What You Need to Know About Passover (and How to Celebrate in Champaign-Urbana)

PASSOVER IN CHAMPAIGN-URBANA: Where to Shop and Where to Find a Seder 

Passover is perhaps one of the most significant holidays on the Jewish calendar — and perhaps one of the most widely celebrated. It celebrates history, tradition, and values — and most of all, the importance of freedom.

“We come together with friends and family to celebrate the great lessons of the story: the blessing of freedom and the reminder that since we were once slaves and were freed, it is our responsibility to work for freedom for all people, everywhere.” – ReformJudaism.org

This year Passover starts the night of Saturday, April 12, with the first seder, a  dinner where Jews gather with family and friends for prayers, rituals, readings, and songs that recalls the story of the exodus from Egypt. A book called a Haggadah helps us retell the events of the Exodus, so that each generation may learn and remember this story that is so central to Jewish life and history.

Yes, the date changes every year! 2025 is one of those years when Easter is actually much later than Passover. (Both the Eastern and Western churches will hold Easter on the same day this year — April 20 — a joint celebration that doesn’t happen often.)

Below we’ve put together a very short “cheat sheet” about Passover — five things you should know about this very significant holiday on the Jewish calendar — and how to celebrate in Champaign-Urbana:

• Passover is the festival of unleavened bread (which you can buy in boxes now, no need to get stuck in the desert).
  • The eight-day festival recognizes the freeing of the Jewish people, the Israelites, from slavery in Ancient Egypt.
  • This is the story very famously told in the Book of Exodus, found in the Old Testament.
  • Many American Jews avoid bread and grain products (leaven) to one extent or another throughout the eight-day holiday, in memory of the fact that our ancestors left Egypt in a hurry and didn’t have time to wait for their bread to rise.
  • Traditional observance includes removing all leavened foods from your home.
• Passover is one of the MOST significant Jewish holidays in terms of importance both religiously, as well as in terms of observance.
  • Let’s face it, Jews celebrate A LOT of holidays; we typically write about Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah to name a couple favorites. (We like to party.)
  • Passover is one of the main holidays where Jews, no matter their religiosity or level of observance, typically mark in some way.
  • The Passover celebration mainly happens outside of the synagogue, and it is very rooted in family and community — and food.
• The holiday’s festive meals, celebrated on the holiday’s first two nights, are called seders (say-durs).
  • Seder means order, and it includes a service and rituals which retell the story of the Jews fleeing slavery in Egypt.
  • A book called The Haggadah (meaning “the telling”) explains the foods on the seder plate, recounts the highlights of the Exodus, and includes songs and prayers.
  • The seder also includes an actual meal, one with special foods; dishes cannot contain any flour or grain (wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats).
  • The seder is often called the most celebrated and beloved of Jewish home rituals.

• There are many ritual items associated with Passover.
  • Perhaps the most significant of ritual items is a seder plate, which features the symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover seder.
  • Others include boxes that hold the matzah, special goblets that hold wine and water, and covers for the matzah.
  • The symbolic foods include parsley; horseradish; a roasted egg; lettuce; and a delicious blend of apples, nuts and sweet wine called charoset (ha-row-set).
• Passover preparations can be credited as the origination of spring cleaning.
  • Traditionally Jews prepare for Passover by removing all leavened bread or “chametz” from their homes.  (My family puts ours in the garage or the basement; some actually “sell” it, as the tradition goes, for a penny. Everyone does this differently.) Locally, Illini Hillel will buy chametz.
  • One tradition is to “hunt for chametz” by candlelight (now flashlight in our house) on the evening before the holiday begins. That’s pretty fun for the kids.
  • Another ritual ceremony: the burning of the chametz. We typically burn a bit of bread in the fireplace.

Tips on celebrating and preparing for Passover in Champaign-Urbana

There’s so much to consider when preparing for the holiday: where to buy Passover food in Champaign-Urbana? How do I find ritual items, such as a seder plate, to put on my Passover seder table? And my favorite — where to go for a seder when you don’t want to make one? We’re here to help!

Where to buy Passover seder supplies (non-perishable variety):

The best local resource for seder supplies is the Sinai Temple Gift Shop Passover Showcase. Items for sale include: seder plates, haggadot (the books used during the seder service), matzo boxes, hostess gifts, and lots of fun stuff for kids. Some items are practical; others are downright silly. Matzah print oven mitts? You got it. Mark your calendars for the Passover Showcase on Sunday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  — in the synagogue, located on West Windsor Road in Champaign. Anyone is welcome to shop.

Some locals might go to Jewish neighborhoods in the Chicago area to buy extensive Passover goods, but thankfully, there are options in Champaign-Urbana to get the basics. Several grocery stores in Champaign-Urbana have the bare necessities for Passover, such as kosher-for-Passover matzah, gefilte fish, and macaroons (not to be confused with macarons).

We typically find Passover foods locally at the Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy Schnucks (this year, Savoy has the largest selection). Other grocery stores that typically have some Passover foods include both Meijer locations, Harvest Market in Champaign, and Common Ground Food Co-Op in Urbana.

But don’t wait — when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Where to attend a seder in Champaign-Urbana

Don’t want to make your own seder? There are several options for communal seders at multiple Champaign locations. Register early, seating may be limited.

Seders, Passover Meals and more at Illini Hillel’s Cohen Center:
There will be a variety of  seders at Illini Hillel this year — interactive, traditional, and more. Community members as well as students are invited to participate in seders and meals. There are offerings on both nights, April 12 and 13. Weekday Passover meals (lunch and dinner) will be available for a fee (and they are really delicious, we speak from experience). No one will be turned away from seders or meals due to inability to pay. Meals can be booked online at the link above. Register by April 2.

Seders, Passover Meals and more at Illini Chabad:
Illini Chabad offers one large, communal seder on the first and second night of Passover. Illini Chabad also offers Passover lunches and dinners for a fee. See the link above for information and to register when info is available.

Do you have questions about Passover, seders, or anything else Jewish holiday in Champaign-Urbana? Contact our mom-in-chief, Laura (laura@chambanamoms.com).