Ask the Times

Published May 31, 2007

How is the date of Passover determined each year?

The Jewish calendar is based on 12 lunar months, and adjusts for the solar calendar by adding a 13th month in seven different years of a 19-year cycle. Passover always begins on the 15th of Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish religious calendar. Because the Jewish calendar is based on a lunar cycle, dates are not fixed on the Gregorian calendar. Passover always begins in March or April.

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