Our Family Passover

Last night we used the book Celebrating Biblical Feast to observe a family Passover Sedar. (Yes, I know passover actually started on Thursday, but we aren't about legalism as much as learning, observing and remembering, so the symbolism was what we were really aiming for.) We had a fun, busy, little-bodies-squirming, some-mistakes make and learned from, and lots of learning and laughter evening. My parents were able to join us and even though my dear hubby came home sick from work and landed in bed before the evening was over, he stuck with us as long as he could.

My mom came an hour before dinner with her long white linnen tablecloth and helped me set the Seder plate while 6-year-old R had fun setting out our china and crystal. She couldn't wait to get dressed in her hot pink Hellow Kitty tights and pink satin dress. I drew the line at the princess crown though, reminding her that the evening was in celebration of the Lord, not her. ;) Dinner took us about 2 hours and I was exhausted by the end, but it was such a worthwhile evening. I was so thankful for my parent's help in clean up as Dad helped calm down excited kids with several bedtime stories and Mom helped me load up the dishwasher and put away food. I only wish we would have remembered to take pictures.

I didn't make it to the grocery store for matza crackers until a couple of hours before sunset on Thursday afternoon, so as you can imagine, the shelves were pretty empty by then! 9-year-old Big-J and I made our first attempt at matza-ball soup and the leg of lamb turned out really well. We did not try the traditional whitefish because Big-J looked green just at the sight of it in the store and I was afraid we were going to need to call for a sick "clean up on isle 5" so I placed that jar of oily fish quickly back on the shelf and made other selections. We ended up with chocolate-covered matza because that's what was still available, but it was labeled "kosher for Passover" and "imported from Israel" so I guess it was authentic enough, but made for interesting "sandwiches" with our bitter herbs! :) I was just glad that we found some kosher items at all, since when I asked about matza at the first store we tried, the clerk gave me a blank look then said I could try the asian or hispanic food sections.

I found another blog this morning that shares another family's passover adventures this year. I think I will borrow some of their ideas for future observances, especially the tips about keeping things simple and focused for younger ones to really enjoy the experience as I know that much of what we did was over the heads of our 3- and 6-year-olds this year!
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Editing on Monday morning to add another family Passover story I found. This one written by a 19-year-old homeschool grad, telling the story of sharing this special meal with her parents and siblings. Since I also graduated from high school as a homeschooler, this young lady holds a very soft spot in my heart, though I've only met her through her blog posts. I enjoyed reading of their family's celebration as well and find it interesting just how many variations there are in the same basic observance of traditions.