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What are Your Family’s Special Pesach Minhagim?

My father makes us keep our shoes on the whole Seder (no slippers allowed) so we should be ready to go to Yerushalayim as soon as Moshiach arrives.  Sarala S.

During Maggid we each get a chance to hold the afikoman on our shoulder, symbolizing the riches we took out of Mitzrayim. Eitan Jacobs

We don’t incorporate anything with garlic in our Pesach cooking; this includes even garlic flavored snacks. This is done because many years ago it was cultivated next to wheat. Today, of course it is not, but we still refrain from eating garlic because it is our family mesorah. Fraidy Firestone

At the Seder, after we split the afikoman by Yachatz, each person has a chance to hold the afikoman and is asked in Arabic: Where are you coming from? Where are you going?
What do you have to eat?  S.S.

I married into a Lubavitch family and they take Pesach very seriously. I was shocked to find out that they make everything from scratch, including mayonnaise, orange and apple juice and ketchup.  We don’t, but my in -laws don’t use oil, only schmaltz, so they are fleishig for the entire duration of the chag!  Dassie Lipshitz

I am Ashkenazi so I don’t have this custom, but I heard that Afghan Jews go around the table and  whip each other with scallions to recreate the act of the Mitzriyim hitting the Jews. Sounds like fun and a good way to stay awake!   Pinchos Unger

In Moroccon households, the head of the house circles the table three times while holding the  Seder plate. He then blesses everyone by tapping the head of each guest with the plate. Zohar  Edery

In the Syrian community, during Yachatz  we try to crack the matzah into a  daled and vav shapes since they add up to 10, representing the 10 holy names of Hashem.  Yocheved Chemtov

In our family, during Ma Nishtana all the single girls present  take the kearah out of the room; they say it’s a segulah to get married that year. Also, if someone is expecting, they announce it at the Seder. Devorah W.

My grandparents are Hungarian and they have a custom to put all their jewelry  on the Seder table because when the Yidden left they had all the gold and silver of the Mitzriyim.  Joseph FeketeWe started our own family minhagim as a way to keep the kids interested in the Seder. We do cutesy stuff like drop red food coloring in cups of water to mimic the maka of blood and  also give out jellyfish candies to resemble the dead fish.  R. Spira