Passover Meal
Our Passover dinner is not traditional in any way. The ritual foods are not appealing to anyone in my family, so we modify it to fit our family.
Roasted lamb - We BBQ lamb.If the weather is bad,I cook it in the oven. We cut it up into steaks. Lamb is a symbol of the Saviour.
Bitter herbs - I buy romaine lettuce and make a green salad. It is more bitter than iceberg. One of these times I am going to get more unique lettuce varieties that are more bitter and add them to the salad, at least a little bit. That will probably have to wait until the boys are older and really get why we are eating something bitter. Bitter herbs are the symbol for the captivity in Egypt. I like to make it also a symbol for our captivity in sin.
Fruit and nut mixture - I am the only one who likes nuts in my family, so the nuts don't show up on our table. But we do have a fruit salad. This symbolized the mortar used to build the pyramids in Egypt and the temple in Jerusalem.
Roasted egg - Eggs don't go over well in our house. Josh and I both like them deviled. The kids don't like them at all. So, because Josh always associated deviled eggs with holidays, we have deviled eggs instead of roasted ones. Eggs are the universal symbol of life, and coupled with Christ, everlasting life.
Unleavened bread - I made this one year a long time ago and it was so unpalatable that I haven't been able to bring myself to try again. I know that it can probably be really good if made right, I just need to learn how. I did eventually find a store in town that carries it.
Leaven is a symbol of sin. It makes foods "puffy." Since we are trying to avoid being "puffed up" with pride, unleavened bread is good symbol for eliminating sin and pride in our lives.
Wine - We have grape juice. The Saviour used wine to institute the sacrament. This isn't technically a traditional Passover menu item, but the last Passover is what we are celebrating, not Passover.
Roasted lamb - We BBQ lamb.If the weather is bad,I cook it in the oven. We cut it up into steaks. Lamb is a symbol of the Saviour.
Bitter herbs - I buy romaine lettuce and make a green salad. It is more bitter than iceberg. One of these times I am going to get more unique lettuce varieties that are more bitter and add them to the salad, at least a little bit. That will probably have to wait until the boys are older and really get why we are eating something bitter. Bitter herbs are the symbol for the captivity in Egypt. I like to make it also a symbol for our captivity in sin.
Fruit and nut mixture - I am the only one who likes nuts in my family, so the nuts don't show up on our table. But we do have a fruit salad. This symbolized the mortar used to build the pyramids in Egypt and the temple in Jerusalem.
Roasted egg - Eggs don't go over well in our house. Josh and I both like them deviled. The kids don't like them at all. So, because Josh always associated deviled eggs with holidays, we have deviled eggs instead of roasted ones. Eggs are the universal symbol of life, and coupled with Christ, everlasting life.
Unleavened bread - I made this one year a long time ago and it was so unpalatable that I haven't been able to bring myself to try again. I know that it can probably be really good if made right, I just need to learn how. I did eventually find a store in town that carries it.
Leaven is a symbol of sin. It makes foods "puffy." Since we are trying to avoid being "puffed up" with pride, unleavened bread is good symbol for eliminating sin and pride in our lives.
Wine - We have grape juice. The Saviour used wine to institute the sacrament. This isn't technically a traditional Passover menu item, but the last Passover is what we are celebrating, not Passover.
Passover - 2010
This turned out to be a busy Passover. I had to go shopping for the food, clean the house, and do piano lessons. I invited the missionaries and the Bowser's over (again) to share in this tradition. I told everyone to be at the house at 5:30 knowing I had a piano lesson at 5:30. I thought I could do it while everyone else got started, but it didn't work as smoothly. We did eventually get started after my piano lesson was over. As everyone ate, I told the story of the Savior's last Passover and the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. Erin made Honey Blonde Brownies for dessert. They ate honey in Jesus' day right? They were really good. Then one of the Elder's gave a short lesson. It went along perfectly with our Passover lesson. It was great. He taught using Alma 7: 11-13 about how the Atonement covers more than our sins, but all of our suffering.
Passover - 2011
We did our Passover dinner on Tuesday this year. The boys and I weren't going to be home Thursday night, so I moved things around. I was really happy to find unleavened bread at the store. I had to look around a bit, but eventually I found it. I have tried to make it in the past and it hasn't been very good. I decided to leave it to the professionals this year. We had our dinner and talked about what all the different foods meant. The foods try to point your mind back to the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, and the loss of the temple by the Babylonians and the Romans. We apply those lessons to ourselves by looking at our own suffering from sin and loss.
