Preparing for the Seder Meal Checklist

Passover is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Jewish faith, so it's customary to dress up the table with an elegant tablecloth and cloth napkins.

Scatter candles throughout the room and on the table for a warm glow.

Whether you choose formal china or everyday dishware, don't forget to keep kosher for the Seder.

Put two glasses, one for water and one for wine, at each place setting.

Fill an additional wine glass and place it in the center of the table for Elijah, a prophet who is thought to visit each Seder dinner.

Set the Seder plate, filled with foods that symbolize the story of the Exodus, near the Seder leader's place at the table. Arrange five items on the plate: a hard-boiled egg; a roasted shank bone; a spring vegetable such as parsley, called karpas; a mixture of fruit, wine, and nuts, called charoset; and either prepared or fresh horseradish, called maror. Some Jews include a sixth item called chazeret, often represented by lettuce.

Provide each guest with a small dish of salt water to dip their greens into.

To make things more convenient for guests, you can also set small dishes containing each item next to every place setting

Put three pieces of matzah on a plate, cover with a cloth or napkin, and place underneath or near the Seder plate.

Make sure there is enough wine on the table for each guest to have four glasses, an amount that symbolizes the four stages of the Exodus. Substitute grape juice for the children and the teetotalers of the group.

Lay a copy of the Haggadah, a prayer book that explains the story of the Israelites' slavery in Egypt, on top of each guest's appetizer plate, under the napkin.

Place a small basin filled with warm water and a towel on the table for two hand-washing rituals that occur during the meal.

It's traditional for each guest to recline on a pillow during the ceremony to symbolize the comfort of freedom.