HM   “Every year my parents, they open the door to, um, let Elijah the spirit into the house. And, it’s part of the Passover, Seder and the whole ceremony. And what’s supposed to happen is, um, Elijah comes in and the spirit drinks, um, a cup of wine that’s laid out for them. And traditionally, the youngest child in the room would open the door for Elijah and while the doors open one of the parents or people there would drink the cup really quickly while the persona distracted opening the door. So, uh, this year I got to be the person to drink the wine cause I was, just happened to, Passover was yesterday, it was very recent. Anyway, its’ fresh in my head because of that, uh. We do do the ceremony every year, um, uh, actually I can’t even remember what he represents exactly, but, I, I just remember every year it’s very important to make sure you fool the youngest person there into thinking that he actually drinks the wine, which I guess is kind of like fooling people almost like in Christianity with Santa Claus, like believing that he really comes and brings the presents, like he really comes and drinks the wine.

AO(interviewer)   “They do it for older, even if you’re the youngest and your 22, and you’re like, “I know””

HM    “I mean, were aware of it of course but, yeah”

AO   “So it’s apart of like, this tradition”

HM    “And that’s very common in a lot of families, it not just mine that does that.”

AO    “So is it more for fun? Or is it taken seriously? Does it depend on the family?”

HM   “Yeah, it’s taken seriously in a lot of families actually. Um, I mean, obviously as soon as you get old enough, you realize what’s going on but, you know, while your younger it’s like a, fun little joke to play on them.”

I agree with HM that this tradition can be taken seriously, yet at the same time be used to pull a prank on young children.  Even if the youngest child is old enough to know it is a ruse, they still go along with it, because the joke is also part of the tradition.  The passover story is full of miraculous events, such as the Moses encounter with God through the burning bush, the ten plagues and Moses parting the Red sea.  This joke helps keep the magical aspects of the story alive.