Marking Passover: A celebration of freedom, tradition, and community

The holiday of Pesach, or Passover, one of the most important festivals in the Jewish calendar begins before sundown on Saturday 12 April and ends after nightfall on 20 April 2025.

What is Passover

The spring festival of Passover commemorates the emancipation of the ancient Israelites from slavery. The celebration is a joyous occasion in the Jewish religion.

Passover is celebrated by a special meal called a Seder, which involves the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, with symbolic foods – representing different aspects of the festival and story.

During Passover, traditional foods like matzah (unleavened bread), charoset (a fruit and nut mixture), bitter herbs, and dishes like brisket, roasted chicken, and gefilte fish are eaten, while leavened foods (chametz) are avoided.

If you have Jewish friends or family, you can impress them by learning to say "Happy Passover" in the Hebrew language. You can say “chag sameach,” which translates to “happy festival” and is the Hebrew equivalent of “happy holidays.

Talya Greenstein, Health and Wellbeing Officer said:

"When I say ‘Passover’ or ‘Pesach’, most people think about the matzah (unleavened bread) that Jewish people eat for the 8 days of this festival. Whilst it is true that matzah plays a huge role in observing this festival – the Torah itself calls the festival of Pesach ‘chag haMatzot’, ‘The Festival of Matzahs’ – it is not the only thing which is special about Pesach. Pesach is filled with many other traditions and symbols.

"One other such tradition is the seder. (Anecdotally, to give you an impression as to just how central this tradition is to Jewish life, the seder is probably the single most observed Jewish ritual). During the seder, friends and family gather on the first two nights of Passover to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. That is, the liberation of the Israelites from their 210 year slavery in Egypt. We retell this story using the Haggadah, which literally means ‘telling’.

"One of the most important things that Pesach means to me is this telling on the seder night. We gather every year to transmit our history and traditions to the next generation. The seder gathers young and old and tells us this is who we are. On seder night, the cultural transmission of our history, values, and identity and the means by which we do this, is the focus. This is at least some of what Pesach means to me. 

"Chag Pesach Sameach to all those who are celebrating!"

To our staff that will be celebrating, we wish you and your loved ones a Happy Passover.