What Is Passover?

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Saturday night sees the beginning of the Jewish festival of Passover.
Passover is one of the most important festivals in the Jewish calendar and families and friends join together for a traditional family gathering, known as the Seder.
The Seder is a special occasion for children and gives them the opportunity to hear the story of the exodus from Egypt.
Many symbolic foods are eaten during Passover.
Bitter herbs are taken to remind Jewish people of the bitter times and unleavened bread, called Matzah, is also eaten. It symbolises the time when the Jewish people, led by Moses, fled Egypt into the desert and did not have time to allow the dough to rise.
Charoset, a paste made with apples, cinnamon and ground nuts is also eaten.
However, no flour-based products are eaten for the full eight days of the festival.
All of the symbolic foods are eaten before the meal and families read from a special book, known as Haggada.
The first two nights of the festival are very important.
There are special services held at the Synagogue throughout the festival.
Most Jewish people, whatever their level of observance, celebrate Passover in some way.
The run-up to Passover is also a busy time as homes have to be cleaned from top to bottom and special dishes and pans must be used that are only used at Passover.
Then, as family and friends enjoy their special meal on Saturday night, the story of the exodus is retold so that children are helped to realise why this night is so different from all the others and so that they in turn will carry on the tradition with their own children.

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