When Is Passover 2018? Jewish Holiday Celebrates the Exodus of Israelite Slaves From Egypt

Passover, the week-long Jewish holiday celebrating the exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt, begin on the evening of March 30. Also known as Pesach, Passover will coincide with the Christian celebration of Easter this year.

During Passover, Jews remember the holiday's eponymous sacrifice in which God "passed over" the houses of Israelites in ancient Egypt during the final plague, which killed all Egyptian first borns. Over a holiday meal, called a seder, Jews recount the tale of the Hebrews escaping slavery and the plagues which God cast down upon their enslavers.

During the storytelling portion of the seder, which is typically held on the first or second night of the holiday, the youngest guest will be tasked with asking the Four Questions about the significance of the seder. Children will also search for the hidden afikoman, or half of a matzo that is kept on the table during the meal and then hidden. The host will also put a glass of wine near an open door for the prophet Elijah, who is expected to appear and tell the coming of the messiah.

There are also symbolic foods eaten at seder, including maror, or bitter herbs as a reminder of the bitterness of slavery; salt water to remember the tears of slaves; charoset, a sweet fruit and nut paste to symbolize the mortar used to build the pyramids; a shank bone to represent the Passover sacrifice; beitzah, a hard-boiled egg that symbolizes life and birth; and karpas, leafy green vegetables that symbolize hope and redemption.

In addition to eating symbolic foods, Jews who keep kosher for Passover must stay away from leavened foods, or chametz, as a nod to the Israelites escaping Egypt who did not have time to wait for bread to rise. Some households practice biur chametz, or burning of chametz, where they remove, hide or symbolically sell all leavened goods from their home.

Since the Torah forbids the possession of chametz, Israel has temporarily sold its prohibited food items to Hussein Jabar for about 20 years, Al Jazeera reported.

Every year during the week of Passover, the 53-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel symbolically buys all leavened bread, pasta, cakes and beer. This year, the ceremony between Jabar and the state of Israel will take place on March 29.

This year, also known as 5778 in the Hebrew calendar, Passover will conclude in the evening of April 7.

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