Passover begins at sundown on Saturday April 19 and ends at nightfall on Sunday April 27. Pesach, is a Jewish festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It is immediately followed by the Festival of the Unleavened Bread. The two events are celebrated as one festival.

In Israel, Passover is a seven-day holiday, with the first and last days celebrated as a full festival involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). In the Jewish diaspora, the holiday is traditionally celebrated for eight days with the initial and final two days celebrated as full festivals.

Many Jews observe the positive Torah commandment of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the Passover Seder, as well as the Torah prohibition against eating or owning Chametz (leavened products such as bread, cake, cookies, beer, whiskey or pasta)[4] for the duration of the holiday.

Together with Sukkot ("Tabernacles") and Shavuot ("Pentecost"), Passover is one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shloshet Ha'Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. As described in the Book of Exodus, Passover marks the birth of the "Children of Israel" who became the Jewish nation, as the Jews were liberated from Pharaoh's slavery and allowed to become followers of God instead.