Pesakh Seder

Two days prior Mom rids the house of chametz; all fermented grain must be thrown out. The countertop is lined with paper bags of bread, cereal, pasta, cookies. It seems wasteful, but we donate the bags of food to food banks for the hungry each year. Although our tradition is pale in comparison to orthodox practices (hiding and burning chametz, self-prepared matzo), it is the thought that reminds us why we must do this; it is important to ceremonial mark the Exodus of and freedom of enslaved Jews from ancient Egypt. We have to channel their very struggles to flee so as not to forget our fortune and ability to celebrate the birth of the Children of Israel.

By the time the house is cleansed of fermented grains, it is the day of our informal Seder. About 5 years ago we started a family tradition of conducting a private at-home Seder, instead of commuting off-island to our temple (the closest one to Whidbey Island is in Everett). We fast. No one eats from sunrise to sunset. As the sun slips down behind our neighbor's hilly pasture, we are ready:

Our informal Haggadeh (recitation which recounts the story of the Exodus) is printed from the internet and placed casually on the table to be read aloud during our ceremony. Our Seder plate is arranged:
Maror, which is a bitter herb to serve as a reminder of the harshness of slavery
Charoset, my mom's proud recipe boasting a cinnamon apple, red wine, grated nuts and matzo and spritzed with a red wine. This mixture is to symbolize the mortar by which our ancestors built the pyramids of Egypt, and it is additionally incorporated to off-set the bitterness of Maror.
Karpas, usually we use celery dipped in salt. The salt is meant to reflect salty tears representing the pain of Jewish slaves who had a limited diet of simple foods.
Z'roa, this is where I am morally conflicted; Z'roa is traditionally a lamb shankbone. My family substitutes with chicken wings. Most vegetarians use beet root, though, despite the seemingly literal referral it bears to the traditional sacrifice.
And finally, Beitzah, a roasted egg, a symbol of mourning for the destruction of the temple.

This is one example of a traditional Seder plate.

Though our ceremony is usually an abbreviated understatement of the true practice, it really does unify our family. The film Tampopo made me feel guilty for not celebrating food as the Japanese, and also reminded me of the way one of my family's celebrations centers around food symbolism. The dedication of Japanese mothers to feeding their children - such as the scene where a mother is on her deathbed, only to awaken to cook the family its final dinner - and literally slave away in their kitchens to support their families the way they were trained to, only increased my respect of their traditions and connect to my own. I thought of the agonizing deprivation of food which only makes our ceremony more powerful, more appreciative and thankful of all the luxuries we command.