The Christian Seder

April 02, 2010

The Christian Seder

Last weekend we partook in a Christian Seder at Noah's godparents home. Ms. Nancy has a dear friend who was raised by one Christian parent and one Jewish parent. What a great resource to explain everything to us!

The Seder, for those of you that are unfamiliar, is a Jewish tradition in which to celebrate the Feast of Passover. The original Passover occurred during the time of Moses. Pharoah would not release the Hebrew people from slavery, and so, God afflicted the Egyptian nation with ten (10) plagues. The final plague was the death of all firstborn. Firstborn humans and animals alike.

Believers were to sacrifice a "perfect" lamb and smear their blood over the door and along the sides of the door. Death would then pass over those households.

The Christian Seder is simply a Seder with the explanation of the symbolism of Christian beliefs.

First, we set the tables - each complete with:

Parsley and Salt Water - the salt water represents the tears shed during Egyptian slavery and the parsley is representative of the Hebrew slaves marking their doorposts at the time of the first Passover. A bunch of hyssop was to be dipped in the blood of the paschal lamb and used to strike the lintel and the doorposts (Exodus 12:22) so that the tenth plague (death of the firstborn) would not be visited upon their households.

Horseradish - Symbolizes the bitterness of Egyptian slavery

Lamb Shank Bone - Symbolic of the Paschal Lamb

Matzo - the unleavened bread - symbolizes redemption and freedom

Charoset - Symbolic of the color of the mortar that the Hebrews used to build the Egyptian structures.

Hard Boiled Egg - Debatable, but one possible interpretation is that it is a traditional symbol of mourning, and has been interpreted by some as a symbolic mourning for the loss of the Temple

Elijah's cup - as in Jewish tradition, a cup of wine is poured, but not drunk, for the Prophet Elijah