In Morocco they also started cleaning a long time before Passover, and everyone participated in the spring cleaning, which included painting the house and opening the mattresses – wool mattresses, laundering the wool and airing it, and sewing up the mattress again.
 

One week before Passover all the children of the family, together with their parents of course, were busy with preparing the rich matza for Passover. The utensils for preparation of the matza went from house to house, when eventually the longed for day arrived, we were worn out and tired, but happy.

 

Seder Night started with the words “We left Egypt quickly” and the big Seder plate passed over each head three times. We, the little ones, crowded underneath it, so that heaven forbid we would not miss it passing over us.
 

Most of the ceremony of Seder Night we sung. There were regular tunes and between each section my father of blessed memory translated the sections into Arabic (this custom continued in Israel even though we no longer needed the translation). When we reached the part “go forth and multiply” father would hit the camomile plant on the heads of the girls. We liked that part and waited for it.

 

There is no need to mention that the food with the Sephardim at Passover is the absolute best, Yadiya happened to be with us one Passover at my parents. We ate pulses and rich matza.

 

On the way back to Kibbutz Lavi I said to Yadiya not to tell my uncle what we had eaten. When we went into the house he shouted “Father, we ate hametz at Grandma’s house”.