• Passover, a major Jewish holiday, commemorates the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in ancient Egypt.
• The holiday is celebrated with a Seder, a ritual feast including symbolic foods and the reading of the Haggadah.
• Passover 2025 begins at sundown on April 12 and ends at sundown on April 20.

The Jewish holiday of Passover plays an important role in Judaism, according to myjewishlearning.com.

Jews eat unleavened bread or “matzo” during the celebratory Jewish festival, according to britannica.com. Many Jews abstain from leavened foods for seven or eight days. Matzo symbolizes “the Hebrews’ suffering while in bondage and the haste with which they left Egypt in the course of the Exodus,” according to Britannica.

Here’s what you need to know about Passover:

When is Passover 2025?

Passover begins at sundown Saturday, April 12, and ends at sundown on Sunday, April 20, in 2025, according to almanac.com. Some Jews, such as those who are Reform, and those who live in Israel end the holiday a day earlier.

What is Pesach?

Pesach is the Hebrew word for Passover, according to myjewishlearning.com. The name comes from the miracle in which God “passed over” the houses of the Israelites during the 10th plague in which the households’ firstborns died.

What is the meaning of Passover?

Passover is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, according to britannica.com. The holiday also recognizes the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites − the “passing over” of the forces of destruction − when the Lord “smote the land of Egypt” on the eve of the Exodus.

How is Passover celebrated?

Passover is a ceremonious occasion to rejoice in Judaism, especially during the first family meal or Seder, according to britannica.com. Many families hold two Seders.

Foods of symbolic significance are consumed, while prayers and traditional recitations are performed. Strict dietary laws are observed and special prohibitions restrict work at the beginning and end of the festival.

How long is Passover?

Biblical command dictates Passover last for 7 days, according to chabad.org. The festival begins on Nissan 15, while the first and seventh days are observed as Yom Tov − in Hebrew the phrase for “good day,” connoting days on which work is not performed.

Indiana property tax bill: The Indiana House passed a complex property tax bill. Here are the biggest winners and losers

When does Passover 2025 start?

Passover starts at sundown on Saturday, April 12.

When does Passover 2025 end?

Passover ends at sundown on Sunday, April 20, or on Saturday, April 19.

What is The Haggadah?

The Haggadah is a book — meaning the “telling” — that is read during the Passover Seder, according to reformjudaism.org.

What is a Seder?

The Seder dinner is a Jewish ritual celebrated during the first two nights of Passover, according to myjewishlearning.com:

“The Seder permits Jews to worship God through prayer, study and learning by taking part in what is essentially a lesson of Jewish history, literature and religion. Participation in the Seder lets one symbolically and vicariously relive the Exodus,” the website states.

When is the first Seder of 2025 Passover?

The first Passover Seder begins at sundown on Saturday, April 12, according to myjewishlearning.com.

When is the second Seder of 2024 Passover?

The second Passover Seder is Sunday, April 13, according to myjewishlearning.com.

What are the 6 parts of a Seder plate?

The six parts of a Seder plate include beitzah, charoset, chazeret, karpas, maror and zeroa, according to reformjudaism.org.

What is beitzah in the Passover Seder?

The word literally means “egg,” according to reformjudaism.org. The Passover Seder plate item represents the Passover sacrifice from biblical times and symbolizes the spring season.

What is charoset in the Passover Seder?

A dish consisting of fruits, nuts, spices and wine, according to reformjudaism.org. The color and consistency remind Jews of the bricks and mortar used by Israelite slaves.

What is chazeret in the Passover Seder?

A vegetable — usually romaine lettuce — on the Seder plate, according to reformjudaism.org.

What is karpas in the Passover Seder?

Karpas is a green herb or vegetable — such as parsley, celery or watercress — which symbolizes spring and rebirth as part of the Passover Seder, according to reformjudaism.org.

What is maror in the Passover Seder?

The word literally means “bitter,” according to reformjudaism.org. Maror is the bitter herb or vegetable — such as horseradish — that symbolizes “the bitter plight of enslaved Israelites” for the Passover Seder.

What is zeroa in the Passover Seder?

Zeroa is the shank bone “symbolizing the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in biblical times,” according to reformjudaism.org. Chicken neck is a common substitute as are beets for vegetarians.

Chris Sims is a digital content producer at Midwest Connect Gannett. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.