Hosting a Virtual Passover (or Easter) Dinner

Whether you celebrate Passover or Easter or both, the spring holidays usually involve a family dinner. Social distancing really threw a rotten egg in our plans this year, and we had to make some accommodations. But in the end, a virtual passover dinner ended up being the best, stress free, decision we made!

Thanks to the COVID-19 global pandemic, our plans to host a community Passover event for our church friends didn’t happen. We didn’t rent a venue, cook obscene amounts of food, prep out a hundred individual seder plates, or print out mini haggadah books. And that’s okay. Even though our plans didn’t go as anticipated, we were flexible and a virtual Passover dinner actually ended up being a dinner for the history books.

Though we chose to host a virtual passover dinner, the same concepts could be applied to an Easter dinner. No matter which holiday you celebrate, a shelter in place mandate shouldn’t keep you from celebrating with family. At least with a screen between ya.

There are five main siblings in Jonathan’s family (it’s complicated, what family isn’t?) and they all hadn’t been together for a Passover Seder in their adult lives. With siblings all over the world, literally, travel is difficult in good years. A global travel ban and in-home lockdown meant this year wasn’t the year to try again. But, thanks to technology, four of the five siblings and their respective partners, attended this year’s Passover Seder.

Though their parents planned the virtual event, Jonathan ended up facilitating the readings. Thankfully, we had already anticipated a small get-together for our trio, and had prepared the materials. His mother lit the Shabbat candles, and his sister chanted a blessing. When it came time to read, one of his brothers read a passage. Sassy, eager to help as well, participated during the ten plagues and waved her diy plague sticks. Although we didn’t, I feel like we should have made a coronavirus plague on a stick as well.

Perks of Hosting a Virtual Passover (and Tips!):

• Include People who Couldn’t Travel. Before the pandemic, we weren’t traveling to New York for Passover with my in-laws. During the pandemic, we aren’t traveling at all. Opting for a virtual passover dinner actually expanded the guest list from what it would have been otherwise. Use it as an opportunity to invite people who may not have been able to attend in person.
• Less Food to Prepare. Passover dinner is usually huge. There’s a brisket, multiple sides, and a dessert table. Sure, sometimes it’s a pot luck, but the host still ends up cooking a lot. Not with a virtual passover! Instead, each family is only responsible for their respective meals.
• Shorter Timeframe. Most of the time, Passover will include a break midway to eat dinner. With a virtual passover, you can skip that break and jump straight to the next Cup. We were able to finish our event in about one hour!
• Less Mess to Clean Up. This is obvious. Without extra people in your house, there’s less cleaning beforehand (hide the clutter out of sight of the camera) and after. Plus, less dishes. And, though it won’t get it’s own bullet point, there’s also nothing stopping you from showing up in your pajamas. Less laundry is nice, too.
• Choose your Platform, and Device. There are multiple video conferencing platforms available. Although Zoom has more functions for the host, like the ability to mute participants or share screen, it also limits the duration of free meetings. Skype, although it has less perks, doesn’t limit the length. Look into the platform that will best fit your need. Also, choose a device that will hold a battery for the full hour (or two), and decide where it will be propped. Don’t use your phone if you’re prone to receive calls, or if it cannot be propped while charging.
• Send a Copy of the Haggadah in Advance. We have a short “order of events” in ours, since we tend to invite first timers. Generally speaking, if guests have a copy of the readings they are more likely to stay engaged. Also, they can read some of the passages.
• Flexible with Elements. My sister-in-law and her husband used Nutella instead of haroset, so if that’s not flexibility I don’t know what is. Generally, the Seder plate is strict. Though we have subbed celery for parsley, and this year used spinach, it’s almost always still a bitter herb. Tradition says so. But this year, grocery trips were quicker, and supplies were low. So we made adjustments. Applesauce with a splash of wine is a better substitution for haroset, but if you’ve only got Nutella then go for it. I printed, then colored and laminated, a printout of the Seder Plate and everything on it. This will be useful in future years as well. She didn’t even partake in the edible elements, and held up her token instead.
• Lunch Instead of Dinner. Our main reason for choosing a Passover lunch instead of dinner was the time difference between siblings. Though most of us live on the East Coast (New York, Virginia, North and South Carolinas), we wanted to accommodate the sibling in Italy as well. But other than that, a midday event also gave us adequate time to prepare without losing the rest of our day. Choose a time that works for you!

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