Passover is a Jewish holiday which celebrates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt as slaves into freedom. It is a very family-centered holiday as it is about a retelling of the story of the Exodus year after year and passing traditions and oral history down to the younger generations. The Passover Seder is a way to celebrate this freedom;

Passover is a time of thanksgiving and celebrating Jewish faith and identity. As a way of celebrating Passover, families have large feasts of foods and celebrate freedom, family, and their Jewish heritage. However, a Passover Seder is not a Passover Seder without the traditional Passover Seder plate. On each Seder plate is placed six items which symbolize the retelling of the story of the Exodus. Often times people use real items (such as fresh parsley, horseradish root, etc.) on the Seder plate, but sometimes life moves too fast and finding all the items for the plate can get down to the wire. In some families children draw the items on a paper plate, but even paper plates can get worn and tired. In this craft, you can make a felt Seder plate which will last for years! It’s a perfect project to get all the children in the family involved with (each child can even make their own!) because you can learn about the significance of each item as they cut, glue, and create!
What you need to make the Oy Ge-Felt! Seder Plate:
Felt:
1 Grey piece (for the Seder plate)
1 Green piece (for the Parsley, lettuce, and green apple)
1 White piece (for the shank bone and/or egg)
1 Tan piece (for the egg and/or horseradish root)
1 Dark red piece (for the wine)
1 Brown piece (for the horseradish root and the walnuts)
Hot glue or fabric glue
Scissors
A traditional Seder plate goes clockwise: Maror (at the 12 spot), Zeroa, Charoset, Chazeret (at the 6), Karpas, Beitzah (As you can see in my version, I didn’t realize that there was a traditional Seder plate set-up because my family throws the food on the Seder plate and plate on the table and Seder time!)
(1) Maror: Bitter herbs such as horseradish root (the herb in my version). The maror symbolizes the bitter life that the Israelites had during their time in Egypt before they got their freedom.
(2) Zeroa: Shank bone or roasted neck bone of poultry. Zeroa symbolizes the “mighty arm of God” and it can also symbolize Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in Temple days.
(3) Charoset: A mixture of green apples, red wine, spices, and walnuts. Charoset is supposed to symbolize the mortar the Jewish slaves made to use on buildings for the Egyptians while they were still enslaved.
(4) Chazeret: Bitter vegetable, can be lettuce (the vegetable in my version) or celery. Also supposed to represent the bitter times in Egypt.
(5) Karpas: A vegetable, potato or parsley is generally used (I used parsley in my version). This vegetable is dipped in salt water to represent the tears of the Israelites. The custom of serving vegetable dates back to early Jerusalem when it was common to begin a formal meal by passing around vegetables as an appetizer.
(6) Beitzah is a hard boiled egg. The egg a symbol of mourning for the loss of the two Temples (the first was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.). Sacrifices could no longer be offered because the Temples were destroyed. The egg symbolizes loss and has become the traditional food of mourners.
* The seventh symbolic item used during the meal, a stack of three matzos, is placed on its own plate on the Seder table.
Making each item is easy and fun! Let children interpret the items and make their own Seder plates for the family to use. Just be careful with the hot glue gun and scissors! You can reuse your felt Seder plate over and over again!