When our children were small, we decided to not participate in Christmas, Easter, and Halloween due to their pagan roots. Instead, we began celebrating the Feasts of the Lord: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, and Hanukkah. They are dress rehearsals of what God has done in the past or is going to do in the future. For a protestant Christian attending a small Church of Christ before the internet existed, instructional sources on how to celebrate from a Christian perspective were not available. All I had was a Bible. It is impossible to perfectly "observe" all the requirements, but this is how we have managed to "celebrate" what Jesus has done for us.
We read from my Grandmother's Bible. Whenever I look at it I can still see her sitting in front of a bright window on Saturday evenings studying her lesson for Sunday morning Bible class at her tiny, country Baptist Church. Everyone called her Mama Susie.
The blood from the lamb roast is saved and at sundown put on the top and sides of the doorposts. During the first Passover, any house without the blood lost their firstborn at midnight but the death angel "passed over" houses with the blood. Hyssop is supposed to be used as a brush but since we didn't have any, we used celery - one of our many improvisions.
When all of our sons are home, the honor of applying the blood belongs to Joshua since he is the only firstborn in our family. Bill and I are both second-born and we don't know Scooter's birth order (some of the animals died too). Now it is done by the tallest person, Dustin.
It is difficult to see the blood and then it disappears when dried. That bothered Joshua quite a bit when he was young until his Father explained angels have superpower vision. He still wanted to make sure it was spread heavily. Today Jesus' blood covers our hearts.
In years past we have invited people over because Passover is to be enjoyed with friends and neighbors. However, because we are still under the coronavirus lockdown, only our family could celebrate the seder meal together. It is the first time since the original Passover that everyone celebrated with only their immediate family. The whole world is sitting in lockdown waiting to be set free.
The Hebrews were instructed to eat their meal in haste with their cloaks tucked into their belts, shoes on their feet and their staffs in their hands. At any minute, all would be set free from slavery and must flee. We wore our shoes but tucking in our cloaks and holding our staffs - that meaning was lost in translation. We never leave the house without car keys or wallets so they were set beside our plates ready to be grabbed. However after re-evaluating, next year we will update and add our cellphones and guns.
Everything used in the first Passover foreshadowed Christ's self-sacrifice as the Lamb of God years later. The lamb represents Jesus.
Bill and Dustin drank real wine but I can't due to allergies. White grape juice was available but not red since my local stores are not fully restocked. (There is still no toilet paper since the wild panic at the beginning of the lockdown.) My grandfather, Daddy Fred, made wine from Concord grapes he grew in his backyard. He drank it at dinner every evening from this glass.
Unleavened bread without any yeast is to be served because there was no time to let it rise. The dough was wrapped in cloth, placed in kneading troughs and carried on their shoulders as they left Egypt. These were made from ground barley or buckwheat mixed with oil, water, and salt.
Bitter herbs symbolize the bitterness of being slaves in Egypt. French Sorrel and garlic is what was available in my garden.
Beside my plate sits a cucumber. When the going got rough on the trip through the desert, the Israelites murmured in their tents and complained about missing cucumbers and garlic back in Egypt. I whine too much and this is my reminder to not complain.
A fresh salad made from greens picked from my garden represents God's abundant provision. He has always provided our daily meals.
A fresh fruit salad soaked in cream symbolizes the sweetness that lies ahead in the promised land of milk and honey. It is the hope that will sustain us through the desert immediately ahead.
The potatoes roasted in butter didn't represent anything. We just like them.
No one is forgotten at Passover. Scooter got to clean the dishes but he wisely avoided the bitter herbs.
Shabbat Shalom, y'all.
Thanks very much for the detailed description of how you celebrated Passover in your family.
ReplyDeleteI know the herb Hysoop that you mentioned. Here the name is Ysop.I had it once in my garden.
But the taste is so very bitter, I could not use it in my kitchen. As to the unleavened bread,
here we can buy a pale flat bread that is named Matzen. It nearly has no taste at all. It is used
in Jewish kitchen. The fruit salad that you made for a dessert looks delicious.
Of course the Corona lockdown makes our daily live difficult and it feels do different from our
normal live. In shops we can buy nearly all goods we need or want, but for so many people who
have lost their jobs it can be a tragedy.
I didn't even look for matzen bread because the lamb roast was the last piece of lamb in the store. It was covered in herbs and looked burnt but tasted delicious.
DeleteWhen the boys were small we would invite friends with children and they would act out the 10 plagues. Round red stickers were put all over their bodies for the sores. Fake plastic bugs were put on their plates for the locust. Everyone scratched for the lice. Cotton balls were thrown back and forth for the hail. I handed out new (clean) flyswatters and they swatted paper flies. It was a small house, the crowd was big and it was wild. This year's celebration was calm and relaxing. It is always fun.
What a wonderful way to celebrate. I love your description of how the children acted out the 10 plagues. I'm sure they had a great time and didn't even realize they were learning lifelong lessons!
ReplyDeleteAll your food looked yummy.
What a wonderful way to celebrate...you have really thought it all out.
ReplyDelete