20 Passover Traditions You’ve Never Heard Of

In the spirit of Passover, enjoy learning 20 different customs practiced by Jews the world over and the countries in which they originated. Happy Passover!

A Yemenite Family celebrates Passover together.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

 

Iran-Persia-Afghanistan

1. Iranian Jews (also called Persian Jews) lightly swing scallions at each other to represent the Jewish slaves who were whipped by the Egyptian taskmasters. Jews in Afghanistan observed this custom too, but they have all since left the country.

2. Iranian Jews spill the 10 Plagues wine in a Ziploc bag and discard outside the home because this part of the seder is felt very intensely. Some Sephardim don’t even look at the seder table at this time. However, Syrian Jews don’t feel that way and pour all their excess wine from the 10 Plagues into a goblet that is given to a single woman who wants to find a spouse (symbolizing hope and good mazel).

 

Gibraltar

3. Jews who were raised in Gibraltar, Spain add real brick dust to their charoset mixture of wine, apples, and nuts to not just symbolize the mortar used but to include real mortar.

 

Morocco

4. Moroccan Jews wear beautiful, embroidered garbs to the seder called kaftans and gelabas. At the start of the seder, the head of household holds his seder plate and walks it around the room, passing it over people’s heads, quoting from the Haggadah that the Jews left Egypt in a hurry.

6. Moroccans celebrate the end of Passover with a feast of baked delicacies and visit each other’s homes to celebrate and give out blessings.

7. They throw pebbles in the ocean to protect their loved ones from evil spirits.

8. In Marrakesh, the Jews cook with the wine from Elijah’s cup.

9. In Spain, Morocco, Turkey, and Tunisia, the seder leader taps people on their heads with the seder plate.

10. Moroccan Jews and certain Ashkenazi Chassidim wear white to show joy, and act out the story of Passover.

 

Bucharia

11. Bucharian Jews aren’t Sephardic in the traditional sense. However, they eat rice but not peas, corn, or cabbage.

12. They serve Oshi Masozgoshak, a soup made of matzah, eggs, and meat.

13. During the song “Ha Lachma Anya,” they pass around a piece of matzah and take turns singing different verses.

 

Hungary

14. Hungarian Jews put out gold and silver jewelry on the table.

 

Yemen

15. Jews sit on cushions on the floor, using a slab of wood as a table.

16. The matzah they eat is soft like pita. The head of the household recites Hallel while the women roll and knead the dough. They bake it in a taboon, a circle with wood in the middle that they would light on fire, which heats the metal ring surrounding it (they bake the matzah on the metal ring).

17. While reading the Haggadah, the Jews in Yemen reenact the Passover story; one of the participants walks around the table with a sack on his back, as if he just left Egypt.

18. They make their own wine and a special alcohol called “arak”, which is made from dates and honey.

19. Many families raised a kid goat and slaughtered it on the eve of Passover as a symbol for the Paschal sacrifice.

 

Mexico

20. Ashkenazi Mexican Jews eat a version of gefilte fish mixed with a Mexican sauce called “a la veracruzana.” Basically, they are made of small gefilte fish balls that are placed in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions.

 

Please share these traditions with your family and friends. Educate your kids about different Jewish customs, and show them what Passover is like for other Jewish communities.