Easter

FOLLY OF THE

OR MOWING THE LAWN?

Anna

24 of March 2019

When Poland splashed with water on Easter Monday, in Washington D.C., in the gardens of the White House, traditionally since 1878, organized games and activities for children and their parents, with the participation of the President. One of the competitions is rolling a colored egg with a long wooden spoon (Easter Egg Roll). The winner gets an award, for all participants of games - other attractions, picnic, concerts.

Bunnies, colorful eggs, Easter presents, and chicks in funny, flower-coated hats are all symbols of the American Christian family holiday.

Easter or Resurrection Sunday. For some, it is a time for the family to celebrate spring. For others, it is a time of prayer, reflection, blessing, receiving communion and celebration of the Resurrection. Each of us celebrates this time at our own discretion and with our own internal needs. Part of us will clean houses, to be ready for spring, sun and happiness. Others will treat Easter Sunday like a day off work. I suggest, however, not to mow the grass at Easter; do not build a fence; do not paint the house; do not carry compost in the garden when our neighbors are welcoming guests at a festive breakfast or dinner under a sprawling oak or chestnut tree in their garden. Let's try to respect the tradition of others, without being disturbed by their excessive zeal. Is this encouraging tolerance on my part? Yes, of course. I have survived a garden adventure with a busy neighbor. It ended kindly and politely, luckily, but without my direct participation. Other neighbors spoke to busy person. He said "sorry" and... came to us for glass of wine!

So let's focus on the American tradition:

In some U.S. churches also done blessing of baskets, Easter baskets and more. Certainly not appear then as many people as in Poland, but still ... Baskets are medium to large (definitely larger than ours), and in them the bread, sausages pedal, wine, pastries and of course a lot of eggs - a symbol of resurrection, renewal of life.
For Christian Americans Good Friday is very important; many people do not work that day, and some private businesses are closed.
Catholic graves in America are not as fanciful or symbolic as in Poland.
Easter is time for familiar meetings on brunches in restaurants. I participated several times in such meetings with "champagne" in orange juice. There is a lot of food, a huge selection, including traditional ham in brown sugar and honey, baked mutton, pasta with cheese, potatoes in several forms, chicken, pies, waffles, omelettes, caviar, seafood, cakes, puffs. Personally, I am not a supporter of this type of restaurant meetings.
another tradition in America is to look for eggs (Easter Egg Hunt) in schools, parks, shopping malls, home or gardens. These are chocolate eggs, foamed chocolate or plastic with small gifts. Easter Egg Hints are a great joy, sometimes not just for kids !!

There is one more interesting tradition, which I will tell you in the next post. Today I would like to explain just where the bunny came from ...

Pink, peach, bright green, yellow, orange - these are the colors of Easter and spring season. If we add light, airy satin to it, fullness of happiness is assured.

Was Eastre, the German goddess of Spring, dressed like that, since the name of the Holy Resurrection was probably the English name?

Certainly, Eastre was beautiful, waving in the wind, wearing the colors of the most beautiful pastels. She was the goddess of new life, reproduction and joy. And her symbol was ... a bunny, a representative of quickly reproducing animals. Maybe there was no egg or chicken yet ?! If we dig deeper into history (and this is not my intention), we come to the conclusion that many Christmas symbols have pagan roots. Well, we are talking about culinary traditions and table traditions.

However, I could not resist the disclosure of certain American traditions. In the next post - except for an earlier promise, a recipe for Charlotte Russe Cake and New York cheesecake, without which there is no Easter, unless the european style easter's cheesecake (pascha) will be pushed out of the cake from the table...

Anna

25 of March 2019

On Easter Sunday New York Manhattan fills with bustle, laughter, singing and flashing colors by bonnet hats, that is tied under the chin ... A lot of people have admission tickets attend the Easter Mass celebrated in the beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral. Exactly there is beginning of their journey downtown streets ...

EASTER FUN IN NEW YORK CITY!

The tradition of the New York Easter Parades combined with the festival of Easter hats dates back to the 19th century. In the years 1880-1950, it was one of the largest cultural events in America, a kind of fashion show perceived through the prism of religion. It began with decorating church sanctuaries with Easter flowers. The parishioners visited more churches, and observed colorful bouquets, clothing, and hats. Here are some photos from 1898-1933, showing old New York and the beginnings of today's Easter tradition...(https://viewing.nyc/vintage-photographs-of-the-new-york-city-easter-parade-between-1898-and-1933/)

Easter Parade and the famous hats are also the title of the filmed musical (1948) with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in the main roles.

The hat's ingenuity knows no limits ... !!!! Festival-goers from all over the world wear hats (often big ones), and at the same time celebrate the Resurrection Feast unbelievably ...

The street has changed; cars, buses, sidewalks, buildings have changed; but ... the joy of people and the color of Easter have not changed, at least in this city and also in New Orleans. The New Orleans parade last year returned to favor (35-year tradition) after the great cataclysms of this city. Definitely smaller family and neighbor meetings take place in many cities and towns of this country ...

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