Yep. Half my family is Jewish, half is Catholic. My dad (Jewish atheist) made me sit through a really long seder once and afterward said he forgot how boring they are. And also didn't warn me about the bitter herbs lol. Next time we went to a seder it was wayyy more streamlined.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You can use parsley as 'bitter herbs,' which is what we did. Not the most pleasant thing to eat, but not exactly unpalatable. I've heard of some people using celery. That feels like cheating.

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If fish isn't meat to the Catholics then why shouldn't celery be a bitter herb

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

Beaver, armadillo, alligator and capybara are all also fish according to the Catholic church.

https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2023/02/20/whats-seafood-for-lent-alligator-beaver-and-armadillo-make-the-cut/69922902007/

So yeah, Jews definitely don't have the monopoly on this stuff.

[–] itsnicodegallo@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Celery leaves specifically would probably be what they meant. You can actually use them as a substitute for parsley in cooking!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I think that may be what the idea was, but they definitely meant just regular celery because the conversation, which had happened a couple of times with guests when I was a kid, was along the lines of "why are you using parsley? Celery is so much nicer!"