Jewish Passover
by Barry Marshall on October 20th
Passover is one of the most important events in the Jewish and Samaritan calendars, a holy day and festival that commemorates the Hebrew peoples' escape from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. The story of the holy day's origins can be found in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, in the book of Exodus. The story of Exodus tells of 10 plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians whose Pharaoh refused to release the Hebrew people from slavery.
The rituals of Passover commemorate the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt. It is said that the swift exodus left no time for the peoples' bread to rise. This is commemorated within the course of Passover celebrations by the eating of unleavened bread, with Matzo
being the most common form of unleavened bread eaten and serving as a symbol of the holiday.
Passover is important both culturally and religiously. The Passover table is laid with many traditional items. Symbolic foods to be found on a traditional Passover table include butter, honey, fruits, cakes, nuts and chocolates shaped like coins. These symbolise good luck. Also on the Passover table is wine, which is decorated with flowers and stalks of wheat.
In addition to bringing colour and cheerfulness to the table, flowers play an important symbolic role on the Passover table. Many people consider the traditional Passover table centrepiece to be comprised of flowers in various shades of blue, but in the modern day,
the colour of the centrepiece flowers are much more likely to be chosen to match the table settings and flatware.
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