Why is this night different from all other nights?
Why was last Thursday night different from all other nights?
Mr. HC and I hosted our first Passover seder as a married couple . . . like the real grown-ups that we are now. What made this Passover so meaningful is that not only was it the first event we collaborated on as part of our newly Chewish household, it also was the first Jewish holiday I have celebrated since my conversion to Judaism in March.
We read from various haggadot (compendia of, among other things, the story of the Exodus); sang annoyingly catchy songs loudly and off-key; ate cardboard . . . I mean, matzah; and drank four goblets of overly sweet, oddly viscous "wine," which I think was Welch's grape juice that someone already swilled and spit out.
We also got to use one of the most generous, lovely wedding presents we received: a pomegranate seder plate by contemporary metal artist Michael Aram. We filled it with the customary seder accoutrements: karpas (parsley); z'ora (roasted shankbone, Jellyby the shih tzu's favorite); maror (horseradish); chazeret (a bitter herb, in our yuppie case, arugula); charoset (an apple, walnut, and honey mixture); beitzah (hardboiled egg); and salt water. These items have symbolic significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt.
All in all, it was a looong, drunken, delicious, and raucous night. Hope you all had a fabulous Passover, Easter, or long weekend!
Newlywedded bees: was there an event that you celebrated together as a couple that made you feel like you were really a familial unit? Engaged bees: what holiday are you most looking forward to celebrating together?
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That is just about the prettiest seder plate I've ever seen! Lovely. My partner has yet to decide whether or not he's converting but he is doing Passover with me for the first time this year, and I feel like we are constantly reflecting on what it will be like to do this as a family. It's kind of awesome to think about.
OMG your seder plate is GORGEOUS!