It’s hard to believe that the holiday of Passover is soon approaching.

Food-wise, I will admit that Passover is not one of my favorite holidays. The novelty of not eating any bread or leavened items wears off very quickly for me each year.

But when it comes to what the rest of the holiday brings, I actually look forward to Passover.
As the youngest of four children, Passover was always a busy time in our home when I was growing up.

But despite the hard work, once we all sat down together as a family, all of that seemed long-forgotten.

Our Passover seders have changed a lot over the years. My childhood home has long been sold. We’ve lost my father, grandparents and aunts and uncles who used to grace our table. But what hasn’t changed are the traditions we continue to practice each year at our seders–traditions that are now second nature even to the youngest generation at our dinners.

Last year when my niece, Rachel, recited The Four Questions (a tradition in which the youngest attendee of the seder asks four questions about the meaning behind certain Passover rituals) it reminded me of when I was in her shoes. It seemed like just yesterday, while at the same time felt as though it was a million years ago.

And I realized that although there are important people now missing from our Passover table, that table is far from empty. I looked around and saw my mother, my husband, my siblings, my nieces and nephews and I thought “this is what it’s all about”–traditions that started generations ago and are still being passed along. That is how people live forever.

These stories and traditions we repeat each year are a testament of the fond memories we have, and what they mean to each of us. They are a way to keep the people we miss alive in our hearts, and by passing them along to the younger generations, they stay alive forever. These traditions didn’t start with my parents or even with my grandparents. Yet they were passed along to my parents, who passed them along to us, and we will continue to pass them down for generations to come. And throughout the years, we’ve created a few of new traditions of our own.

I hope that all of you have traditions passed from generation to generation within your families. If not, it’s never too late to start.