Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt, begins this evening. During the first two nights of the weeklong holiday, Jewish households host family members and friends for the Seder, in which participants read the Hagaddah, drink wine, reenact the 10 plaques and finally, finally eat.
Entrepreneurs have sensed the business opportunity in Passover, the most widely celebrated holiday in the Jewish calendar. Americans spent $1.3 billion on Passover food, gifts and other goods last year, Menachem Lubinsky, the head of marketing consultancy Lubicom, told The New York Times.
In that article, the Times points out some of the wonderfully odd items created to make Passover a bit more fun. Here, we highlight seven (mostly available on Amazon).
How do you engage kids with the story of the Jews' escape from Egypt? Throw in Harry Potter, of course. From the description on
Amazon: "From the concepts of slavery and freedom, to the focus on education, to the number four, Harry Potter and Passover share almost everything. This book is the perfect companion for young and old at the Seder table."
Rite Lite's
Seder Slides looks like a version of Chutes and Ladders -- with a Passover twist, of course. It looks like
matzah fun for the whole family.
Also from Rite Lite, this, ahem,
matzah stress ball, may be the perfect gag gift for the host of the Seder.
Let my people ...
punch Pharaoh? This one falls between fun for kids and stress relief for adults. An all-around winner.
Kadesh, Maror -- bingo! Give the kids and impatient adults at your Seder table something to do while waiting to eat with
Passover Seder Bingo.
If you're going to insist on wearing a
holiday shirt, it might as well have a funny yet infuriating pun on it. Karpas, by the way, is the Passover ritual of eating a vegetable dipped in liquid, typically salt water.
What else can I say about this? If you really
love matzah, and have an iPhone,
go for it. At least you may have some fun hiding your phone in plain sight.
