For generations, holidays and Seders have brought my Mom's family together and Manischewitz wine has been a constant. I remember the first time I was allowed to have Manischewitz wine during a Passover Seder. I felt very grown up graduating from grape juice to wine like my older cousins. While it is harder and harder to get everyone together, Manischewitz is still a family staple. 
Manischewitz has even found its way into blended family traditions! My Dad’s side of the family is from Southern Italy and food plays a very important role in their story (My Nana’s pasta roller is also on here). My Nana taught me how to make our family's favorite Italian dishes. A year ago my Mom and I were visiting my Tanta Rhoda and I was making pasta with meat sauce for dinner. Turns out all we had in the house was Manischewitz! So I went for it and made a Bolognese with kosher beef and Manischewitz wine. It was one of the best sauces I ever made and it is now a permanent part of the recipe!   I have more questions than answers about my Mom’s family history. I don’t know exactly where in Eastern Europe my great-grandparents traveled from as children before settling in Connecticut. I have not been able to find them in the immigration logs from Ellis Island where we think they both entered the United States. The specifics of our story may never be fully rediscovered, but what we do know are the traditions, like Manischewitz, that bring us together continue to be passed down. 

– Chelsea Bracci

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more