The most important Passover tradition is the Passover feast known as
Seder. The removal of chametz or leavened food on the first nigh of the
holiday is known as 'Bedikat chametz'. Only Matzoh and other special
foods made from matzoh are allowed during this happy family holiday.
This is the occasion for the Jewish families to go through their origin
and history by reading the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt as
told in the Book of Exodus, the Haggadah. The custom of Afikomen or the
dessert matzoh has slight variations to it.
In some families, a child 'steals' the afikomen and hide it for the
parents to find and earns a reward to return it if parents can't find it
while in others, parents hide the afikomen and the children look for it
at the end of the meal. The child, who finds it, gets the reward. The
Seder Plate is an important part of the Seder table containing 'Z'roa'
or the shank bone of the Paschal lamb, 'Beitzah' or the roasted egg,
'Karpas' or the green, leafy vegetable dipped in salt water, 'Charoset'
or a coarse-textured dish of chopped fruits, nuts, and wine and 'Maror'
or bitter herbs.
One of the most interesting Passover traditions is the story of the
Four Sons, who were Wise, Wicked, Simple and Young respectively. These
sons are symbolic of the four types of Jews and their attitude towards
their religion. The Wise son refer to the Jews who are observant, the
Wicked son represents the Jews who are not respectful to their heritage
and religion and reject them altogether, the Simple son is the one who
is indifferent to all the religious activities and do not even try to
understand them while the Young one represents the Jews who are ignorant
of their culture and traditions.
Passover Seder
The most important part of the Passover celebration is the ceremony of Seder. 'Seder' means 'order' in Hebrew and thus, all its rituals are observed in a particular order on this day. Seders are observed on the first 2 nights of the 8 day holiday with lavish meals, special foods, stories and history of Passover, plates, silverware, songs and prayers.
Seder Order
'Seder' means 'order'. Thus, a certain order is to be followed strictly on the night of Seder. The precise order in which the rituals of the night are performed are as follows..
Seder Plate
The Seder Plate has five foods that have special meaning to them..
Seder Wine
Four glasses of wine are poured during the Seder to symbolize the four main stages of Exodus that led Hebrew slaves to the promised land of freedom. These stages were..
Seder Table
Passover is a Jewish festival celebrated to commemorate the liberation of the Hebrews from the enslavement of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. The festival is a weeklong occasion that begins with the Seder meal taken on the evening of the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan.
