Easter

 

Easter has always been a fun holiday in our family. As a kid, growing up in Massachusetts, I remember getting a new Easter dress, hat and shoes. Many times there was still snow on the ground. We went to church and then came home for a ham dinner with the grandparents. Easter baskets were filled with hollow chocolate bunnies and Peeps, those disgusting, bright yellow, marshmallow chicks which now, I find, come in any number of neon, unnatural chick colors.

With our own kids, Easter was more of a “welcome Spring” holiday than a religious event. We dyed and decorated eggs. Casey and I usually made a large 3-D lamb-shaped cake frosted white and covered in coconut. The two boys found great joy in leaving a trail of black jellybeans near the lamb's butt ... the ultimate gross joke on Mom. Hee, hee, hee. Of course, they forgot I was the one who bought the black jelly beans in the first place.

The Easter Bunny hid candy treats and plastic eggs all over the house and the yard. The kids used their baskets to collect all the booty. As they got older, the egg hunt became more of a scavenger hunt with clues to follow and riddles to solve and monetary treats as well as confectionery ones.

In Australia, it's the Easter Bilby, not rabbit, that brings all the goodies. The rabbit-eared bilby really does look bunny-ish, although Lord knows, there are plenty of rabbits in Australia, too, though they're not native.

So now, fast track to being in New England for Easter. I was here last year, as a matter of fact, and the whole family, all adults now, spent the morning coloring and decorating eggs. I thought it would make sense to try that again this year with Mom, Lin and family.

We'll have lots of flowers … tulips, lilies, alstroemeria, daffodils, colored Easter eggs, a bit of chocolate and generally a celebration of Spring and family. The bad part? David is not with us. He's celebrating with the refrig/freezer in Adelaide. Hopefully, he'll be in Boston with us soon.

It makes no difference if you're celebrating Easter or Passover or the coming of Spring (or autumn, if you're down under). In my book, it's the opportunity to celebrate that counts. Carpe diem … every single diem.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Crayola Day

Crayolas were first introduced in 1903. Remember getting a new box of crayons as a kid? No broken tips. All those wonderful colors. That waxy smell. Check out the Crayola website for some fun things to do and then checkWiki for a list of colors...WOW!

Bunsen Burner Day

Remember chemistry class? This day celebrates the invention of the Bunsen Burner by German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen. Do not melt your crayons!

Easter Sunday

Put on your Easter Bonnet and join the Easter Parade. Go to church, celebrate Spring, see what the Easter Bunny brought or participate in an egg hunt. Of course, if you're in Australia, you'll be checking to see what the Easter Bilby brought!