Book of Me, Written by Me, Prompt 34: Easter Memories

The Book of Me, Written by Me is a blogging theme where one can write about their own life using blog themes posted each week. More information can be found at Anglers Rest here.

This week's prompt is - Easter Memories

• What does Easter Mean to you?
• A religious event?
• The first main break (in the UK) since Christmas and New Year
• A more general Spring/Autumn event
• Easter Bunnies
• Eggs
• Chocolate
• Traditions

Easter has always been a fun holiday for me. Family got together and the weather was nice enough for all the children to play outside, even if we were all dressed in our best Sunday church clothes. Easter meant a new dress for Easter Sunday Mass. My birthday is also in the spring and often my new birthday dress doubled for a new Easter dress, too. 

Easter 1957, Dad, me, brother Steve, Mom

Some fun memories include dyeing hard-boiled eggs using the little cardboard kits with the colored dye tablets.  My mother always used coffee cups to fill with the different color dyes. This was a big ritual we did on Saturday afternoon. With six children, she boiled at least 3 or 4 dozen eggs, so there would be enough for the hunt. The youngest children were always so impatient and their eggs were usually very light in color or end up a muddy color because they dipped them in every cup! I liked my eggs to be a rich dark color, so really ended up coloring less than the rest.

1961 Easter, brother Jon, cousin Terry,
brother Steve, me, cousin Melanie
holding my sister, Danna

The hunt the next day was fun. My dad always found the weirdest places to hide the eggs—some so high up, none of the kids could see them. We never found them all on Easter and one or two would turn up weeks later smelling pretty bad. I never was a big fan of eating the eggs when I was younger (I love them now). I only ate the white part then.

My sisters Sabrina & Renee
with the Easter Bunny

Traditional Easter food was ham, scalloped potatoes or potato salad, and green beans. Hors d'oeuvres included such things as baby smoked oysters, spring onions and salt, radishes cut to look like flowers, onion dip with Granny Goose potato chips, pickles, and olives. I don’t remember dessert. Maybe there was pie, cake, or ice cream.

Easter 1979: Bunny Cake

Morning tradition included checking out what the Easter Bunny brought. The baskets would be found on the front or back porch: candy nestled in a basket with plastic green grass. I loved jelly beans and chocolate eggs best. Easter was also the end of Lent and we could finally eat candy again—so we got a piece quickly into our mouths before our parents knew. Then off to church for Mass. Mom didn’t go, so had a nice breakfast waiting for us: either eggs and bacon, or pancakes, or perhaps pastries.

Then the cousins and grandparents came and there was lots of fun!  

I have fond memories of Easter with my own children. I tried to do the same traditions with them: give up candy for Lent, color Easter eggs, have the Easter Bunny leave a basket of treats on the washer, go to Mass Easter morning, and have an Easter egg hunt. We usually went to my parents' house for dinner and the same great food would be had by all!

Easter 1992: my daughters Margaret &
Elizabeth visit to the Easter Bunny

Easter: a great start to the spring season and a fun way to spend time with family.

Easter Eggs 2014

Copyright © 2014 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past