My grandmother gave my family the Seder plate shown in the picture. The Seder plate holds each of the six symbolic foods of the Passover tradition. These foods each have distinct meaning which are part of the Passover story. The bitter herbs, for example, represent the bitterness and harshness of the slavery the Hebrews endured in Egypt. There were plenty of traditions that went into the celebration of Passover, many of which I appreciated and understood even when I was young. Every year my family and I would go over the story of Passover. Typically my mother or uncle would read short prayers translated into English from Hebrew. Everybody would listen while seated around the dinner table on soft cushions, which signify our luxury as free people in comparison to the Jewish slaves. We would eat great Jewish food like my grandmother’s heavenly brisket and the charoset that I mentioned above. The adults typically drank wine, a glass of which was left in the center of the table to invite inside the ghost of prophet Elijah. Finally, the adults would hide a piece of matzo called the Afikoman with a cash reward and the children would look for it. Despite German efforts during WWII, Jewish culture has survived in my family through Gigi and my mother. We carry out these traditions for many reasons; they’re fun, they’re an important part of our culture and perhaps most importantly, they honor my wonderful Grandmother Gigi.

– Noah JT Maxwell

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant