Pesach Seder
The Seder is a ritual celebrated on the first and second night of the festival of Pesach (which falls in March or April). Families and friends gather around the table to read the Haggadah, the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.
While many Jewish holidays take place in the synagogue, the Seder is conducted at home and it is customary to invite guests, including strangers and people in need. During the Seder, participants drink four symbolic cups of wine, eat unleavened bread and share symbolic foods placed on the Seder plate: salt water to recall the tears of the Hebrew slaves, bitter herbs to recall the bitterness of life in Egypt, and a bone to recall the sacrifice of the Passover lamb at the time of the Temple in Jerusalem. The ceremony goes on until late into the night. The guests, among whom children play a very important role, discuss certain passages of the Haggadah and sing several Pesach songs.