Passover, the Jewish festival in celebration of the Jews'
freedom from slavery and flight from Egypt, begins this year on
March 29 at sundown. Although traditions vary throughout the
world, the basics are as follows: The holiday lasts a total of
seven or eight days (depending on where it's being celebrated),
and the first night of Passover begins with a ceremonial dinner,
called a Seder, where the story of the exodus is told. The food
and wine customs of a given Seder are elaborate, and differ
between regions and families, but some factors remain constant.
- Each participant in the Seder drinks four cups of wine
throughout the evening, at fixed points, for the four promises
of redemption associated with the exodus story. - The major
dietary restriction during the week of Passover is the ban of
leavened bread, or chometz. Chometz is as bread made from
(wheat, oat, spelt, rye, or barley) flour that has been in
contact with water for more than 18 minutes and therefore had a
chance to rise. Before Passover, the h