This evening marked the start of Passover, which is celebrated yearly by Jews, and is also an integral element in the yearly celebration of Easter by Christians. But this morning, in Isreal and elsewhere around the world, thousands of Jews were up at sunrise to pray for blessings for the sun, a ritual that occurs only once every 28 years where tradition has it that the sun returns to the spot where God first created it.

It hasn't been unusual in the history of humankind for cultures to seek blessings or favors from the sun. It's a more rare and rather lovely gesture to seek blessings for the sun.