How is Passover Celebrated?

During spring, we celebrate "the passover". What is the passover? What does it mean?

In the Bible, the tribes of Israel were slaves to King Pharaoh. They were captives of Egypt for over 200 years. Moses, Gods faithful servant, was sent to Egypt to speak to King Pharaoh concerning freeing the Israelites. King Pharaoh refused. Moses threatened King Pharaoh with 9 different plagues if the Israelites were'nt set free. The ten plagues were blood, frogs,lice, beasts, cattle disease, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. The king continued to refuse freeing the slaves. Moses then threatened with one last plague. He stated, "God will kill all the first born of man and beast if his people (Israelites) are'nt set free. "The king was still persistent with refusing their freedom. Moses told the israelites to mark their doors with lambs blood so the angel of death would passover their door. Their children would'nt die. This is the origin of "the passover". It's the day commemorating the freedom of the Israelites from Egypt durung the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II.

The passover is celebrated on the 14th day of nisan. It's a celebrated family event. The family gathers together, the first two nights, for a special dinner(sedar).

Sedar means "order" and the passover ceremony is done in a particular order. One tradition is "recalling the four sons", which are:

1. The wise son (learned)
2. The wicked son (does'nt respect his religion)
3. The simple son (unlearned)
4. The unfamiliar son (unfamiliar to his heritage)

These are considered, by some, to be the different sons of Jews.

There are also traditional and symbolic foods eaten. Vegetables is symbolic for spring and salt water is the tears of the Israelites. Matzoh, or unleavened bread is also eaten. The reasoning behind this is: When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, they did'nt have time for their bake bread to rise, they were in a hurry. They took the unrisen bread with them. Leavened food is prohibited during passover. At the sedar, three matzoh's are used. The middle matzoh is broken into 2 pieces. The smaller piece is placed on the table ,the larger is the "afikomen". To keep the children interested in the ceremony, games are played. The larger piece of matzoh (afikomen) is hidden and the parent or the child has to find it. The child who finds it is given a small gift.

All in all, the passover is about family, rememerance, and tradition. It's a happy event that reminds families of where they came from. It also reminds families of why they should be thankful.