I believe there are two main reasons numerous people (myself included) dread the P holiday. Ironically they both start with a ‘p’ too.
– Preparations:
Pesach cleaning is not exactly the most uplifting activity in the world. Neither is koshering utensils for the holiday.
Shopping for Pesach is quite stressful too since it involves numerous changes in the shopping list and a lot of label-reading.
– Privations:
Have you noticed how you crave for fresh bread during those eight days, even if you are not much of a bread eater? Not to mention the urge for cakes and biscuits!
As a result we might easily forget that the whole point of Pesach is not so much the preparations and the privations as the reasons why they are necessary. Here are a book and a link that might help you (re)connect to this spring festival.
Slavery, Freedom, and Everything Between: The Why, How and What of Passover is a new little book that can help you see the religious relevance of the different components of Pesach – such as the search for chametz or what it means today to see ourselves as if we were leaving Mitzrayim – through a series of short and engaging essays by various Jewish contributors. It is a perfect book for getting new insights into the holiday that can help us soar from the mundane to the spiritual.
All proceeds from the sale of this book support the work of Mazon: A Jewish response to Hunger.
New London Synagogue Pesach 5773 Guide: practical guidelines as well as spiritual insights into Pesach.
Hannah's Nook 
A great post, with two excellent links! Thank you.
You are welcome! I am glad you find them useful.
Actually, for those of us who were brought up getting ready for Pesach, I would add a third: painful childhood memories. I don’t like remembering the stresses of my childhood home.
As for privations, I look forward to a week of eating matza! I have been trying to eat less wheat products, so during Pesach I plan to splurge on “matza and…” (ratatouille, for example).
Thank you for your insight. I had imagined that all children liked Pesach. Obviously I was wrong.
I don’t mind matzah, at the beginning. After a few days I miss fresh French bread.
I find the bit that shocked me most during my first Pesach a few years ago was the disappointingly flat plate on Shabbat – normally holding two glossy challot, but now just a desperately array of matzah! I suppose that’s part of the point, though.,!
I totally agree with you! Nothing spells Shabbat like challot.
I like to make a matzah pizza! It is fun to do and tasty, too. I love matzah, any time of year.
I like Norene Gilletz’s matzah simple despite its extreme simplicity. But after eight days I am ready for the real stuff.
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