Celebrate the beauty and meaning of this important holiday.
Passover and Spring are soon approaching…a festive and fresh time to prepare and try new arts and crafts ideas to do together! Families typically gather together during this holiday and it is a special time in Jewish homes and also a great opportunity to create holiday bonding art together.
Jewish tradition tells us that the most important part of this holiday is the children themselves! Children are encouraged to ask questions about the story of Passover at the seder and many even get the special role of reciting a part of the historic story and the traditions of this holiday are important, the most important part of all is the children’s participation and enjoyment of it. Our children and grandchildren will carry these traditions on, therefore it is very important to engage young children in the process of preparing for, learning about and celebrating Passover. So, what better way to do this than through fun, hands-on Passover art activities, which also had the benefits of self-care!
Try adding these activities to your own celebration of the holiday to learn about the holiday itself that will have your children exploring, engage in sensory play, storytelling, literacy, art and even some practical life skills. Passover is a holiday rich in ritual objects, and these items can be found in many Jewish homes, some even handmade, collected from special places and passed on from generation to generation.
One of the most special ways to connect young children with these special materials is to engage them in making their own! The best part is that they can be shared at a family seder, used in play or displayed for family and guests to see. There are endless creative possibilities, but here are a few ideas (for all ages) to get you started.
Make your own Seder plate or Kiddush cup, wine goblet, or Elijah/Miriam’s cup:
Every seder table has a seder plate and kiddish cups! Symbols of hope and redemption during Passover. Representing the journey from slavery to freedom. Here are a couple of ideas you might try which are easy and fun and can be replicated each year or be lovely special keepsakes to use, always:
All you need is; a ceramic plate for the Seder plate or a wine glass/goblet/shot glass, and enamel (multi-media paint), which both can be obtained at most craft stores. There are four cups of grape juice/wine consumed during the course of the seder and each guest needs their very own kiddush cup! You can paint traditional symbols, Hebrew sayings, or any designs you’d like!
After you paint your item, it can be baked in the oven (see directions on paint bottle) to seal it and enjoy using it at the family Seder together this year or as a cherished gift for a loved one.
Note: there is a simpler version to making an arts and crafts Seder plates and glasses by just using basic materials around the house. For the plate, you will need; a paper plate, markers/crayons/colored pencils, glue stick, magazine cut-outs or printed pictures (which can be obtained online) of seder plate foods for the younger children to look at and/or glue on for the 5 or 6 items on their seder plates, each of which has symbolic meaning to the story. They can also of course draw and color these items instead of cutting and gluing images.
Children can make these seder plates and cups as beautiful and ornate as they’d like and can draw their own decorative designs or even add some stickers, embellishments, tissue paper, permanent marker and small craft items to glue on. There are also many free printable Seder plate coloring sheets which can be found online and printed, which can also be used as reference or for pictures of the seder plate foods to color and glue.
Make your own matzah cover/afikoman bag:
This is one of my favorite activities which can be handed down over generation! A part of the Seder is covering the table and matzah in beautiful and ornate wraps. This is an opportunity to make your own decorative fabric garment to cover the matzah using using a white cloth napkin or a square of white fabric/felt. You can write the word “Matzah,” or a prayer, or meaningful family message on it in English or even Hebrew if you wish. These covers can be decorated using fabric markers or fabric paints, and even permanent sharpies wound work, as well as gluing on small craft items or even tie-dyeing them! The same can be done if you choose to make an afikoman bag for half of the piece of matzah which is hidden during the Seder. This can be done with a small pillow case or with fabrics, which can be sewed or folded in half, leaving the top open like an envelope. The afikoman bag can also be made from construction paper if you do not have fabric on hand, which allows the little kids to use crafty decorative items as listed above.
A final wonderful and easy activity to do together for all ages is Painting Symbolic Passover/Jewish art: As a family you can first discuss/teach or read about the meaningful traditional symbols that depict the history of Passover and its stories. Then you can all draw and paint what comes to mind by using anything on hand, whether it be canvas and acrylic paints, watercolors with paper, or even crayons and markers. This is a great fun and creative way for children to learn about Judaism and the holiday and artwork to hang up and enjoy this Spring season!
We hope you enjoy these creative ideas and try these special, creative, fun, bonding, and joyful ways to celebrate the Passover seder as a family and gathering with loved ones…making memories and the passing down and retelling of stories related to the Jewish holiday and family traditions and looking towards the bright colorful future together. Happy Passover with Love and best wishes in great health and happiness to you all!
DIANA SHABTAI, “MISS DEE” PYY.D, ATR-BC is a board certified art therapist who obtained a masters degree in clinical art therapy, ma in marriage & family therapy & a doctorate degree in MFT. She is passionate advocate for bringing awareness to the therapeutic benefits of art. Experience studying, working, & educating in the field of psychology & the therapeutic arts for nearly 20 years. she is a contributing writer to Jlife magazine.
