DigiNepal · festivals
Passover (Pesach) (פסח (Hebrew)). Region: Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. Tradition: Judaism. Calendar: Hebrew calendar (Nisan 15; begins the evening before). Dates: Israel (first day; begins the previous evening) 2026: Thursday 2 April 2026 to Wednesday 8 April 2026 [official, source IL]; Israel (first day; begins the previous evening) 2027: Thursday 22 April 2027 to Wednesday 28 April 2027 [official, source IL]; Israel (first day; begins the previous evening) 2028: Tuesday 11 April 2028 to Monday 17 April 2028 [official, source IL]. History and significance: Passover commemorates the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as told in the Book of Exodus. Its name recalls the plague that passed over Israelite homes. The festival lasts seven days in Israel and eight in much of the diaspora, during which leavened bread is not eaten. It opens with the Seder meal and the reading of the Haggadah. Key rituals and foods: Removing leaven, Seder meal with four cups of wine and the Haggadah; foods include matzah, maror bitter herbs and charoset. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.