Passover is also called Pesach in Hebrew. It is a Jewish celebration that remembers a time, about 3,300 years ago, when the people of ancient Israel, the Israelites, were led out of slavery in Egypt and across the Red Sea to an area beyond the Ancient Egyptians empire into a land which, as it happens, is now part of modern Egypt.
The mass leaving of the Israelites is called an Exodus, and the story is told in the Biblical book called Exodus.
The person who led the rest of the Israelites from Egypt was called Moses, and it was Moses who was later given the Ten Commandments by God.
Passover is a spring festival as demanded by the Hebrew Bible, the Torah.
The term 'passover' refers to the fact that, when God decided to punish the Ancient Egyptians, he 'passed over' (left untouched) homes that had been marked out as Israelite.
Seder
The Passover Seder plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder.
Each of the six items arranged on the plate has special significance to the retelling of the story of passover the exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal.
The six traditional items on the Seder Plate are:
Maror and chazeret — Bitter herbs symbolising the bitterness and harshness of the slavery the Hebrews endured in Egypt. In Ashkenazi tradition, either horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in the fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.
Charoset — A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to build the storehouses or pyramids of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, Charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine
Karpas — A vegetable other than bitter herbs, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. Parsley, celery or boiled potato is usually used. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water, and the resulting dripping of water off of said vegetables visually represents tears and is a symbolic reminder of the pain felt by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Usually in a Shabbat or holiday meal, the first thing to be eaten after the kiddush over wine is bread. At the Seder table, however, the first thing to be eaten after the kiddush is a vegetable. This leads immediately to the recital of the famous question, Ma Nishtana — "Why is this night different from all other nights?" It also symbolises the spring time, because Jews celebrate Passover in the spring.
Zeroa — This is special as it is the only element of meat on the Seder Plate. A roasted lamb or goat shankbone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolising the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Since the destruction of the Temple, the z'roa serves as a visual reminder of the Pesach sacrifice; it is not eaten or handled during the Seder.
Beitzah — A roasted hard-boiled egg, symbolising the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Pesach holiday.
Many decorative and artistic Seder Plates sold in Judaica stores have pre-formed spaces for inserting the various symbolic foods.
The sixth symbolic item on the Seder table is a plate of three whole matzot, which are stacked and separated from each other by cloths or napkins. The middle matzah will be broken and half of it put aside for the afikoman. The top and other half of the middle matzot will be used for the hamotzi (blessing over bread), and the bottom matzah will be used for the korech (Hillel sandwich). Matza is flat bread and symbolises the yeast less bread that was eaten by the Hebrews after they were set free.
A bowl of salt water, which is used for the first "dipping" of the Seder, is not traditionally part of the Seder Plate, but is placed on the table beside it. However, it sometimes is used as one of the six items, omitting chazeret.
