Ritual murder

One of the oldest and most unpleasant elements of anti-Semitism, ritual murder was the alleged re-enactment of Christ's Passion and crucifixion by Jews at the festival of Passover. Jews were said to kidnap Christian children and whip them and crown them with crowns before, in the so-called blood libel, drawing off their blood for mixing into the unleavened bread[?] eaten at Passover. Accusations of ritual murder were especially prominent in anti-Judaic propaganda and polemic during the Middle Ages and many alleged child-martyrs, like St Dominguito del Val, the Holy Child of La Guardia, and the Little St Hugh of Lincoln mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Prioresses Tale", were made into saints by the Catholic Church. Belief in ritual murder gradually disappeared from mainstream Christianity, however, and child-martyrs were purged from the official Catholic calendar of saints. Nevertheless, similar accusations are still being made by Christian and Muslim extremists against the Jews, and the blood-libel entered Nazism and related movements in the twentieth century.

One lasting effect of the ritual murder charges in contemporary Jewish ritual occurs during the Passover seder, or evening meal, when a large goblet of wine is placed in the center of the table and the door is opened so that any onlookers can enter to see that no blood is added. Over the years, this cup became known as "Elijah's cup."