Free and cheap Passover resources and ideas

Passover or Pesach is the first of the three major festivals in the Jewish calendar. Passover occurs in spring and is followed seven weeks later by Shavu’ot. Sukkot occurs in autumn. 

About Passover

Passover commemorates the biblical story of Exodus. As the story goes, Moses pleaded with the Egyptian Pharaoh to free the enslaved Hebrews. The Pharoah refused. In retribution, God bestows ten plagues on Egypt (blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of all firstborn).

The plagues do the trick, and the people of Israel are freed. The complete story is told in the Book of Exodus, Chapters 1-15. The plagues are described in chapters 7-11. So, ultimately Passover is a celebration of freedom.

When the Israelites were freed, legend has it they left in a hurry and could not wait for their bread dough to rise. For this reason, Pesach (Passover) is observed by avoiding chametz or leavened bread (including even the presence of chametz in the house). Since no leavened (raised) bread is eaten during Passover, it is replaced with an unleavened bread called matzo or matzah. 

The Jews left Egypt on the first day of Passover. However, they were pursued by the Egyptians until the parting of the Red Sea, which occurred seven days later.

The Passover Seder

The first night of Passover begins with the Seder, a ceremonial meal accompanied by the retelling the story of the Exodus. The Seder meal contains six foods, used in an orderly ritual to commemorate the story of the Exodus.

• matzah (unleavened flatbread)
• zeroa (shankbone), beitzah (hard-boiled egg)
• maror and/or chazeret (bitter herbs such as horseradish or chicory)
• charoset (a sweet mixture that is often made of apples, nuts, wine, and traditional spices)
• karpas or raw vegetable (usually parsley, celery, or a boiled potato)
• salt or vinegar

During the Seder, a guide called the Haggadah is used, which means “telling”. Its primary purpose is to guide participants through the ritual meal, and indicates when and how each food is used to retell the story of the Israelites Exodus from Egypt.

Other Passover customs include cleaning the home and lighting candles.

A Passover Seder plate – DepositPhotos.com

Passover 2024

In the Jewish luni-solar calendar, Passover begins at the time of the full moon in spring, which occurs in the Hebrew month of Nissan from the 15th through the 22nd. In the civil calendar, the date will fluctuate sometime in March or April.

In 2024, Passover begins before sundown Monday, April 22 and ends after nightfall April 30.

There are several ways to greet someone at Passover. Sephardic Jews say “Chag Pesach sameach!” (“Happy Passover!”) or “Chag sameach!” (“Happy holiday!”). In Yiddish, Ashkenazic Jews say “Gut yontif!” (“Good day!”).

If you are not sure what to say, let the other person greet you first, and then repeat the greeting back to them. 

Passover preparations

The following sections offer ideas for Seattle Passover resources, including Seder customs, haggadahs, recipes, and activities and inspiration for children.

Passover Haggadah and matzah – DepositPhotos.com

Calendar of events

Listed below are all evens from our calendar during the week of Passover.