Pesah Celebrates Spring

Added: 10/26/2007

Holidays are a part of our society and culture. There are holidays in each season of the year. Holidays are a time to spend time with family and friends. Many holidays center on faith, family, and food. There are many Christian holidays, Jewish holidays, and American holidays for people to celebrate. There are also holidays that are celebrated in other countries.

Holidays are a vital part of our society and culture. There are holidays for each season of the year. Holidays are cultural, religious, and historical. Christmas and Easter both center on the life of the religious figure named Jesus Christ. Christmas is believed to be the celebration of Jesus’ birthday and Easter celebrates the rebirth of Jesus Christ. Pesah, which is a Jewish holiday, celebrates the season of spring and Hanukkah celebrates the number of days that the oil burned. In addition, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July are both historical holidays. Both Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July celebrate obtaining freedom from England. In addition, it is believed that Kwanzaa celebrates African American culture. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is similar to Kwanzaa because both holidays use colorful candles in their celebration. Do you know how many candles are used for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa combined? Well, both of these holidays use 15 candles. Hanukkah uses eight candles and Kwanzaa uses seven candles. Moreover, most holidays do have some specific foods that people eat while celebrating that holiday. On Thanksgiving, many eat turkey, stuffing, cranberries, apple and pumpkin pie. Christmas and Easter are a time for ham or lamb. Lamb could be eaten for both Easter and Pesah. The Jewish holiday of Passover celebrates the season of spring. Let’s examine the Jewish holiday of Passover or Pesah a bit closer.

Passover lasts for eight days and the first two nights of Passover there are celebrations called Seders. During Pesah many Jews observe the positive Torah commandment of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the Passover Seder, as well as the Torah prohibition against eating Chametz which includes any leavened products such as bread, cake, cookies, beer, whiskey, and pasta. This includes created out of raw dough that have been left alone for more than 18 minutes because it will start fermenting for the duration of the holiday. An essential item used at the Pesah Seder is the Seder Plate. The Passover Seder Plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods used by Jews during t6he Passover Seder. Each of the six items that are placed on the Seder plate has a special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal is a stack of three matzos, which are placed on their own plate on the Seder table. The six traditional food items on a Seder plate are as follows:

There are bitter herbs that symbolize the bitterness and the harshness of the slavery which Jews endured in Egypt. Charoset is a sweet mixture of chopped walnuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine; Other Charoset recipes call for both honey and dates in addition to chopped nuts, cinnamon, and wine. This food item represents the mortar used by Jewish slaves for building the storehouses in Egypt. Parsley is also used and it is dipped in saltwater. The saltwater represents tears and mirrors the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt. Since parsley is also green, it is used to symbolize spring. There is also a roasted lamb shank bone and a roasted egg on the Pesah Seder plate. Another essential part of the Passover Seder is drinking four cups of wine or grape juice. Did you know that some Seder plates have oranges in order to symbolize feminism, gay rights, and other marginalized people? Passover symbolizes spring and new beginnings. Have a Happy Pesah.

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