When Are Easter And Passover And How Might This Affect My Travels?

Card from St John's Ambulance - with a request for a donation.

Problem
When are Easter and Passover?

Easter Sunday in 2018 is April 1st. How will it affect you?

Driving
In London, England, you should find less traffic on the suburban roads during the morning and evening rush hours because parents are not driving their children to school.

Main roads out of London and into London are likely to be busy at the start and end of Easter as people head out of London to holiday resorts, such as Devon and Cornwall.

Stately homes and national trust properties which had closed for winter or had reduced opening hours will now be open later.

Clocks in the USA went forward on March 11th in the USA, and in the UK on the last Sunday in March, so more daylight hours for driving and enjoying the outdoors in the evening.

Flying - Passover
Flights are busy during and just before the Easter and Passover periods, especially to Israel for Passover, although there may be extra flights. Hotels will be offering special meals and special packages involving accommodation and meals, so expect more crowds and entertainment, higher prices and some places fully booked.

Restaurants

Shopping
Shops and supermarkets in the UK feature a lot of flowers and chocolate, especially traditional English chocolates in boxes and Easter eggs. The chocolate boxes will be reduced after Easter.

Morrisons has just delivered homes in the London area notices about their Passover range in stores from 12th March to 3rd April 2018. Goods include:

Chopped herring
Chopped liver
Chrayne (or chrain) horseradish when white, purple when beetroot is added
Falafel
Fish Balls
Grape juice
Ground almonds
Ground walnuts - that's something I don't often see
Houmous
Matzos (crackers)

The leaflet says Happy Passover and Chag Pesach Sameach. Chag Sameah translates as happy holidays.

Flowers
Flower prices will go up at Easter and come down afterwards. You will already find flowers in gardens in London, England, yellow daffodils and white ones and narcissi.

Daffodil from garden in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Walking Around London
Just walking around London is a pleasure in March when the spring flowers are out. The trees are starting to grow their buds and blosssoms. A visitor from France told us: "I had no idea that London and England were so pretty and full of flowers!'

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_greetings
https://www.duolingo.com/course/he/en/Learn-Hebrew-Online

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.