Mark Clark, your earliest post is as my understanding after having some discussion with a theologian and two scholars of world religions.
I would like to add that, Jesus was in Jerusalem because of the Passover. I understand that observant Jews would, if possible, gather there for offering and sacrifice in the Temple. For Christians, Jesus' sacrifice by his death on the cross is the replacement of those sacrifices in the Temple. Jesus became the sole sacrifice as the Christian faith was in it's formation stages. I know of no Christian Church that actually embraces the Passover. It is my belief that modern Christians, seeking to understand their Savior have looked at the Passover as a source, as a document might be, to the night before Jesus was betrayed, with a seaching for the experience of Jesus. Christians recognize that it was as this Seder, that they were given the elements and symbols of a new covenent, today it is known as the Sacrament of Communion. As such, this is not a celebration of the Passover but a reenactment of a Seder for the symbolism. For Christians to celebrate Passover, they would need to understand the Exodus Story and know the word of God which told the Jews what to eat i.e. bitter herb, unleavened bread and that they should remember to keep this service every year in the month of Abib. And that they would set a chair for Elijiah and follow a hagaddah. This does not exist in the liturgy of the Christian Church. That does not mean that Christians do not appreciate what preceeds their faith, it is just not theirs. IMHO.

Ellen