Pesach Pizza

I wrote about the feelings people have, for and against, items that we eat year round that are made kosher l'Pesach: here some time ago.  I've been thinking about the aura we create when we have things that are special for a particular Yom Tov or Shabbos like toys that are only used on Shabbos so children have something to look forward to on Shabbos on their level.

 

What if we had the opportunity to buy year round dishes and Pesach dishes that are identical.  Would we want that or would we want the Pesach dishes to look different? Many of our Pesach memories have to do with the special plates and glasses we used.  But, as far as I know, there is no inyan or minhag to buy a different pattern on silverware or dishes just for the sake of having something that looks different than year round! Yet, it does impart an excitement when you use completely different items on Pesach just like certain foods are associated with Chanuka and make that Yom Tov special. 

So maybe we are still kids at heart, who need these external differences to help get us in the holiday spirit and maybe it is this point that bothers though who speak vehemently against Pesach "pizza" even though their great-grandmothers made kosher l'Pesach versions of chometz foods.  Maybe previous generations, the ones who kashered their year round glasses because they couldn't afford another set for Pesach, didn't need external ways to get into the Yom Tov spirit because they were more spiritually in tune with what was going on. 

Everything happens by divine providence and is good. Today's young people are often the product of mixed marriages.  They didn't have the Zaidy of the famous Moshe Yess song.  They don't have nostalgic memories of Pesach at Grandma's.  If they find out about the laws of Pesach at all, it's new to them.  Perhaps the reason kosher l'Pesach cereal, ketchup, soy sauce, frozen dinners etc. are available today is because this helps today's generation have a kosher Pesach.