Passover

an annual feast of the Jews. It falls on the first full moon of the spring, about Easter time. It is a feast of thankfulness, corresponding in a way to the American Thanksgiving. It was instituted to commemorate the escape of the Hebrews in Egypt, when the Lord, smiting the first born of the Egyptians, "passed over" the homes of the Israelites, the doorways of which were marked with the blood of the pascal lamb. The Israelites were directed to eat the first Passover with their loins girded, shoes on their feet, and staffs in their hands. "And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons together. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, what mean we by this service? that ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians."

The term came to include the entire week in which unleavened bread is eaten. In this sense, it is synonymous with the feast of unleavened bread. When settled in Canaan, the feast of the Passover was celebrated at Jerusalem. All who were able to leave home came up to the temple. Josephus tells us that, in the year 65 A. D., 3,000,000 Jews visited Jerusalem to eat the feast of the Passover. A quarter of a million lambs were required. The city could not hold the multitude. Tents were erected without the walls. This festival was the great event of the year. It reminds the reader of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca still enjoyed by the Arabs, a kindred people. The festival of the Passover is now celebrated widely in the home, like the American Thanksgiving.