In defense of the feather, candle and wooden spoon

Question

While I would not argue with you that halacha does not prescribe this "voodoo" ritual and completely agree that it is an ineffective way to search for chametz, I offer the folowing: One of my strongest personal memories of Pesach cleaning was the bedikas chometz that we did in this silly way. After seeing my parents turn the house upside down, cleaning, packing away all the chametz dishes/pots/pan, schlepping up the pesach sets, cleaning them meticulously (despite being packed away cleaner than when new) and doing the "real" search, we took out the feather, spoon and candle and went from room to room as a family making the final readiness for the Chag. True, we never found anything except the bits of crumbs that my mother would leave there just minutes before (our custom was-and-is to save a small piece of last year's afikomen for this purpose). The next morning, along with the other chametz, we'd burn the candle/feather/spoon in our backyard as our non-Jewish neighbors would look on wondering why these two kids weren't in school and why they were making a fire on a weekday in March/April. My point is simple. During years of non-observance (and even observance, I'd argue) it is our strongest memories that stay with us as reminders and tugs at our hearts as to who we are and what we should be doing. These connections help remind us of the spirit and (to the extent we understand it) the halacha of the holiday and just like the things we do at the seder which are done to excite the children to think and to remember and to ask questions (I don't think it is halachically required to shower my children with 300 ping pong balls representing the hail in Egypt-but they so enjoy it and all their friends want to come each year) there are things that we do leading up to the seder to instill in them the spirit of Pesach that will hopefully remain with them eternally and provide a connection to the more important halachot. Voodoo? Puppet Show material? Yes. But isn't the whole point behind Pesach the remeberance of the exodus? If my memories of this ritual, handed down at least several generations, kept me connected each year to remind me of Yitziat Mitzraim then I offer thanks and honor to my parents for finding a way to give me this gift for life and hope that my children will pass it on to theirs, not as halacha, but as a connection to the spirit and the past. Once again, I wish you a Happy Pesach and thank you for your efforts here. Stu