seder

A Seder is a ritual meal that Jews partake in during the spring holiday of Passover. Passover celebrates the Jews' deliverance from slavery in Egypt in ancient times. The Seder traditionally has many pre-meal rituals, including blessings; the telling of the story of Passover; an explanation of the elements of the Seder plate; and Four Questions, asked by the youngest child, which are designed to explain why the holiday is special. The Haggadah is the traditional book which Jews follow and read during the Seder. Other important parts of the Seder include hiding the afikomen, the traditional piece of matzo that is designated as the dessert. In one version, adults hide the afikomen and the children have to find it, and then are rewarded with money or prizes. Another version has the children hiding the afikomen from the adults, who have to bargain with the kids to get it back. The Seder plate has several symbolic foods on it, including charoset, which represents the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the pyramids; the maror (bitter herbs), which represents the bitterness of slavery; an egg and green vegetables, which represent spring; and a shank bone, which represents that Paschal lamb. The Jews marked their doors with lamb's blood during the last and deadliest of the Ten Plagues, so that the Angel of Death, which was slaying the firstborn sons of the Egyptian families, would pass over their homes. The most traditional Seder food is matzo, a flat bread made with wheat which symbolizes how the Jews fled Egypt in a hurry — they did not have time to allow their bread to rise.

Bloggers have written extensively about their favorite Seder traditions and recipes. Here is a post with recipes for brisket and charoset; here is one with a kosher for Passover carrot souffle; and here is a post discussing how Christians can partake of the Seder ritual.

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