Craig took me on a tulip field treasure hunt this morning. Rows of tulips in field after field. Red. Pink. Yellow. Purple. Coral. Rainbow fields.
There were clusters of people packed into the farms that charged for parking. Bulging lots with long lines of people trying to 'get in'. We were a bit confused. There were lovely fields all over, bursting with the same color. Free to enjoy. No crowds. Quiet gift.
We needed to stop at the grocery store. Again, there were lines and lines of parents with children crammed in a corner, on the cement parking lot, pretending it was an Easter Egg hunt. I pitied the experience they were having. It was a one dimensional, synthetic caricature of the organic thing. Trading the simple and real, for this commercial, free, industry produced fake. It was chaotic, children were crying. Parents were upset and frustrated.
I felt so sad for them. There might be some of you horrified to think of Easter including pagan symbols of bunnies, eggs, candy, etc. This isn't my point. Loving spring and celebrating resurrection day ~ both are worth taking note of for me. They go together like berry pie and ice cream. :)
We were extremely poor growing up ~ as far as cash flow goes. In the art of living and celebrating though, I'm realizing how rich we were. Mom created a lovely Easter breakfast 'from scratch'. Her best white tablecloth was starched. China and crystal used. Daffodils graced the table. The food offered was a simple, tasty transference of love.
We met to eat together after an early sunrise service. We watched the sunrise, heard a good word, sang a couple songs. Enjoyed nature's crisp new morning in soft whispers of wonder, before gathering around the heavy, crowded table. This table was loud with laughter and lively talk.
The men in the family took great care hiding the eggs we had dyed the night before. Finding them after breakfast made us wriggle in anticipation. They were hidden up in tree branches, down under bushes, and in the grass. Complex spots for the older ones, simpler ones for the younger.
Egg salad sandwiches with colorful veins of accidental color were what we ate most the next week. We only had rainbow sandwiches once a year.
We were never confused about the "Real" meaning of Easter. It didn't detract from the glorious good news. It framed it. Wrapped it with family, memories, play, celebration, and color ~ all in a natural setting.
Relax. Enjoy making a rainbow memory ~ one your children will be able to hold and touch many times over.
11 comments:
I remember we used to gather up the eggs and leave them in our basket - unrefrigerated for over a week - and still eat them..and they were fine!!! I also remember these marshmallow hard egg things that used to sit in our basket and would somehow every year end up underneath our baseboard heaters and turn into the hardest rocks when we would find them months later. But perhaps the Easter Basket goodies story I like the most is my very Catholic grandparents bringing over the Russell Stover solid chocolate crosses in the white box...good God..I can't remember if they were crucifixes or not...they might as well have been. But we used to eat the cross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Something just seems horribly wrong with that!!! - Jenny
I'm just back from a day's outing to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. We try to visit at least once a year. I told my husband as we left that I think it's important people see this art, which literally is made of found materials and whatever issues from the imagination--and visionary and poignant it is. Reading this post is like an extension of that visit, reminding that all around us is the stuff of art and life, and if we take a moment to look, we make something real of it. Thank you. Blessings on this Holy Saturday.
Your memories are rich in imagery ... how blessed we are that you write.
hither and yon...
i bet those tulips were a pretty sight.
I hear a poem in the rainbow sandwiches. :)
I know what you mean about feeling sorry for the kids who are supposed to be having a good time, but they know the difference somehow.
Thank you for this. It expresses my feelings exactly. :)
What sweet, sweet pictures you give me tonight. Of course, we did not celebrate Easter when I was a child. But most of our living consisted of humble moments such as you describe.
So beautiful. Sometimes I forget the beauty that was there with the pain.
Oh, Happy resurrection day, Kathleen. We are all made new!
When I was a child, Easter was a gigantic chocolate bunny and eggs in snowbanks. My friends all got new clothes--from underwear up. And they went to church. I'm so glad it's more for me now. So much more.
He is risen! It's a new day!
This may be strange to some, but I have never celebrated Easter collectively or as a family, it was not part of our tradition (for some of the reasons you've mentioned). I have taken to celebrating quietly by myself, though. It is comforting to see it celebrated simply.
Aw...rainbow sandwiches! What a description! I'm thinking the tulip fields are all mine on Tuesday!
Rows and rows of tulips in rainbow fields. I have a few on my kitchen table right now.
I saw a neatly dressed family walking in to church on Easter morning, then the father hit his little boy hard while the rest of the family looked on. It was a bit disturbing to drive past this as we were looking for parking. I hope they had a better Easter after attending the service together...
Nice reflections on the fullness of the season.
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