Easter is only a few days around the corner...and I am looking forward to it. According to tradition, I will probably only find a few Easter eggs. Legend has always said that Easter eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny, and are only found by good children. I am good about half of the time. Nevertheless, if you want to disturb people with your vast knowledge, you can take what you learned from today's blog. Also, the Eastern 4-H Center will not host an Easter egg hunt...but we will host an Easter week Day Camp, which is much more fun than an Easter egg hunt.
So, why do we hide eggs? Apparently, Saxons (pre-Christians) in England celebrated the birth of a new year around the Spring equinox. There is nothing more literal (and available to 1st century nomads) than the hatching of an egg with a kickin' chicken inside. They also ate spring hare for the celebratory feast. Eggs were presented to the pagan authorities as tokens of appreciation.
Primarily, chicken eggs are used around Easter, mainly for their palability. That means they taste better than other eggs. Luckily, someone invented an animal that lays plastic eggs filled with jelly beans. These colored, plastic eggs are much better than the real thing. Do not attempt to scramble a plastic egg. Soon after these animals began breeding, a mutation occurred that led to the laying of foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, some of which have creme-filled centers. Please note the spelling of "creme". This is not the same as "cream", as "cream" is a real milk product, and "creme" is a real sugar product.
Faberge` eggs were generated by Russian citizens for their leaders. These items are now highly regarded as works of art. If your child finds a faberge` egg next Sunday, call it the "prize egg" and give them $5. You should then sell the faberge` egg for about $100.
"Why do we use the Easter basket during an egg hunt", you may ask. Well, the basket is traditionally laced with straw to simulate an bird's nest. Recent traditions were originally plastic grass, but these grasses choked birds if left behind. Now "natural" grass comes in colors like pink and green, but I prefer the real grass. You can also substitute an Easter egg basket with other containers such as small buckets and coffee carafes...just ignore the strange looks.
Another tradition is the Easter egg roll, held on the White House lawn. This genteel tradition is kind of ridiculous, especially compared to a Chinese egg roll...honestly - which one would you rather participate in? But kids don't like Chinese egg rolls, and since this blogger prefers happy children 8 to 1, I will condone the White House lawn Easter egg roll.
Chocolate bunnies, to many, seem a bit macabre. This is in essence, up to code with pre-Christian traditions. As mentioned earlier, the spring hare was used as the main course in the pagan Spring Feast. They ate real bunnies, though. Thankfully, technology has provided us with a tastier version in cocoa form.
Whatever your Easter tradition is, I hope that you go all out. Holidays shouldn't be taken for granted. I am guaranteed to spend the majority of holidays away from my family, which is a little disappointing. However, when we are all together, we go nuts with the celebration. Holidays are a time to decorate your home, take family pictures, and put silly looking paper placemats at the "Kid's Table." If you do not celebrate Easter, then celebrate the weekend itself. Weekends are a great time to catch up with family and friends. Have a pig-picking (or a hog roast as I heard it called yesterday)! For those stressing out about Easter plans, take my approach to big occasions...(1)enjoy it as much as possibly (2) wear a bib all day long (3) DO NOT CLEAN YOUR HOUSE, otherwise people will want to stay longer (4) and know that it will be over before you know it, and then you'll find yourself with a ton of leftovers. I prefer to enjoy my life, not stain clothes, enjoy family and friends responsibly (quickly), and scavenge from the refrigerator.
Enjoy your weekend...and happy birthday, Stephanie!
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