Passover is an eight-day Jewish holiday (seven days in Israel) that commemorates the liberation and exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Passover is observed on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, which falls sometime between April 5 and April 13 on the Western calendar. It is not a federal U.S. holiday. The term “Passover” comes from the book of Exodus in the Bible. According to the story recorded in Exodus, God promised the Israelites, ancestors of today’s Jewish people, that he would deliver them from enslavement in Egypt. The Israelites were instructed to mark their doorways with lamb’s blood, a signal for God to pass over them and spare their children, while all the firstborn children of Egyptians died. For Jewish-Americans—and all worshipping Jewish people throughout the world— Passover is a time for celebration with family. Traditionally, Jewish families gather for a Seder, a special symbolic meal celebrated over the first two nights of Passover. The meal is festive and full of symbolism. Through readings of Jewish scripture and eating the traditional Seder meal, celebrants recall the hardships and commemorate the liberation of their ancestors from Egypt. There are two main commandments for Passover are the eating of matzoh, or unleavened bread that is the official food of Passover, and not eating any food with leavening.