Welcome
Spring!
Well, it's that time of year again when the days are warmer and longer, the grass needs mowing for the first time, spring flowers are in bloom and everyone starts to get spring fever. With the arrival of spring comes two special holidays - Easter and Passover. It's a great time of the year!
The Woof-muffins
celebrate Passover at their house, but they really get the best of both
worlds because part of our family celebrates Easter.
Easter
is the holiest day of the
Christian
calendar. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full
moon after the spring equinox. Christians believe that this is the
day on which Jesus was resurrected, or raised from the dead, following
his crucifixion. This resurrection symbolizes the redemption of people
from sin. It is a day of rejoicing and celebrating spent with family
and friends, sharing meals and attending church services.
Children
enjoy the tradition of dying eggs, which is believed to be a symbol of
Spring and rebirth. They also participate in Easter egg hunts where
the eggs have been hidden by the "Easter Bunny".
Passover affirms the great truth that liberty is the right of every human being. It marks the first time in the history of the world that a nation questioned the time-honored institution of slavery and actually dared to break its shackles.
The festival is known as Pesah, or Passover, because the Angel of Death "passed over" the homes of the Israelites when the first-born of Egypt were slain. Passover is an eight day holiday beginning on the fifteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which occurs in late March or early April. The Jewish religion follows the lunar calendar - that is why the dates vary each year. It is a celebration commemorating when Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt and the bondage of slavery.
Special
dinners, which are called seders, are held in Jewish homes for the first
two nights of Passover. The Haggadah is read, which is a book containing
a narrative of the Exodus and the ritual of the Passover dinner.
Particular foods are eaten to symbolize parts of the story. For example,
flat, unleavened bread called matzoh is eaten to symbolize their hurried
departure from Egypt. They did not have time to let the bread rise before
baking. An extra glass of wine is set for the prophet Elijah and is meant
to symbolize hope for peace.
The Seder Plate
The contents of the seder plate are the Moror, or the bitter herbs, which together with the Pesah and matzoh symbolize the bitterness of the bondage that was to end that night. The Haroset, a thick mixture of grated apples, powdered cinnamon, chopped nuts and wine represents the bricks that the Israelites made. The salt water is described as the salty tears shed by the mothers upon hearing Pharaoh's cruel command that the male infants were to be drowned. The parsley or other green vegetable dipped into the salt water represents the beginning of the ancient meal and correspond to modern day's hors d'oeuvres. Thereare also four cups of wine used that correspond to the four different expressions for freedom mentioned in the story of the Exodus.
Whichever holiday you celebrate, we hope it is one of peace and joy for you and your loved ones.
Hoppy
Easter !
Sweetcakes and Jellybean wearing their
kippahs and eating their Passover matzah.
"The world is so full of
a number
of things,
I'm sure
we should all be
as happy
as kings."
- Robert
Lewis Stevenson -
(Yep, these
things are back, too!)
You are listening
to:
"Arabesque"
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This page
is copyrighted 1998 - 2001 by Joanne M. Porter
TianshingI@aol.com
premiered
March 1998
All of
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