Celebrate Passover
With your toddlers and older children

Celebrate Passover a wonderful alternative to the Easter celebrations

To celebrate Passover with your children is a wonderful way for them to learn about God's faithfulness to His people. It is also a lesson in obedience as the Israelites needed to do exactly what God told them through Moses or else they would suffer terrible consequences.

Passover is celebrated every year by the Jewish nation worldwide. It immediately follows the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Passover refers to the night when the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Israelites, God's people, who were in slavery in Egypt.

Another focal point of celebrating Passover is that Jesus entered Jerusalem to partake with His disciples in this feast of remembrance. It was at the same time as His death by crucifixion and therefore it is worthy of Christians to remember and join in the celebration.

We have celebrated Passover with our children for 5 years now and each time we learn something new about God and His relationship with us, His people.

Celebrate Passover Activities

Passover Story

Read the "Passover Story " together...you can find this story in the Bible in the book of Exodus. You could use my version of the story that I read to my little ones by downloading the story at the link just above.

Passover Food

Traditionally the Jewish communities who celebrate Passover each Matzos during the 8 days of Passover. Matzos is unleavened wafer eaten to remember the Israelites fleeing Egypt on a moments notice. All products containing bread are traditionally removed from the house during the days leading up to the Passover week. Matzos is readily available in supermarkets for your children to taste.

Passover Night
The day's preparation for the Passover night traditionally involves the meal preparation. A simple Passover meal will always include the Seder plate, no matter what else you have prepared. We enjoy making a big roast with potatoes and vegetables.

The Seder plate

The Seder plate is a plate of specific foods that tell the story of the Israelites suffering and deliverance. On your plate, which is in the centre of the table you will need:

1. Haroseth # a mixture of chopped nuts, wine, cinnamon and apples to represent the mortar that the Israelites used to make bricks in slavery in Egypt.
2. Parsley (dipped in salt water) # Symbolizing spring but dipped in salt water to remember the tears shed in slavery.
3. Roasted egg # another symbol of spring
4. Shank Bone # The lamb was offered as a sacrifice and then eaten on the night of Passover before the Israelites left Egypt.
5. Bitter herbs # Horseradish to reflect the bitterness of slavery

At the table there are also 4 glasses of wine (we do use red grape juice for our children). 4 of the glasses are shared by all at different stages in the meal. Each cup also represents an aspect of the walk from Slavery to Freedom:

1st cup # Freedom
2nd cup # Deliverance
3rd cup # Redemption
4th cup # Release
5th cup # Elijah's cup # set side for the prophet Elijah

There are other traditions that we have added each year as we have gotten more familiar with the Passover Night format but when we started we kept it simple. This is what we did...

After we have read the Passover story to our children we go through the meaning of the items on the Seder plate. We then break bread together as a family and if we have guests they are included.

Then we read to our children about how Jesus was our lamb, slain for our sins. We read to them from an age appropriate Bible the story of the last supper, the crucifixion and resurrection.

We normally also do the Jelly bean bag exercise which you can find on the Easter activity page

Our little children enjoy dancing and singing afterwards like Miriam and the other woman did when they had crossed the Red Sea. Here is an east tambourine craft for your children.

Tambourine craft

You will need two paper plates, dry beans or rice, khokis, stapler and paper ribbons.

Turn your two paper plates, right side together and staple them on the edge, including lengths of ribbon around the edge. Leave a gap big enough to feed your bean or rice into. Once the beans/rice are in, staple it closed. Allow your children to decorate the outsides and their tambourine is finished.

Take a look at my celebrate Passover Coloring Pages

Check out this poem "A Time To Believe"

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