Passover is a special holiday for Jewish families. It is a celebration of freedom. It commemorates the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt. ​

​The traditional meal and celebration of Passover is called a seder. It is a meaningful experience for people of all ages. There are stories and special foods. There is even a game of hide and seek!​

​There are 15 different activities in a Passover seder. They can be divided into five parts. The first part is lighting candles. Passover begins at sunset with candles and blessings. ​

​Next, the family celebrating Passover recites the order of the seder activities. Like the program at a play, this list lets everyone know what to expect. After the list, the longest part of the seder begins. ​

​In this part of the seder, the family tells the Passover story. Part of the telling includes asking and answering questions. It’s the children’s job to ask the questions. Some families give children treats when they ask the questions. Other families have the children act out the Passover story as part of their seder.​

​During the next part of the seder, the family eats a festive meal. To start the meal, they have symbolic foods like hard boiled eggs and onions. ​

​The fifth part of the seder includes singing and games. Families celebrate freedom with interactive activities. A favorite activity is finding the afikomen.​

​Hide and seek with the afikomen starts with three matzah crackers that are stacked in the middle of the seder table. Earlier in the seder, the family broke the middle matzah into two pieces. The larger piece is called the afikomen.

The afikomen is wrapped. This symbolizes carrying dough out of Egypt. Once it’s wrapped, the afikomen is hidden. Then, at the end of the seder, the children search and find it. Happy Passover!