A Short Passover 101 for Non-Jews

What is Passover? When is Passover celebrated?

Passover, for many Jews is the most significant of all Jewish holidays. Jewish Passover commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian slavery. The celebration’s best part is the Passover meal called Seder. Passover dates: From April 19, 2008 to April 27, 2008.

What is a Seder? What happens during a Seder?

First, “Seder” is the Hebrew word for order. Order is the operating word here as it is observed in the rituals and the manner in which the foods are served. A religious service, the reading of the Haggadah is done pre-meal. Following is a grand feast with traditional Passover foods like the matzah, parsley and shankbone to name a few. Singing and activities for kids are also included.

This one is more tricky than the usual questions: If you got invited for Seder to your boyfriend/girlfriend’s house, is it a sign that an engagement is forthcoming?

If your special someone invites you for Passover dinner, then that implies a deeper level of commitment. After all, Passover is Jewish family holiday that’s equivalent to the status of say, Thanksgiving or Christmas! If you will be a guest, be a relaxed and open-minded one. You will surely learn a lot about your partner as you observe their celebration of the Passover.

If you’re not Jewish, is it okay to send a Passover greeting through e-cards, email greetings or Friendster/MySpace greets to your Jewish friends/colleagues?

Why not? As I mentioned before, the Passover is like Thanksgiving or Christmas to the Jewish community. Wishing them a Happy Passover is just a way to show you care and value their traditions too. Coming from an interfaith family, I also send Christmas e-cards to my Catholic and Christian friends and family. Of late, I received an email from my young cousin that even has Passover smileys in it! These smileys are just awesome--one looks like the local Rabbi reading the Passover Haggadah , another is a beaming Jewish boy and a cute Jewish girl holding a Passover Seder plate . I’ve used these smileys in my email greets to cousins in the U.K. and they liked them too. These ultra-cute smileys are from ZaaZu.com. If you wanna get your Passover smileys too, check out their website.