I was alone for most of this past Easter Sunday, with no visits from children or to parents-in-law. Solitary time is almost always something I welcome and treasure. And so many holidays and significant days can be fashioned and designed to still be meaningful without the usual traditions or ingredients. But I must admit, tho’ I enjoyed my walk and my fire and the ease…it was not Eastery.
Easter for me has always been family…from the beautiful Easter baskets my mom made for us each year (and for me particularly until I was out of college), to visits home in my young woman days, and then the storybook Easters as a young mother creating Easter baskets for my own children (hidden outside in the wee hours) and reading stories, decorating, egg hunts and making lovely Easter meals.
And I came to realize this Easter that the food and candy are truly a part of it for me. I am still eating a very pared-down diet, so there were no eggs, flour, sugar, milk, etc. all day long and, well, our bowl of strawberries and oatmeal was delicious, but very much like our breakfasts every other day of the week. No traditional egg salad, bowls of Easter candy around or even croissants and butter. Sad.
Easter dawn service, Quaker Meeting and our occasional “church in the fields” with dear friends on our land have all featured in our honoring in the past. But I am in a different place now. And some of the spiritual facets were celebrated on the Spring Equinox. So I am going to take what I learned from this Rosehip Easter and go more thoughtfully into next year’s honoring…try harder to gather my family, make sure I am eating more widely at the time, keep my eyes and heart open for new traditions.
I wonder if your traditions have changed over the years and if you are finding fresh ways to celebrate?
