How to Celebrate the 8 Days of Passover

Passover is a Jewish holiday that primarily commemorates the freedom of the Hebrews from slavery after God punished Egypt with 10 plagues. The word "Passover" comes from the 10th plague in which the Angel of Death killed the firstborn of the Egyptians but "passed over" the houses of the Hebrews. The following steps will show how to celebrate the 8 days of Passover.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Determine the length of time that Passover will be celebrated. Most Jews today do observe 8 days of Passover. However, Jews in Israel, most Reform Jews and some Conservative Jews celebrate Passover for 7 days.
2. Conduct a Seder on the first 2 nights of Passover. This is a ritualized dinner consisting of 15 steps that have been set since the Middle Ages. These instructions are prescribed in the Haggadah which means "telling" in Hebrew.
3. Separate Passover days into Chol Ha-Moed and Yom Tov days. The Yom Tov days are the first 2 and last 2 days of an 8-day Passover. All days in between are Chol Ha-Moed days.
4. Observe Yom Tov days. Yom Tov means "good day" in Hebrew and are fully holy days. A number of restrictions on actions that may be performed are observed on these days and they are generally treated like the Sabbath. For example, observant Jews generally may not work on Yom Tov days.
5. Celebrate Chol Ha-Moed days. "Chol Ha-Moed" means weekday festival and these days are considered half-holidays. Regular work is permitted but there are restrictions on other activities.
6. Conduct various prayer services as required, including the Tefilat Tal, the Prayer for Dew, which a special prayer reserved for Passover.