Pesach or Passover is an eight-day long celebration
that begins on the night of the fifteenth day of the month of Nissan of
the Hebrew calendar. The highlight of the Passover celebration is the
ceremony of Seder performed on the first two evenings of Passover. In
2011, Pesach will begin at the sunset on April 19th and will end at the
nightfall on April 25th. In Israel, Pesach is celebrated for seven days
only, where the first and last days are observed as holidays and no work
can be done on these days. However, at other places, the first two and
the last two days are observed as holidays. Work can be done on the
intermediary days that known as 'Chol Ha-Mo'ed'.
In 2001, Pesach began on Saturday night after the Sabbath has
concluded, which happens occasionally. It posed complications as many of
the rituals that are usually performed on the day before Pesach could
not be performed on Shabbat such as the 'Fast of the Firstborn'. Thus,
people had to observe this fast on Thursday instead. Similarly, the
search for chametz also had to be performed on Thursday night.
Similarly, most of the preparations for Seder had to be done before
Shabbat began. Another complication that people had to face was that one
is prohibited to eat Matzah before Seder and chametz should be removed
no later than mid-morning on Saturday on Pesach, while Shabbat requires
eating three meals with bread!
List of Dates:
According to the Gregorian Calendar, Pesach will occur on the following
days:
