[00:05.36]Some people depend on the calendar to tell them when spring has arrived.
[00:11.00]But many others know spring is here because it is time to celebrate the religious holidays of Passover and Easter.
[00:21.00]Jewish people observe Passover to remember the time when Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
[00:30.48]The holiday also celebrates the real beginning of the Jewish nation.
[00:36.18]And it represents the first for freedom by an oppressed group of people.
[00:42.24]Easter is the day when Christians believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
[00:48.67]Most Christians believe Jesus was sent to earth to save humans from wrongdoing, and to give them everlasting life.
[00:58.17]Passover is one of the oldest holidays in the world.
[01:02.77]It started more than 3,000 years ago.
[01:06.74]It begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan.
[01:13.51]This year, Jews begin celebrating the holiday on April Nineteenth.
[01:19.78]The book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible--the Jewish holy book--tells the Passover story.
[01:27.82]The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
[01:32.68]The ruler of Egypt would not release them.
[01:36.26]Moses was the leader of the Israelites.
[01:40.10]God gave Moses the power to force the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave.
[01:46.16]God gave Moses the power to strike the Egyptians with terrible events to kill their animals and crops.
[01:54.21]The first Passover took place when Moses warned that God would killthe first-born children of Egypt.
[02:02.80]On that night, the Israelites remained inside their houses.
[02:08.76]They ateflat bread that did not rise, called matzoh.
[02:13.20]And they ate lamb.
[02:14.95]Moses told his people to mark the doors of their houses with the blood of lambs.
[02:22.18]That night, God killed the firstborn Egyptian children.
[02:27.12]But He did not kill the children of the Israelites.
[02:31.72]He passed over their houses.
[02:34.46]The Egyptian ruler was afraid.
[02:37.49]He told Moses to lead his people out of Egypt'immediately.
[02:42.80]Later, however, Egyptian forces tried to recapture the Israelites.
[02:48.86]But Moses separated the waters of the Red Sea so his people could escape.
[02:55.88]The Egyptian forces drowned in the sea.
[02:59.41]Today, Jewish families still retell the story of being saved from death in Egypt.
[03:08.24]They attend Passover services in religious centers.
[03:12.47]And, they hold a Passover ceremonial meal called a Seder in their homes.
[03:18.61]Family members and friends gather to read the story of the Israelites' freedom from slavery.
[03:26.68]They read the story from a special book called The Hagaddah,
[03:31.59]and they eat several special foods that help them remember their ancestors in Egypt.
[03:38.41]The Seder foods include the traditional matzoh.
[03:43.29]This represents the time when their ancestors left Egypt so quickly they did not have time to let their bread rise.
[03:52.65]A lamb bone represents the blood used to mark their doors.
[03:58.08]Bitter herbs recall the hard life of slavery.
[04:02.49]A mixture of apples, nuts,spices and wine is called haroseth.
[04:08.79]It represents the bricks and building materials the slaves used in Egypt.
[04:14.77]Each person at the Seder drinks four cups of wine.
[04:19.84]Another cup of wine on the table is for Elijah. |