The word brings a variety of memories to my mind. New spring dresses with white dress shoes. Eating ham dinners. Dyeing eggs. Hunting Easter eggs. Cadbury Eggs. Chocolate bunnies. And sunrise services at church.
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| Photo credit: jarrodtrainque |
All the things a good Southern protestant girlie excitedly anticipates each year! Well, maybe not the sunrise service but I did look forward to going out for breakfast afterward!
I vividly remember one Easter down South as a young teenager. The holiday came in early March that year and snow had fallen overnight. That alone was unusual for Arkansas! But not the end of our excitement!
After the sunrise service we returned home to move our dog from the carport to the backyard before heading out to get breakfast. My younger brother and the dog had a routine for this. Stephen opened the carport door, the dog ran through the kitchen, around the kitchen table once and then shot straight out the sliding glass door into the backyard. Only this time Stephen didn't get the door open in time. And Dusty, the dog, ran smack into the glass door.
Have you ever tried to coax a yellow lab with a bleeding nose out from under a bed while wearing a brand new Easter dress? No? I really don't recommend it.
I also have a few New England Easter memories.
Lent and Easter in Rhode Island were quite a shock to my Southern sensibilities. First of all, who wants to wear a new lightweight spring dress when it's 40* outside?! And forget wearing open-toed dress shoes with the new dress. I'll take boots, if you please!
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| Photo Credit: On the White Line |
One Ash Wednesday in particular stands out in my memory. I had JUST finished reading the latest book in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye. (If you aren't familiar with the series, it is a fictionalized account of the "End Times.") In the book, God placed a smudge-like image on each Christian's forehead. The image was ONLY visible to other Christians.
So, here I go driving down the road, still thinking about the book, when I pass a Catholic church where people were leaving a service. And they all had SMUDGES ON THEIR FOREHEADS! I may or may not have freaked out a little and checked the mirror to see if I had a smudge on my forehead.
And when I didn't see one, I may or may not have continued to freak out, just a little.
Whether it's biting into a rich Cadbury Egg, taping a broken glass door, or fearing I missed the Second Coming, one thing's for sure - Easter evokes a lot of memories for me!
Come back tomorrow when I'll be sharing how I'm creating new Easter memories with my children this year.
What memories of Easter or Lent do you have?
3 comments:
Wow! Easter sure is exciting at your house, LOL. We don't have any traditions yet, other than trying to have a extended family dinner. Ever year we try, some years it just doesn't happen.
BAAHhahaha!!! I'm laughing over the Left Behind "incident." That's really funny!
I totally get the southern spring dress thing and then a move to the colder NW -- boots and a jacket, yes! Please! Thank you! =) It's a little different around here. (Of course, this year I won't be worried about new clothes of any sort.) But it was a big deal when and where I grew up!
Crystal, Easter is exciting for reasons other than Easter! We are actually very low key. Because my dad was a paster and we lived several hours from family, Easter holds no family traditions for me. And since we live several DAYS from family now, we still don't have any extended family traditions. I'm even so bah humbug that my kids have NEVER dyed eggs. Maybe this is the year we'll change that. :)
Carrie, I knew you would enjoy my Left Behind story. I laugh about it every year if I'm out in public on Ash Wednesday and see all the Catholics with smudges on their foreheads. :)
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