Our  Seder plates include five items:

zeroa, a roasted shank bone representing the Paschal lamb, the holiday offering made

in Temple days (vegetarians today often use a roasted beet for its blood-red color, or a

roasted sweet potato for the pun of calling it the Paschal Yam;)

beitzah, a roasted egg (symbol of re/birth)

maror, the bitter herb (usually horseradish), symbolizing the bitterness of slavery;

karpas, the green vegetable, symbolizing spring growth and renewal;

charoset, a mixture of apples/nuts/cinnamon (following a common Ashkenazic

recipe) or dates/nuts/honey (following a common Sefardic one), representing the clay

or mortar used by the Israelite slaves.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: Velveteen Rabbi