What holiday is this?

Deck the halls with rolls of tin foil (oy yoy yoy yoy yoy oy yoy yoy yoy)

Once a year we celebrate a time to get the whole family together. A time where extended family comes together from all parts of the world to spend one special night together.

Kids get 2+ weeks off school and spend every single minute of that time telling you they are bored then complaining when you give them something to do. Every tourist attraction in the country is trying to get you to come visit- but who has time for any of that?

Money is spent decorating the home with shiny things to make it holiday ready (that will be thrown out a week later). We pull out pots and pans and dishes that are only used for this special time of year. For weeks leading up to the holiday season we clean like maniacs trying to make sure not a single crumb is out of place for that special night before finally, the morning before, throwing up our hands and saying "That's it! I have done all I can do! Anything still here is just not my problem!" Cooking special foods and strange combination we would never even think of any other time of year.

We get ready on the eve of the holiday- Everyone is wearing new, seasonal clothing. We make sure our families are pressed (if not necessarily starched) to within an inch of their lives. Care is taken to make sure children nap so they can be shown off at later points in the evening.

The big night finally comes. Everyone sits around the table with the soft candlelight bringing an warmth to the festivities. There are things to keep the children occupied so the adults can converse (while stopping regularly to find out what the children have learned in school- the children take special pride in doing so and spend an inordinate amount of time singing songs they learned in class). At midnight one finds themselves eating wafers and drinking wine while singing in a foreign language.

Finally, the night omes to a close with an old guy with a big beard going house to house to visit anyone who puts out a drink for him.





Of course I am talking about pessach. What else could it be?
Thank you Meyer for the thought behind this post