Passover - 2012
My first inclination was to have Passover by ourselves this year. That changed when I saw how disappointed Atticus was when I told him we weren't having anyone over. I called some good friends (the Nygrens) and they were available, sort of. The dad would be late. He went to visit a man in the hospital after work. I was reminded of the true meaning of Easter by this simple act. What would Jesus be doing if he was here? He would be visiting an old man in the hospital who didn't have family close by.
While everyone ate, I explained why we ate what we did. They all enjoyed the dinner and then headed out to play.
We had a very good time.
While everyone ate, I explained why we ate what we did. They all enjoyed the dinner and then headed out to play.
We had a very good time.
Passover - 2013
With such busy schedules, I was not sure when this was going to happen this year. I was reminded of how the Lord loves me, however, when my late Thursday piano lessons cancelled. That left my evening open for Passover. I was so glad.
I went shopping in the morning for the food and found everything I needed. I also had time to find a few more things for our Easter clothes.
I invited some really good friends over, Melody and Roxie. They invited me to their baptism in May, that gave me such a happy feeling. Roxie mentioned that for her, the gospel all made sense. I told her that was how I felt, and that it gave me so much joy. While we ate dinner, I explained what all the different food represented and told the story of Thursday.
Something I had never noticed before (I am not sure why...) was "Karpas."
From Wikipedia :
"Karpas is one of the traditional rituals in the Passover Seder. It refers to the vegetable, usually parsley or celery, that is dipped in liquid (usually salt water) and eaten. Other customs are to use raw onion, or boiled potato. The word comes from the Greek 'karpos' meaning a fresh raw vegetable. The karpas is traditionally placed on the seder plate on the left side, below the roasted egg. The liquid may be any of the seven which make food capable of becomingritually impure, although salt-water or wine vinegar are usually used. The idea behind the salt water is to symbolize the salty tears that the Jews shed in their slavery in Egypt.
The general idea of dipping a vegetable into saltwater is to arouse the curiosity of the children, as per the theme of the Seder night that the story is to be recounted by way of question and answer. Such an action is not usually done, and thus arouses the curiosity of the children.[1]
Some have explained the dipping of the Karpas to symbolize Joseph's tunic being dipped into blood by his brothers. Karpas is therefore done at the beginning of the seder, just as Joseph's tunic being dipped into blood began the Israelites' descent to Egypt. Indeed, the Greek word 'karpos' is very similar to the Hebrew word 'karpas' meaning fine linen. [2][3]"
We thought our salad dressing were pretty salty and would suffice for the salty water with our fresh, raw vegetables.
I went shopping in the morning for the food and found everything I needed. I also had time to find a few more things for our Easter clothes.
I invited some really good friends over, Melody and Roxie. They invited me to their baptism in May, that gave me such a happy feeling. Roxie mentioned that for her, the gospel all made sense. I told her that was how I felt, and that it gave me so much joy. While we ate dinner, I explained what all the different food represented and told the story of Thursday.
Something I had never noticed before (I am not sure why...) was "Karpas."
From Wikipedia :
"Karpas is one of the traditional rituals in the Passover Seder. It refers to the vegetable, usually parsley or celery, that is dipped in liquid (usually salt water) and eaten. Other customs are to use raw onion, or boiled potato. The word comes from the Greek 'karpos' meaning a fresh raw vegetable. The karpas is traditionally placed on the seder plate on the left side, below the roasted egg. The liquid may be any of the seven which make food capable of becomingritually impure, although salt-water or wine vinegar are usually used. The idea behind the salt water is to symbolize the salty tears that the Jews shed in their slavery in Egypt.
The general idea of dipping a vegetable into saltwater is to arouse the curiosity of the children, as per the theme of the Seder night that the story is to be recounted by way of question and answer. Such an action is not usually done, and thus arouses the curiosity of the children.[1]
Some have explained the dipping of the Karpas to symbolize Joseph's tunic being dipped into blood by his brothers. Karpas is therefore done at the beginning of the seder, just as Joseph's tunic being dipped into blood began the Israelites' descent to Egypt. Indeed, the Greek word 'karpos' is very similar to the Hebrew word 'karpas' meaning fine linen. [2][3]"
We thought our salad dressing were pretty salty and would suffice for the salty water with our fresh, raw vegetables.