Posted
on April 22, 2016
Today
at sunset the Jewish festival of Passover (or Pesach) starts – and
it continues until sunset on either Friday (April 29) or Saturday
(April 30). The dates follow the Jewish calendar, so Passover falls
on different dates different years – but typically sometime in
March or April.
Scholars
say that Passover started as a ceremony meant to keep a family's home
safe. But the ancient Biblical story of an Exodus of Jewish people
out of Egypt – after being liberated from years of slavery – gave
the holiday a lot of traditions and meaning.
Passover
is sometimes called the feast of unleavened bread. Matzo is flat,
unleavened bread that is traditionally eaten during the week-long
celebration. Many Jewish families remove all “chametz,” products
that contain one of five types of grains and leavening, during a
thorough housecleaning (a sort of spring cleaning). Other Jewish
families segregate all the chametz, putting it in one cupboard that
can be locked up during Passover. The food can be ritually sold to
non-Jews, and then purchased back again at the end of Passover.
A
special dinner is held on the first night of Passover (and sometimes other nights as well). Called a
seder, the dining table is generally set with the best china and
silverware; the youngest member of the family asks four ritual
questions, prompting the telling of the story of the Exodus from
Egypt; special foods are served with ritualized washing of hands,
blessings, and other traditions.
 |
| On a traditional Seder plate, there is a shank bone, an egg, bitter herbs, “paste” (a mixture of apples, nuts, and wine), a vegetable, and lettuce. Each item symbolizes something important to the Passover story. |
Learn
more about Passover at Jewish Kids.
Also
on this date:
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ahead:
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