Easter Eggs & other Traditions

[BerryBaby]

Do you color Easter eggs, make a Bunny cake, make Easter baskets? What creative traditions are part of your Easter?

I find coloring eggs to be very relaxing...swirling the eggs in the different color dyes, putting my style on each one.

The dining room table will be decorated in a springtime theme. Light green table cloth/napkins, some marble eggs, a beautiful spring flower arrangement. Simple, but elegant with lots of room for the abundance of the Easter feast....baked ham, au gratin potatoes, asparagus with Hollandaise, homemade rolls and relishes and an excellent bottle of Pinot Gris or Chardonnay. Hmmm, I can smell it all now!!!!

[Food Network Fan]

I usually color eggs with the kids. Then it's egg salad for a week after easter.

[BerryBaby]

I love egg salad on soft rye or multi-grain bread!:18:

[ibcheft]

Seeing this reminded me to Easter's past. The time spent coloring eggs at home with the rest of the family. You see I come from a rather large family, I have 10 brothers and sisters. There was 8 of us at home when I was growing up, seemed to be when one moved out Mom had another for replacement. But I think my foundest memories come from my Nanas home (grandma for us). Getting up Sunday morning running and checking out our baskets at home and them off to church, always early service because Nana lived an hour away, and dinner was always at 12:30. THe excitement of the road always seemed to make the trip longer. Upon arrival we would spot eggs hid in the yard but were not allowed to gather them, that was always after the meal. We usally the first family there, we watch for the cousins to show up, two more families of 4 to 6 children each. There was always pleanty to go around, ham, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatos, pickles, olives, fresh rolls, and always a perfectly set table just waiting for us to set at. Then after dinner it was off to find the eggs, kids running wild, yelling and screaming, helping one another out. Seem like the good ol days now long gone and lost for ever, we no longer have the large families, travel now days almost getting to costly, families spread across the nation, instead of driving it now has become flying to see one another, or if we even have the time to travel. Yes, I would like to think we will still have traditions in years to come but will they only be memories of times past. I know in our family, most have gotten what they would say to old to do eggs anymore but me for one can't wait for the grand kids here to be born and come of age to where I can do the Nana thing , (only have one and she is to far away for an Easter visit, rarely get to see her anyways. ) aw yes the days of Easter tradtions, fond memories and colorful eggs.

[Callisto in NC]

We're past all that. Next Sunday will just be boring with nothing to do. My father's girlfriend ruined Easter for us two years ago when she tried to force my 14 1/2 year old to hunt for eggs. Seriously, the last time she did an Easter egg hunt was with my niece so she could beat her brothers and that was three years prior to "the event" as we call it. We try and even avoid all mention now. Last year it snowed us in in Pennsylvania and for 4 days it was me, my daughter, my dad, and the girlfriend. I've decided it's a sign that we should just ignore it and move on.

[MayQueen]

Orthodox Easter isn't until April 27, but since my family is a blended one, we will celebrate with everyone else. My grandmother insists on a few Russian traditions including a barashek iz masla (a lamb molded of butter), paskha (sort of a cheesecake) and kulich (a tall loaf of saffron bread.) My mother decorates eggs in the Ukrainian style but they are for display on the table only, no hunting. It is part of the tradition to keep the Easter table set for a week, replacing the food of course, and everyone visits during this time. It isn't unusual for my mother and grandmother to receive company from all over the East Coast.

[BerryBaby]

Even though daughter is grownup she comes over for dinner. Family gathering is daughter, husband, me and Sophie, sister comes over for the day as well.

I still color eggs, set the table, make all the traditional Easter dinner and even have a special chocolate egg for everyone at their table setting.

I make and keep my own traditions and enjoy looking forward to them. Keeps the wonderful memories of childhood fresh in my mind and l like that!

[Food Network Fan]

That sounds nice. You mean you aren't going to go all out table scape on them?

[bakerman]

My great grandmother didn't like children, she even had a nanny to raise her own, but for some strange reason she loved me. Every easter my mom would bring me to her house to color eggs with her, she always bought the Paas kit with the little wire lifter. We would sit at her old white enameled kitchen table and dye the eggs. After we were finished we would have a bowl of coffee ice cream, her favorite.

She never interacted with any other children in the family, she never treated them badly, but always said that children are to be seen and not heard!

At home my mom would always bake a cake in a bunny shaped pan, and let me decorate it with colored coconut and jelly beans.

Easter dinner would be at Nana's my dad's mom, ham and all of the fixings were on the menu, but usually us kids had ruined our appetite with candy, but nobody hassled us about it.


MAC

[Chefnot]

Wow, some great stories. We have grand breakfast, then a Easter basket search, then Mass, and then dinner. Course things change but the Easter basket hunt is my favorite. Even my 26 y/o still has to find his basket. At Christmas I hid their stockings so well I finally had to tell them where they were! And I already have hiding places for Easter baskets.