Origin and History of Passover in Australia
Passover or Pesach is one of the holiest and largely observed Jewish festivals around the globe. Passover is a seven or eight day festival that occurs during the spring months of March-April. As such, all Jewish communities residing in various parts of the world celebrate this holy festival with much devotion and enthusiasm. Australia is a beautiful country situated in the midst of Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a striking nation with a multi-cultural society and multi-ethnic population, including a small populace of Jews. The holy festival of Passover in Australia is a traditional observance of the liberation of Jews from slavery and the freedom of Israelites from Egypt over 3000 years ago. For this reason, Passover is also known as the Freedom Festival, Pesach, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Though it is a week-long festival, but the Australians observe the first and last day highly significant.
Local name: Pesach
Ways to celeberate Pesach in Australia
The observance of Passover in Australia lasts for eight days filled with joy and merriment. Most Jewish people prefer to celebrate Passover at home amongst family members and close friends. None of the Passover days are official holidays in Australia. However, some Jewish businesses and organizations close during these holy days or they observe restricted opening hours. Australian Jews consider the Passover period as an excellent opportunity to spend quality time with family, friends, and loved ones. Alternatively, some even choose to spend the Passover days in a Jewish resort, participating in educational activities, entertaining sports, and lectures about the Jewish culture. The most important tradition followed during all these days is the Seder meal. This Seder meal mainly consists of unleavened bread which relates to the food eaten by Jewish people in ancient times. They cook this food either in their houses or take part in communal Seder feasts held in Byron Bay, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Darwin, and Fremantle.
