Passover began Monday April 15 in 1946. It was especially significant this year, a time both somber and joyous, the first Passover since Hitler's defeat. Jews were urged by their religious and civic leaders to remember the Holocaust survivors living in refugee camps throughout Europe as well as the millions who had perished.
Mimi Sheraton was grown up by 1946 but as a child, Passover had been a time for excitement. Her family spent the first night of the holiday with her mother's family, the Breits, and the second at the home of her father's father, Kalman Solomon. This meant two new dresses for Mimi as well as the fun of two households of cousins and other relatives.
At the Breits the children sat at a separate table but made way to the adult dinner table as the evening wore on. Grandmother Breit's poor sister, Tante Regina, who lived on the Lower East Side. always brought as a treat hard Passover candy with a soft, jamlike center. The kids hated it but ate it out of politeness. A surprise visit by an out-of-town relative was a regular part of the tradition.
The Seder at Kalman Solomon's house was more formal as befitted the home of an Orthodox rabbi but still festive with lots of wine. He wore white robes and a high-crowned satin hat, Since the ritual required him to lean as he ate, he sat at head of table on a sofa full of pillows covered with sheer, hand-embroidered white cotton and linen pillow slips. The table was turned to run from dining room through an archway into the living room and every sort of chair, piano bench or stool was set around it. The kids sat in the archway. Grandfather usually invited some down-and-out acquaintances to join the family.