Supermarkets have been waiting and waiting for someone to buy aisles of kosher-for-Passover food. Blame a complicated ancient calendar that is making this year confusing

Laurie Rochlin suddenly felt like she was in a time warp—an odd sensation to have anywhere, but especially when walking down aisle 11 of ShopRite.
Lotsa matzo
It was still February, yet, grocery shelves at her local store in New Milford, N.J., were piled toward heaven with matzo, gefilte fish and horseradish. “It was kind of jarring,” recalls Rochlin, a learning consultant. She had to ask herself: “Is it Passover?”
Suzanne Reindorf of Boca Raton, Fla., noticed the same thing at her grocer this year, though she remembered exactly when the eight-day holiday falls in 2024—April 22 through April 30. She wondered, had the supermarket ordered early in case Passover supplies ran out?
In fact, grocers aren’t the issue—Passover is. Jews often say to one another that “the holidays are late this year” the way people talk about the arrival of beach weather. This year, though, the holiday is really, really late.