Jewish holiday Passover
Passover is the name of the holiday among the Jews. Translated from Hebrew it means “to pass by” or “to leave.” The Jews celebrated it long before the crucifixion of Christ - from the 13th century BC - as a remembrance of the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian slavery.


The Old Testament describes how the Jews were in Egyptian slavery for 430 years and asked the Lord for liberation. He sent the high priests Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh demanding the long-awaited release of the Israelites. Pharaoh, in turn, did not want to let the Jews go, and God sent ten “plagues” to Egypt: the transformation of Nile water into blood, the appearance of countless toads, irresistible hordes of lice, wild animals, death of livestock, ulcers, loss of crops from hail and locusts , complete three-day darkness. The most terrible of them was the tenth plague - all the firstborn of the Egyptians were killed in one night. For the safety of the Jews, the Lord told Moses that every Jewish family, on the evening before the Egyptian execution, slaughter a lamb and mark the front door with its blood - and then the pestilence would bypass their house. This event formed the basis of Passover.

How to celebrate Passover

Passover begins on the 14th of the month of Nisan according to the Jewish lunar calendar, and is celebrated for 7 days. This year the holiday will begin at sunset on March 30 and end on April 7. Before the start of the first day, you need to throw away all leaven that can ferment from the house. It is forbidden not only to bake, but even to have leavened bread in the house. Throughout the week, only matzah - unleavened bread - is eaten from flour. It is prepared from wheat flour, which is protected from contact with liquid so that no fermentation occurs.

On the morning before Passover, all men who became the firstborn of their parents fast in memory of the miraculous salvation of Jewish children.

The first and seventh days of Passover are non-working days. On the evening of Nisan 14, Jewish families gather for dinner and recite the Seder Korban Pesach (the order of the Passover sacrifice) before Passover begins. The meal is called a Seder and is served on the first and second nights of the holiday in a strictly defined order. The main dishes for the meal include chicken soup with matzah dumplings, gefilte fish (stuffed fish) and baked meat.

During the Seder, it is customary to read the Haggadah, a prayer that tells about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. During the dinner, each participant must drink four glasses of wine in honor of the four cups mentioned in the Torah. On the table there should be three (sometimes two) matzos, placed one on top of the other, as well as a chicken egg and a chicken wing, a vessel with salt water, maror (celery, horseradish or other bitter herb) and charoset (a sweet mixture of fruits, nuts, wine and flour). Passover for Jews is a day of remembrance and unity of the people. On this holiday, we must not forget about relatives and friends. We need to help the poor and hungry so that no one spends this day alone.

On the last day of Passover, Jews go to bodies of water and sing a passage from the Torah.

Why do not the dates of Orthodox and Catholic Easter coincide?
At first, all Christians celebrated Easter according to the Jewish calendar. The holiday began on the 14th of the month of Nisan - the first month of the year according to the Jewish lunisolar calendar.

But already from the 2nd century, the date of the celebration of Christian Easter was moved to another day that did not coincide with the Passover of the Jews. The fact is that, in accordance with the Gospel, the Resurrection of Christ itself occurred after the Jewish Passover. That is why, that is, to maintain the chronology of the Gospel events, the celebration of Easter was established by the First Ecumenical Council one way and not another.


The discrepancy between the dates of Orthodox and Catholic Easter is caused by differences in the dates of church full moons and the difference between solar calendars.

— Pope Gregory introduced a new, Gregorian calendar (new style), and the Orthodox Church continued to celebrate church holidays according to the old Julian calendar. And due to differences in calendars, the calculation of dates by Catholics and Orthodox Christians leads to different dates of Easter in different years,” says Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy at ONU. Mechnikov Eduard Martynyuk.

How Christians celebrate Easter
Orthodox

Orthodox Easter is the main church holiday. It is preceded by a strict Lent, lasting 7 weeks, a symbol of cleansing the soul and body. In the Orthodox tradition, the symbols of Easter are colored eggs, Easter cakes and Easter cottage cheese. Eggs painted red symbolize that Christ gave life to people with his blood, and a tall Easter cake, covered with white icing, personifies the body of Christ, symbolizing rebirth from death to new life.

The Easter service lasts differently in different churches. Typically, the festive service begins on the evening of Saturday before Easter and ends early on Sunday morning.

At midnight, the priest and parishioners walk around the temple in a religious procession while the bells ring. Such a procession means a procession of the church towards the risen Savior.

By the way, Catholics also perform religious processions. But not before the start of the service, but after.

At the end of the festive service in the church, the priest blesses the food brought in baskets with water. After this, you can break your fast with festive dishes, celebrating the Holy Resurrection of Christ.

For Orthodox Christians, the holiday lasts seven days; the week after Easter is called Bright Week.

Previously, we talked about the tradition of coloring eggs for Easter. They also talked about what the pictures on Easter eggs mean.

Catholics
Just like Orthodox Christians, Catholics consider Easter the most important church holiday. As in the Orthodox tradition, it is preceded by Holy Week, reminiscent of the torment and suffering of Christ. A particularly important day for any Catholic is Good Friday. On this day, even the bells do not ring, so as not to disturb believers from praying.

On the evening of Holy Saturday, on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ, the Easter Eve is celebrated in Catholic churches, which begins with the Liturgy of Light. A fire is lit in front of the temple, from which the clergyman, with the words “Let the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness in hearts and souls,” lights the paschal - a large Easter candle. Then, with a candle in his hand, the priest enters the temple, where all the lights have been extinguished. He proclaims the news of the resurrection of Jesus - the ancient hymn Exsultet. Only after this can everyone else light the candles.


The symbol of the holiday is chicken eggs. They are traditionally painted in different colors (most often red) in honor of the biblical story. They are believed to be brought by the Easter bunny, which is also considered a symbol of the holiday. They decorate the house with figurines of a furry animal and give them to each other. They also bake dough figures in the shape of rabbits with an egg inside. If someone comes across a bun with an egg, then he will be especially successful all year until the next holiday.

Catholics consider Easter a family holiday, so they always gather around the festive table. The main holiday dishes are usually rabbit, turkey or chicken.

Catholic Christians celebrate Easter for two days. In some countries, both days are public holidays.