There’s a lot to celebrate this Spring from nice weather to classes ending. As a collegiette, it’s easy to skip over some important traditional holidays while at school. Here are our tips on how to celebrate Passover and Easter at Bentley this Spring!
Passover
Passover is the eight-day long Jewish holiday celebrated in early spring that commemorates the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It’s a holiday largely based on being with family and can be hard to keep up with on campus. During Passover, Jews cannot eat anything that rises when cooked, which includes bread, pasta, oats, corn and sometimes even rice. This, as you can imagine, severely limits pretty much all Seasons options!
For all you Jewish collegiettes (and anyone who’s just curious!), I’ve put together some tips on the best ways to survive Passover at Bentley:
- Attend Bentley Hillel’s Passover Seder in the Sacred Space on Monday April 9th. There’s sure to be awesome food and a fun way to have a substitute Jewish family while at school!
- If you’re eating in Seasons, DO NOT eat the Gefilte fish! It is absolutely inedible (please take it from my terrible experience). Instead, head to the pizza bar and ask the kind Sodexo lady to make you a Matzo Pizza. You’ll thank me for it. If you have an apartment, make one on your own!
- Head to the local Shaws and stock up on some treats at the Kosher for Passover isle. There, you’ll find all kinds of Matzo, crackers, and pretty delicious Passover candy!
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Be adventurous with your meal choices! Hillel President Josh Sukonnik is no where near a fan of
Matzo. “I suggest an Egg & Onion Matzos with turkey and hot sauce sandwich. Lots of HOT SAUCE!” Josh also says to stock up on Manischewitz Tam Tam crackers and dip them into anything (I prefer cream cheese or hummus… yum!). - Relive your Jewish childhood memories and watch the Rugrats Passover Special! As one of my favorite Passover traditions, I watch this movie at least twice during the week. And, it’s a great way to explain to your friends what this whole “no eating bread” thing is about!
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Easter Sunday
According to the Christian faith, Easter Sunday is a celebration of the day Jesus Christ was resurrected, or rose from the dead. It is also the last day of Lent; a forty day period of fasting, repentance and prayer that starts on Ash Wednesday. The last week of Lent is known as the holy week, and that Friday, known as Good Friday is acknowledged as the day Jesus was crucified on the cross. And the following Sunday after Good Friday is always Easter Sunday, so the date varies year to year.
Now although is this one of the most religious holidays on the Christian calendar, here are a few fun ideas on how to get through Easter if you’re not going home:
- Go to mass. My family is very religious and every Easter we attend mass, so I recommend trying something new. On Trapelo Road there is a very nice catholic church called Our Lady’s and they are having mass on Easter a 9am and 11am.
- Have dinner with the people you care about. Now my family is extremely Italian so my Nonna always makes Lasagna with her homemade sauce. Other people have ham with many assorted vegetables. Whatever meal you choose to make, spend it with friends because Easter is a time of togetherness.
- Have an Easter Egg hunt! The Easter bunny is the symbol for Easter so why not be a kid for the day? Hard boil a bunch of eggs, have a friend hide them around campus (with a map of course) and go find them!
- Do an Easter basket swap with your roommates! Sure you’re not five anymore but everybody loves presents. Buy a basket, a bunch of candy and some festive decorations like plastic eggs and a stuffed animal bunny. Do sort of a “Secret Santa” thing but have it be a Secret Bunny!
What are your favorite ways to celebrate Passover or Easter (or both!)? Tell us below!
Image Sources:
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/bethgreenfield/files/2011/04/PassoverSeder.jpg
http://levinejudaica.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=1893&osCsid=d0208bd09ce1e07500d78963c7f3fac2
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/clairev/clairev1103/clairev110300002/8976750-cartoon-bunny-holding-easter-egg–vector-illustration.jpg
http://fatgirlusa.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/easter-dinner.jpg