Usually when Jewish people speak of something being on Jewish time, they are joking and they mean it's going to be late. There is also a Jewish time--a sense of months and even of days--that is part of Jewish religion and spirituality. Passover, like all Jewish holidays, starts and ends at sundown, and is tied to the phases of the sun and the moon. Passover always falls on the same date in the Jewish calendar. Like all Jewish holidays, Passover floats through the secular calendar. The Jewish calendar is set up to keep Jewish holidays at the same season of the year and the same phase of the moon; Passover will always begin on a full moon in the spring.
In many Reform Jewish communities, Passover is celebrated for seven days, not eight. In more traditional Jewish communities--including both Orthodox and Conservative communities--Passover is celebrated for eight days.
Here are the dates of Passover--starting and ending at sundown--for the next 10 years:
- April 6, 2012-April 14, 2012 (ends April 13 if celebrated for seven days)
- March 25, 2013-April 2, 2013 (ends April 1 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 14, 2014-April 22, 2014 (ends April 21 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 3, 2015-April 11, 2015 (ends April 10 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 22, 2016-April 30, 2016 (ends April 29 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 10, 2017-April 18, 2017 (ends April 17 if celebrated for seven days)
- March 30, 2018-April 7, 2018 (ends April 6 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 19, 2019-April 26, 2019 (ends April 25 if celebrated for seven days)
- April 8, 2020-April 15, 2020 (ends April 14 if celebrated for seven days)
All dates are from hebcal.com, where you can enter your zip code and find out what time any holiday or Shabbat begins in your area.
The Guide to Passover for Interfaith Families is also available in PDF and Word formats.
