Easter, a Basket Full of Memories

Easter Sunday was always a much anticipated holiday when we were growing up. Of course, it marks the end of Lent, and this meant that it was time to turn in our Lenten Mite boxes. We undoubtedly had spent more time in church during Holy Week than at any other time of the year. My sisters would likely be getting new dresses and hats for Easter Sunday services. However, even though Easter is the most sacred of holidays, we were going to be placing our baskets out for the Easter bunny, a tradition that dates back to the 1700s with the German settlers to Pennsylvania.

Unlike Christmas, Easter generally was associated with much less pre-holiday preparation. My sisters, brothers, and I would set our baskets near the fireplace the night before, and except for a few nick knacks my Mom put out, there was very little else done in terms of decorating. Given the nature of the day, that was just fine.

There are several things that come to my mind when I reflect back on Easters past. Following the traditional Sunday church service, we would likely head to "The Hungry Traveler" on the beach road for brunch. Sitting down with the entire family was quite literally a miracle in the making, because we oftentimes did this with several families. If we didn't go out for brunch, then the monumental task of feeding the masses fell on the shoulders of the hosts and their guests, the original BYOB (bring your own brunch). When my grandparents were living, we could always count on them to come for the big family sit down dinner.

An Easter celebration wouldn't be complete without the annual Easter egg hunt. Provided the weather was accommodating, this would have been an outdoor activity. There were lots of brightly colored eggs and some even had some cold hard cash.

In all, the day would typically have been filled with plenty of family oriented activities and a few "cream" filled eggs. The balsa wood airplanes, kites, bubbles, or other trinkets provided a seemingly endless amount of entertainment. The decorated eggs, which we prepared so carefully, weren't wasted either, as they made for some interesting colors of egg salad which we brought in our school lunches later that week. Yes, Holy Week was capped off with an Easter celebration that more than made up for the sacrifices of Lent. Yes, Easter was and still is a day for rejoicing!