A Night Different From All Others: Jewish Holiday of Passover Begins

Festival of freedom starts tonight, April, 6, with ritual called the Seder and haggadah reading.

This year the Jewish festival of Passover begins tonight, April 6, at sunset and lasts seven or eight days, depending on the congregation, but the first day is usually celebrated at home. The holiday, also called Pesach, is meant to be seven days, but a long-standing tradition exists for Jewish holidays celebrated outside of Israel to add a day. This is because in ancient times the Jewish year was not set according to a calculated calendar but rather simply by observing the status of the new moon in the sky, and there was some doubt as to when the holidays were. So Passover outside of Israel is eight days long for many congregations. The roots of the holiday are found in the biblical Book of Exodus, and tells the story of where God sends …

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