Pesach (or Passover) is the Jewish Holiday that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the beginning of spring, during which observant Jews abstain from leavened bread. It begins at sundown (erev) with a seder, an elaborate and long ritual meal, often lasting until midnight. Many hold seders on both the first and second nights of the holiday. Passover lasts for 7 or 8 days in the diaspora.