Passover Seder

April 6, 2012 by guillaume Leave a Comment

I hope you all are having a good friday morning! Although I am heading off to Paris this weekend to see my family, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite traditions that I  have celebrated the last few years with my “Jewish mother” in NYC- the Passover Seder.

The Passover Seder is a very important occasion, where Jewish families convene to participate in the reading of the Haggadah, recite blessings, and retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt over special wines and foods.  I decorate the apartment  with elegant and beautiful plants and flowers, and fine place settings to mark the distinctive holiday.

There are 15 parts of the Seder Ritual, which include reading passages of the Haggadah, blessings, drinking of wine, and eating foods reserved for the occasion.  This dish is the traditional hard-boiled egg, maror (bitter herbs) and Karpas (vegetable), which are eaten throughout the course of the Seder, to correspond with the readings.

As this is an occasion of remembrance, but not necessarily a somber one, I love to fill the room with an abundance of fresh flowers (bought that morning at the Chelsea flower market!) and plants.  Marcia served macarons, which can be eaten during passover, as they are made with almond flour and egg whites rather than flour and chametz (leavening agents, which are prohibited during the duration of the holiday).

This is part of the setting- over the course of the reading, we consume four cups of wine at various stages, hence all of the glasses!  The ritual concludes with singing traditional songs of praise, and conversation all around.

Here I am, getting the tables ready for the guests!

 

I’ve also included some photos from another Passover celebration, perhaps to inspire your decorations.  One of my favorite ways to show off flower arrangements is to put them in lucite boxes, with clear water-gel beads and decorative lights in the water.

However you celebrate (or don’t) this time of year, have a special weekend!  Hopefully, I’ll have some great photos and stories to share from Paris next week.

-GG