This week has been a holy week for many individuals and religions as we celebrate Passover and Easter. Not only do we think of these two holidays; but, we also associate the season Spring with both holidays whether they fall in March or April and this is probably the latest I can ever remember celebrating Easter.
Whether you celebrate Passover or you celebrate Easter both holidays tend to have many traditions that go with them. Each has prayer and then of course the requisite food. I have never been to a Passover Seder and it is one of those things I would like to do as I understand that at the Seder it is revealed the reason the bread is unleavened and why it is celebrated for eight (8) days. For many who do not know the Last Supper held on Holy Thursday was a Seder.
Today at aqua aerobics class several of us were discussing what Easter was like when we were young. How we had a new outfit each Easter. Not only did I always have a new dress; but, I also had a new coat, gloves, shoes and a hat (that was when we had to cover our heads for church). And not only was everything new; but, it matched. My outfit in 1968 – I can still remember it and if I forget there is a picture in my office of me in it. I wore a cream colored pillbox hat with the requisite veil, my coat was a multi-colored brown, taupe and linen color, my dress was a linen color with a brown bow at my neckline which peeked through the top of my coat and I had a pair of patent leather taupe shoes. Okay, blame my Mother she was very much into ensuring that everything matched.
We always went to church on Easter Sunday in our new finery and there was no excuse that got you out of it. I can remember the year I had chicken pox – it was a really bad case with chicken pox in my head, mouth, etc. We had celebrated my brother’s and sister’s birthdays on the Saturday before Easter – needless to say that I contaminated all the children and the entire neighborhood came down with chicken pox. But that wasn’t the worst of it; for me the worse was that my Mother insisted that my hair look nice for Easter Sunday mass. This meant wearing wire hair rollers when I went to bed that night which absolutely irritated the chicken pox. However on Easter Sunday I had the best looking page boy.
The other traditions were our Easter basket and Easter dinner. My Mother was responsible for our Easter basket and always tried to be equitable amongst us children and the one year when her younger sister and my aunt, Fela lived with us. As a young child I liked chocolate – we never had chocolate except for Easter and whatever we got during Halloween when we “trick or treated”. So I looked forward to my Easter basket. This year my Mother bought us clowns in chocolate; but, here is the issue: she bought my sister a chocolate clown, she bought my brother a chocolate bunny, she bought my aunt Fela a chocolate clown and she bought me a WHITE chocolate clown. I absolutely abhor white chocolate; and, besides it is NOT chocolate. I was so upset – my sister who does like white chocolate would not switch with me; and, made my life miserable as I begged her to trade pieces with me each day. Our Easter dinner was always at my Aunt Irma’s home where she would make the traditional glazed ham – this was the only time each year that we had ham.
Tomorrow I will celebrate Easter with my cousin, Gerry, my niece Siobhan, my nephew, Gerard, their spouses and Gerard’s children. I have bought the boys their croc sandals for the summer and they each will receive a Godiva chocolate bunny. The adults will receive a Godiva lollipop either in the form of a tulip (for the women) or a carrot (for the men). Instead of the glazed ham we will have roast beef with mashed potatoes, a salad and vegetables – nowadays we are each watching our blood pressure and the glazed ham is too salty for our diets. Dessert will be carrot cake and a yellow cake with chocolate butter cream in the form of an egg. I can guarantee you that none of us will have Easter finery on; and, we probably will not have gone to Church. The times have changed, not that we do not believe in the holiday or the true significance of Easter; but, more because we celebrate the solemnity in our hearts and not at church to show others our clothes.
The fun will be watching Callum run around the house as we have an Easter egg hunt for him. It will be our continued telling Ryan no more chocolate until after dinner (he has a tremendous sweet tooth) and it will be the enjoyable time we will spend as a family together.
Whatever you celebrate – it is nice to reflect past years and former traditions; but, as our lives change it is great to make and accept new traditions.
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