I can’t recall when winter has seemed longer or when spring has felt more welcome than this year. Last week, I bought some pussy willow and yellow tulips, and I find I am smiling every time I pass their way. The poet Anne Bradstreet said, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
Easter, is, of course, the oldest Christian holiday and the central event of the Christian faith, marking the resurrection of Christ. The origin of the word is uncertain, but is thought to derive from Estre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring.
Passover, which began at sundown April 8, celebrates the liberation of Israelite slaves from Egypt. Both holidays celebrate a new beginning and are filled with hope for a brighter day. Originally, Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and were given as gifts, at first, to the servants.
Later, we adopted the German custom of giving them to children, along with other gifts. Crimson eggs, representing the blood of Christ, are the tradition in Greece, while Slavic people prefer patterns of gold and silver. Pisanki eggs are popular with Poles and Ukrainians and are works of art consisting of complex layers of lines and colors, requiring much skill and patience to make.
Eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting and then celebrate by eating them on Easter.
Now we often hide eggs and have an Easter egg hunt for the children. At Passover, at the festive meal known as the Seder, some of the matzo, called the Afikoman, is hidden, and after dinner the children must find it so that everyone at the table may eat a piece.
Here at our small, neighborly, condominium complex, the coming of spring also marks the welcome return of many of our neighbors who winter in Florida.
Hanging baskets filled with colorful flowers begin to appear, along with visiting grandchildren playing ball or riding their bikes. Time to put away the heavy sweaters, winter comforters and wool socks.
Time to make plans for some outdoor activities or visiting friends; no need to worry if it will snow. Spring has arrived, and isn’t it delightful?
In closing, here’s some advice from the Easter bunny:
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Walk softly and carry a big carrot.
- Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
- Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
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