Thursday, April 09, 2009

It's Easter again, Charlie Brown!

Easter is just days away. And while the focus of adults is, rightfully, on the spiritual significance of the events leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the secularized celebration represented by Easter bunnies and Easter Egg Hunts, colored baskets, chocolate candy, and other goodies is often eagerly anticipated by children.

As the mother of four, Easter was a holiday, much like Christmas, that commanded considerable prep time, resources--and thought. Easter baskets had to be individualized to each child, placing items each child particularly liked in their respective Easter basket. Additional care had to be made that no one received more candy or goodies than the next child, that there was an appropriate balance of nutritional versus junk food, and a similar proportion of fun items as opposed to educational. It was a daunting task.

Then there was the matter of the Easter clothes--suits for the boys and pretty dresses, shoes, and Easter 'bonnets' for the girls. Being the 'frugal' gal that I am, I generally tried to buy Easter outfits (aside from the footwear) a year ahead when they were marked down after Easter.

We made a big deal out of coloring our eggs and, living in the country, we had some really memorable Easter Egg hunts--one year particularly so. After we'd found the eggs the Easter Bunny had hidden, we'd take turns hiding the eggs. One year my daughter, Katie, did the honors. Try as we might, we couldn't find the final egg anywhere. And Katie couldn't remember where she'd hidden it. The next day when I went to start my automobile and it wouldn't start, I discovered the missing egg. It was sticking out of my tailpipe.

It's fun to look back at the photos of all those Easter holidays--yet also somewhat sad. My babies are all grown up. No more egg coloring parties. No more Easter Egg Hunts. No more frilly dresses, lacy socks, shiny shoes and Easter Hats.

Nowadays, we approach this holiday with an attitude of grateful praise and thankful humility for the ultimate sacrifice made on our behalf.

But one thing remains constant: As always, Easter is a time for family and friends and fellowship.

And, of course, Cadbury Creme Eggs!

So, care to share any of your favorite Easter memories--or favorite Easter candy? Any Easter traditions you carry on from year to year? What about childhood Easter celebrations or events that stand out? Chime in!
And from my family to yours, have a wonderful (and warm!) Easter!
Blessings!
~Bullet Hole~

15 comments:

Bookmobiler said...

"No more egg coloring parties. No more Easter Egg Hunts."

Cheer up, sooner or later there'll be grandchildren to celebrate the holidays with.

In the mean time, Rejoice!

I'm going to even though they're predicting snow for Easter in New England.

Kathy Bacus said...

'Cheer up, sooner or later there'll be grandchildren to celebrate the holidays with.'

Thanks for the cheery thought, Bookmobiler, (Bullet Hole gritting her teeth here) but I'm happy to wait a good bit of time before that happy occasion. ;)

Hugs on the Easter snow. We got hit socked last Sunday, but our Easter forecast looks dry if a tad on the nippy side.

Have a great Easter!

~Bullet Hole~

Tori Lennox said...

Well, I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but at Easter I'm all about the jelly beans. :)

housemouse88 said...

The one thing that stands out in my mind about Easter was my grandmother making a bunny cake. She did it every year for her 3rd grade class she taught and us grandchildren. She would use coconut for his hair, pipe cleaners for his whiskers, jelly beans for his eyes, nose and mouth. She even made the center of his ears pink. I miss her. Have a great day.

Kathy Bacus said...

Gotta tell you, Tori, I've never had a hankerin' for jelly beans--egg-shaped or otherwise. It's chocolate that gets this good ole girl hoppin' down that bunny trail!

Happy Easter!

~Bullet Hole~

Kathy Bacus said...

Oooh! Bunny and lamb cakes! Thanks for reminding me, housemouse88. My grandmother used to make this absolutely dee-licious made-from-scratch lamb cake. I haven't had it for years and years but now that you mentioned the bunny cake, I might just scare up that recipe and have a go at it.

I always remember that for some reason the lamb's ears always fell off when the cake was removed from the mold and my grandmother (and later my mother) used to stick them back on with toothpicks.

Have a great Easter holiday!

~Bullet Hole~

Gemma Halliday said...

We’ve been lucky in our house that by the time my youngest brother finally grew out of the bunny and egg coloring traditions, my son came along. So, we’ve always had at least one little believer in the family to give us all an excuse to act like kids. :)

And, Cadbury crème eggs… oh yum!

~Gemma

Kathy Bacus said...

With the new wee one on the way, Gemma, you'll have many more Easters to come complete with Easter Egg coloring, egg hunts, goodie-filled baskets and fuzzy Mr. Cottontails to entertain.

I just love watching the happy, excited faces of children on Easter morning, don't you?

Yep. Count me a kid at heart...

~Bullet Hole~

Christie Craig said...

I've never been a fan of jelly beans. Give me chocolate. If it has nuts in it, I'm really a goner.

I won a basket of chocolate at my last writer's conference, I'm having to slap my own wrist to stay out of it.

Happy Easter.

Estella said...

For Easter its jelly beans and more jelly beans!

♥ Dawn said...

I still color eggs, and then I get stuck eating them all by myself. And I still wear frilly dresses, cause I'm kind of girly. I have no kids, so I dress my dog up as a rabbit. And then I eat as many Mini-Cadbury eggs as I can, while singing...

Here comes Peter Cotton-Tail, hopping down the--No! Bad dog! Don't eat the bunny! That's your brother! Your brother!

HAPPY EASTER! (No rabbits were hurt during this blog comment) :)

Kathy Bacus said...

I'm with you about the chocolate, Christie. Unfortunately, I don't possess the level of restraint you exhibit when it comes to resisting the temptation to indulge. Exhibit A? The hot fudge sundae (with nuts) I treated myself to earlier today.

In hindsight it was probably not a brilliant thing to do when yours truly is already battling sinus infection and gobbling Mucinex D like M&Ms to combat mucus, but it sure was good.

(I know. Yeow! Too much info, right?)

Okay, I'll wish you a happy Easter and shaddup already.

~Bullet Hole~

Kathy Bacus said...

Another vote for jelly beans from Estella!

~Bullet Hole~

Refhater said...

Since we're mostly grown up here, we haven't done an egg hunt in a while. But now that my nieces are old enough (1 and 3 years old.) We're starting to get back into the swing of things.

My favorite Easter candy is Peeps. I'm addicted to the things. The best part is roasting them until the sugar on the outside caramelizes.

A word to the wise though. If you're roasting your peep (or any marshmellow) over the stove top burner on a butter knife, remember that metal conducts heat. Don't try to lick off that gooey part that stuck to the knife until it cools. I learned that one the hard way. (Twice)

LuAnn said...

Anything chocolate works for me!