As soon as Purim was over (and even before), we started preparing for Pesach… that is 30 days of cleaning, scraping, washing and generally getting the house Chametz-free. (Too bad technology doesn’t yet take care of it :).
The kids participated in this effort and cleared their own desks and schoolbags of all leftover sweets and candies. This grand Pesach cleaning was the occasion to get rid not only of the chametz, but of all the useless stuff just sitting on the shelves (no, we will not ever need this broken tape recorder or this assortment of dolls missing various parts of their bodies collecting dusts in the cupboard, no the matching sock will not reappear miraculously after 3 years of absence, no there is no chance I will wear this pair of sneakers again...). Add to this the organization of a communal Seder in the Novotel Hotel for 200 people, of two other Sedarim for travelers in the islands of Rhodes and Crete, a kids magazine in Greek (click for a PDF version), a Matzah bakery for children, care packages for needy people… let’s just say we were not bored.
Thank G-d, everything went well, and now, we have a whole year to “relax” until we bring out again the “kosher for Pesach” ovens, pots and pans…
Relax? Who said relax?!
Yes, that’s right! We moved to Greece 7 years ago, in April 2001, right after Pesach… 