The Easter season is marching on, with the end of Lent nearing in just two weeks. But another religious holiday begins the day before Lent 2026 ends.
Passover, one of the most significant and foundational holidays in Judaism, begins one day before Lent ends, on Wednesday, April 1. Passover commemorates the Israelites’ emancipation from slavery in ancient Egypt and often overlaps with Easter and Lent.
Here’s what to know about Passover, when Passover 2026 begins and ends, and a calendar of when other Jewish holidays land in 2026.
When is Passover 2026? What is Passover?
Passover, or Pesach, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelites’ emancipation from slavery in ancient Egypt.
Passover’s date is determined by the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, always beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan.
Passover 2026 will begin before sundown on Wednesday, April 1, and end after nightfall on Thursday, April 9, according to Chabad.org.
In Exodus 12:23, Moses told the Israelites to slaughter a Passover lamb and paint its blood on their doors, to be protected from certain death. In the Torah, the Passover story is also found in the 12th chapter of Exodus.
The holiday is called “Passover,” because it commemorates when the angel of death passed over the Hebrew people who had lamb’s blood on their doors, according to the Bible and the Torah.
“The Lord protected the Israelites from death by passing over their doors and would not ‘allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down,'” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
How often do Easter and Passover coincide?
Passover often overlaps with Easter in Western Christianity and Catholicism.
In the Christian religion, the Last Supper — the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion — was a Passover feast. The Hebrew calendar uses lunar months, which also determine Easter’s date.
This is why in Western Christianity and Catholicism, Easter and Passover often overlap, as they will this year. Passover is much less likely to overlap with Eastern Orthodox Easter.
This year, Easter Sunday will fall on April 5. Eastern Orthodox Easter will fall on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
What are the kosher rules for Passover? What is kosher Coke?
Jewish dietary laws for keeping kosher year-round limit which animals can be eaten, how they can be prepared and keep meat and dairy products completely separate, not consuming them within six hours of each other.
But during Passover, the rules get a little more specific and restrictive, and products like Coca-Cola (which are kosher the rest of the year) don’t make the cut anymore. This is because, during Passover, restrictions include leavened bread of any kind and certain grains, like wheat, oats, spelt, barley, rye and any food, beverages or products that contain them.
This is why you see Kosher Coca-Cola bottles hit grocery store shelves every spring. You can identify which two-liter bottles are kosher by spotting the yellow cap. When you see a Coke bottle with a yellow cap, it means that it’s marked kosher-for-Passover. Although Coca-Cola is kosher year-round, the high-fructose corn syrup used to make it keeps it from being Passover-friendly.
According to Business Insider, “Coke actually used to be made with sucrose (made from cane or beet sugar) instead of high-fructose corn syrup, but when the switch was made, Coca-Cola sodas became off-limits on Passover.”
Coke is made with high-fructose corn syrup, which doesn’t make the cut for most Orthodox or Ashkenazi Jews observing Passover.
According to MyJewishLearning, “Corn is not one of the five prohibited Passover grains, but it does fall into the category of kitniyot, which is historically forbidden to Ashkenazi Jews.”
Is ‘The Prince of Egypt’ the story of Passover?
Those who didn’t grow up going to a church or temple might recognize the Passover story from the 1998 DreamWorks animated box office success “The Prince of Egypt,” which shows an adaptation of the story of Moses.
The star-studded voice cast included the late, great Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart and Danny Glover.
Watch ‘The Prince of Egypt’ with Amazon Prime Video
“The Prince of Egypt” isn’t available to stream for free as of Feb. 16, 2026, but it is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Jewish holidays 2026, Passover coming in April
The Jewish holidays include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, Shavuot, fast days and other special occasions.
The next Jewish holiday will be Passover, which coincides with Easter in 2026.
Here’s a calendar of Jewish holidays and special occasions for the remainder of 2026, from Chabad.org:
Lianna Norman is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, Florida wildlife, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: When is Passover 2026? What to know about the upcoming Jewish holiday
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
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