observance common among many diaspora communities is a long-standing distinction with roots in historical calendar-communication practices, and it remains one of the more frequently misunderstood aspects of the holiday for those less familiar with Jewish practice.

Dates on this page are checked against public calendar sources. Spot something wrong? Let us know.