Nisan

Nisan (/ˈniːsɑːn/; Hebrew: נִיסָן [niˈsan] ^ⓘ) or Nissan (/ˈnɪsɑːn/; from Akkadian: 𒁈 Nissāni) is the month of the barley ripening and the first month of spring in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars. The name of the month is an Akkadian borrowing, although it is ultimately derived from Sumerian nisag 'first fruits'.

In the Hebrew calendar, it is the first month of the ecclesiastical year, called the "first of the months of the year" (Exodus 12:1-2), "first month" (Ex 12:14), and the month of Aviv (Ex 13:4; בְּחֹ֖דֶשׁ הָאָבִֽיב ḥōḏeš hāʾāḇîḇ). It is called Nissān in the Book of Esther. It is a month of 30 days. In the year 2025 CE, 1 Nisan occurred on 30 March. Counting from 1 Tishrei, the civil new year, it would be the seventh month (eighth, in leap year), but in contemporary Jewish culture, both months are viewed as the first and seventh simultaneously, and are referred to as one or the other depending on the specific religious aspects being discussed.

In Jewish tradition, Nisan is considered the "month of redemption", recalling the exodus from Egypt which occurred during this month. The Talmud states:

In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt; and in Nisan in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption.