In many parts of the world, the craze of Jewish roots of the Christian faith has seen an all-time high. In this easter season, multiple venues around the world will host a “Passover Haggadah” or you might have heard about it in the traditional name as a “seder” to get a boost with the understanding between the relationship set amongst Christian and Jewish. To have a clear insight regarding the holiday of Passover and Christians can put their involvement meaningfully to celebrate it as well, let’s know more about the traditions.

●       What is Passover? A Brief History

Passover is considered to be the oldest and the most valuable religious festival involved in Judaism, where the fond memory of God’s deliverance is taken into consideration of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the creation by him of the Israelite people.

The first Passover occurred after the plagues were brought upon Egypt during the enslaved of the Israelites. God told Moses to have the Israelites sacrifice a lamb and mark the doorframes of their homes with the lamb’s blood. God is dedicated enough to send the angel of death to Egypt and then that will “pass over” all the households that were given a marking with the blood of the lamb.

●       What every Christian needs to know about Passover

As all the population decides to make preparations regarding the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus acknowledging the fact that this is the same cultural Jewish soil where once Jesus walked on. Let’s talk about the steps involved in the Passover journey in brief:

Step One: Read the Bible about Passover.

Jesus and the apostles were celebrating Passover at the Last Supper because they were Jewish men with Jewish observances:

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance.”

“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  Jesus sent Peter and John, saying ‘go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.'”

Step Two: going to the messianic temple to be a part of the service. The congregations at this temple are formed with equal contribution amongst Jews and Gentiles. Or, you might consider having your service in your home with family and friends.

Step Three: Learn traditional prayers that are said during Passover. You can find these online as well or, you can learn them from a rabbi.

Step Four: Cook a traditional Passover meal. You can find out how to do so by obtaining a book about the Passover programs from the library or search on the web articles like, “How to Make Passover Eclairs” or “How to Make Matzo Meal Pancakes for Passover.”

Step Five: Do not forget to make a separation amongst Passover from Good Friday and Easter celebrations. The traditions in both have different methods.

  • When is Passover?

Passover starts on the 15th day as per the Jewish month of Nisan, which takes place in March or April. For 2020, the Passover Holiday will begin on the evening of Saturday, March 27th, and end on Sunday, April 4th.

Traditional Passover Foods

  • Matzoh: three unleavened matzohs are placed within the folds of a napkin as a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for the dough to rise. Two are consumed during the service, and one (the Afikomen), is spirited away and hidden during the ceremony to be later found as a prize.
  • Maror: Bitter herbs, usually horseradish or romaine lettuce, used to symbolize the bitterness of slavery.
  • Charoses: a mixture of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon, as a reminder of the mortar used by the Jews in the construction of buildings as slaves.
  • Beitzah: a roasted egg, as a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence.
  • Karpas: a vegetable, preferably parsley or celery, representing hope and redemption; served with a bowl of salted water to represent the tears shed.
  • Zeroah: traditionally a piece of roasted lamb shank bone, symbolizing the paschal sacrificial offering
  • Wine: four glasses of wine are consumed during the service to represent the four-fold promise of redemption, with a special glass left for Elijah the prophet.