April this year brings about two very important celebrations for both Jews and Christians globally:  Passover and Easter. Passover begins Friday April 15, and ends April 23.  Easter is April 17, with Good Friday on April 15, preceded by 40 days of Lent.  Is there a connection?  

Both fall in the Spring:

Both holidays are supposed to fall on, or near, the first full moon in the spring. Easter is celebrated by most Christians after the first full moon following the Vernal Equinox (roughly March 21). Passover always begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (the Gregorian equivalent of March – April). The challenge is that the lunar calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar widely used today. Over time, Passover would get out of sync, violating the Biblical commandment to celebrate Passover in the Spring.  The Hebrew calendar resolves this problem by periodically adding an extra month to the calendar (referenced by some as a “Jewish Leap Year”) That means Passover falls a month later than Easter three times in every 19-year cycle or about 15% of the time.  However, 2022 is not such a year. 

Both celebrate liberation and hope:

Passover is a springtime Jewish festival celebrating the early Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and freedom from slavery. Jews observe it by hosting a ritual dinner, called a Seder, and then by abstaining from eating all leavened bread for about a week

Easter is a springtime Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and freedom from sin and death. It is preceded by a series of holidays commemorating Jesus’s path to the cross

For Jews the liberation from Egyptian slavery is the central event in the Bible. For Christians the resurrection of Jesus is similarly central to the faith and promises the liberation of humanity from sin and death.

Both are festivals that last for more than just one day

The celebration of Easter is more than just the Sunday on the calendar. The journey begins for many Christians six weeks prior, with Ash Wednesday signifying the beginning of Lent.

Passover lasts for eight days. Starting from the second night of Passover, Jews begin counting 49 days until Shavuot (the Omer), which commemorates when Jews believe God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses on Sinai.

Last Supper or Last Seder?

In the Gospels, the existential drama of Easter happens against the backdrop of Passover. There is some discussion among scholars about the Last Supper, which Christians believe was consumed by Jesus and his disciples on the night before his Crucifixion.  Many agree that it was a Passover meal.  As certain Scholars note, "Jesus was a Jewish person who lived a Jewish life. It makes sense that it's near Pesach (Passover)."