Ever since I can remember, we always colored eggs for Easter and always used the Paas kits. Now that I have children of my own, the tradition continues. I firmly believe in keeping traditions alive because it is something we can pass down from generation to generation. Those things are important. I believe they help ground us and remind us of where we came from. I know in our family, many traditions we do today, are the same from generations before us. I remember my mom hiding our Easter “basket’ and we had to play a game to find it. The game was the good, old, hot, warm & cold game.
Was it an actual basket we were looking for?
No. it was a simple tin pan that was leftover from a pie that my grandmother might have baked and given to us. It didn’t matter that it was simple. In fact, I think it was better. It had just a little bit of Easter grass, some candy and usually a $1 dollar bill in it.
It was the best.
And then my aunt ALWAYS bought us one of those small Palmer or Russell Stover chocolate bunnies. We used to laugh when we would bite its ear off or its face. We also had a tradition of having what is called oplatki at dinner. If you don’t know, Oplatki is basically a rectangular communion wafer with a picture embossed on it. The unleavened wafers are used frequently at Christmas time and are an Eastern European tradition. We would break it and then pass it and share in remembering how Christ died for us all those years ago and how blessed we were to celebrate the amazing gift He gave us that day.
Now, our family is alot smaller, but the traditions and sentiments remain the same. Easter is still the most important holiday to us. I am a big time Christmas person, but Easter is so much more. Without what happened on the day we commemorate, we would have nothing. It is the sole reason we are able to enjoy this beautiful, imperfect life we live.
What are your traditions this time of year? Why is Easter important to you? I would love to hear from you about your traditions!
From my family to yours, I pray that this Easter will be a time of renewal, blessings and a time for a moment of solitude to remember the precious life that was given for us!
Happy Easter!!
* And just a little hint and side note about coloring eggs! If your children get dye on their hands while coloring eggs (as they inevitably do!), a simple scrub of dish soap and a handful of baking soda will make it vanish! No multi-colored hands for Easter Sunday. 🙂
