Passover is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays around the world. It commemorates the biblical story of Exodus, when Hebrew slaves were slaves to the Pharoah and Moses saved them from bondage in Egypt. The holiday is also called "pesach" (pay-sak) in Hebrew and the English version or translation is Passover. To most jews it is a celebration of freedom.
One of the biggest traditions of the holiday is that jews do not eat leavened bread during the holiday. They eat an unleavened bread called Matzah. It is a flat, cracker like bread and jews eat it for the entire 8 days of Passover. Matzah is the symbol of the Exodus, a central component of the Passover rituals, and the heart of the "Festival of Matzot" (as Passover is also called).
Another Tradition of the holiday is that for the first two nights of Passover, Jews invite their family and friends to a BIG dinner that is called a Seder. They read a book called the Hagaddah at the Seder which includes stories, songs and discussions on the Exodus from Egypt. They eat specialized foods that are used as symbolism in the story of the Exodus.
The symbolic food is placed on what is called a Seder Plate, so it is always visble during the entire Seder. As the Seder happens participants sample different symbolic food and each item on the Seder Plate is pointed out and its significance is discussed.
