Easter Traditions

I woke up to pounding rain this morning and my first thought was, "It's going to be an indoor Easter celebration!" I laid a while longer in the bed of my empty nest wondering what my boys are doing with and for their families this Easter Sunday. Then my mind wandered to the Easter traditions of my mom's family and the things we as a family adopted or invented.

My mama was all about the Easter dress and bonnet. We girls got new (no hand-me-downs!) dresses and bonnets every year. And we had professional pictures taken in those dresses and bonnets every spring. Sometimes we went to church, sometimes we didn't. It depended upon where we lived. We always colored boiled eggs the day before with food coloring and vinegar. Not the packages with the egg wands and coloring pills they have now. I still remember the smell of vinegar while dying eggs. There was always a new Easter basket hidden somewhere in the house. We didn't reuse baskets - probably because we moved so much it wasn't worth packing them up and moving them with us every time. Our baskets were filled with green plastic grass, jelly beans, and a solid chocolate bunny. We always nibbled the ears first. The colored eggs were usually hidden from us - in the house if it was raining, or outside if not - during breakfast. Then after breakfast came the egg hunt! I still wonder why it was so exciting, but it was. I didn't even like boiled eggs then. The constants for Easter dinner were always either turkey or ham with deviled eggs (must use up those hard-boiled eggs!) and the green jello. Not the orange Thanksgiving jello or the red Christmas jello.

Hubby and I had boys. No dress and bonnets to worry about, but we did have them dress up in slacks and button-down shirt if they had it, or nice polo if not. No professional pictures, but I was a snapping freak when they were young - I was always behind the camera and have the albums and boxes of loose pictures to prove it! Sometime in the days before Easter we would dye eggs. Sometimes with food coloring and vinegar, sometimes with the pills and wands, sometimes with "new" ways to dye eggs that always come up around Easter.

On Easter Sunday, we'd have breakfast and hide the eggs in the house if raining, outside if not. You have to be sure and count them so none are missed only to be found by the lawnmower later on. We'd hide the basket (with grass, candy, and solid chocolate bunny) somewhere in the house. The boys would find theirs and get to finding eggs! It was always a competition to see who would get more colored eggs, but, you know, I never saw them voluntarily peel an egg and eat it. Easter dinner was always ham at our house or turkey or ham at Sweetie's house. And, of course, deviled eggs. We dropped the green jello tradition.

As the boys got older, they got less and less excited about coloring and finding hard-boiled eggs. When they could read well, we'd put clues in plastic eggs - basically a treasure hunt to their Easter basket. One Easter we did the treasure hunt between Sweetie's and Hair That Flows' houses. They'd find a clue at Sweetie's that would lead them to Hair That Flows' (about a block away on the same street) and back and forth until they found their baskets. It was still a competition even though they each had their own clues - they RAN from clue to clue! They were so sweaty and when they finally found the baskets - but that's the Easter they still talk about.

I wonder what traditions my boys are adopting or creating. I'll have to give them a call tonight!