The Scent of Passover

It’s two weeks away from Passover, or Pessach in Hebrew. For the past week, I can actually smell it in the air. It’s getting into the house too, but the worst (best?) is when you go outside and it hits you right in the nose.

It’s the smell of Spring, it’s the smell of Passover, and it’s made of so many little cues and hints that I think I can detect in the air. I figured I’ll try and break it up a little, to see where my scent associations take me. So, here are some of the things I think can sniff in the air this time of year -

• The yellow flowers of the Garland chrysanthemum. They are in full bloom now and cover huge areas of wild vegetation.
• Orange flowers – orchards are also in bloom with those white flowers spreading their scent.
• Flowers – enough of breaking it down – there are flowers all over.
• Cleaning – is it only in my mind, or does the air actually reek various cleaning solutions as houses get cleaned up for Passover?
• Air conditioners – you know how they smell sort of stale after a long winer of disuse?
• Matzot – this one has got to be my imagination, maybe my association of the other smells with it, but I can really sense the scent of matza in the air.
• Dry heat – ok, so it’s not a smell technically, but it gives the air a unique dry quality, effecting all other scents.

If you live in Israel, which of those do you smell around you? Actually, wherever you live, what scents are around this time of year?

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