Passover (also called Pesach) is a Jewish holiday celebrating the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, as described in the biblical Book of Exodus. It takes place in the springtime (beginning on the 15th of the month of Nisan, according to the Hebrew lunar calendar). This year, Passover begins the evening of April 22 and ends the evening of April 30.
According to the Passover story, the Jews escaped their slavery in Egypt when Moses appealed to God for help. In response, God sent down ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians until their Pharaoh consented to let the Jewish people go. (The plagues “passed over” the Jewish households, giving the holiday its name.)
Passover is celebrated with a traditional dinner, called a seder, where the biblical story is told aloud, songs are sung, and symbolic foods and drinks are served. This photo shows a seder plate with an egg (symbolizing spring renewal and an offering to the Holy Temple), bone (symbolizing the sacrificial lamb), parsley (dipped into salt water symbolizing tears of the enslaved), lettuce (symbolizing how the Jewish experience in Egypt turned bitter with time), horseradish (symbolizing the bitterness of slavery), and haroset (a paste made of apples, nuts, and wine symbolizing the mortar used by enslaved bricklayers).
