Passover 2009

April 2009 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 April Fools Day Wednesday April 1 -15 years, -8 months, -21 days or -5744 days 2 3 4 5 Palm Sunday Sunday April 5 -15 years, -8 months, -17 days or -5740 days 6 7 8 9 Passover Thursday April 9 -15 years, -8 months, -13 days or -5736 days 10 Good Friday Friday April 10 -15 years, -8 months, -12 days or -5735 days 11 12 Easter Sunday April 12 -15 years, -8 months, -10 days or -5733 days 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Earth Day Wednesday April 22 -15 years, -8 months or -5723 days 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Passover for the year 2009 starts on Thursday, April 9th and ends the 7 day holiday on Wednesday, April 15th. For the Jewish calendar night begins before day, thus the holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day on the evening of Wednesday, April 8th. For Reform and Reconstructionist Jews who follow the Biblical text they celebrate the holiday over 7 days, however, Orthodox, Hasidic, and other Jews in the Diaspora will celebrate the holiday as 8 days ending on Thursday, April 16th.

Passover is a spring festival that begins in the months of March or April on the Gregorian calendar. Passover starts on the 15th day of the month of Nisan which is on the first night of a full moon after the northern vernal equinox (except leap months can make the festival start after the second full moon after the northern vernal equinox as in the year 2016).

The 7 or 8 day festival is one of the most important celebrations on the Hebrew calendar commemorating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It begins with families gathering together the first night (first 2 nights for many communities outside Israel) for dinner called seder (meaning “order” of “arrangement” in Hebrew) and ends 7 to 8 days later.

Why do Jewish holidays start at nighttime?

According to the Torah, the story of creation in Genesis says “And it was evening, and it was morning day one”, “And it was evening, and it was morning; the second day”, thus night comes before day. So for the Jewish calendar all days begin at nightfall and end the next day at nightfall including holidays.

Days to Passover 2009

Thursday, April 9th is day number 99 of the 2009 calendar year with -15 years, -8 months, -13 days until the start of the celebration of Passover 2009.