MEMORIES OF EASTER

             Holidays were fun times, and I eagerly anticipated them.  Easter was among the ones I liked best.  One of the reasons was because it was a spring holiday.  By the time Easter rolled around, I was ready for warm weather, not to say that Easter was always that warm, picture-perfect day.  Many Easter Sunday's were cold, windy, and might be one with rain or even snow.  I cannot remember an Easter that had snow, but there could have been one. 
            Being out of school was another reason to like any holiday.  At Easter, we would get out early on Wednesday and be off Thursday and Friday.  
             Another reason for liking Easter was that it was a holiday that most got new Easter outfits.  Mostly girls got new attire, but boys often would get new shoes or a tie.  I don't remember if my brothers got new clothes or shoes, but I know that my mom and I did.  We would get a new dress, shoes, gloves, and hats.  This tradition ended as I got older, but it was fun as a little girl. 
              Each Easter Sunday, we would go to my grandparents house.  I don't remember going to the Embry grandparents, but always to the Engelking side.  We would have a big dinner that was usually turkey, dressing, ham, homemade rolls, many side dishes, and desserts.  My cousins Debbie and Davey usually were there as well.  My grandmother would set up a kid's table.  She would decorate the table.  One year I remember her making a centerpiece that we could eat.  The grass was green dyed flaked coconut.  On this "grass" was a big chocolate bunny in the middle and then various little type of candies spread around on the grass.  There were chocolate eggs, chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies, and jelly beans.  
               After we ate, we would hide Easter eggs.  I think my grandmother provided all the hard boiled dyed eggs.  We brought out Easter baskets and one of the adults would go hide the eggs in the yard or in the rye field close to the house.  The ones in the rye field were very difficult to find and some would not be found until the rye was cut or several months later.  PEE_U!  Those eggs had to be rotten.
               Another thing we would do is go to an Easter egg hunt that was close to the gin where my dad worked, at Clays Corner.  There were people from all over the area who would come.  They had the hunt divided up into age groups.  The eggs they had there were these yucky candy eggs of all colors wrapped in cellophane wrappers.  We rarely to never ate those things, but would take them home and hide them over and over for our own egg hunts. 

 One year I was way in the back of the pack.  By the time I got to the area where the eggs were hidden, there were none left.  I did not get one single egg that year.  My cousins and brothers thought that hilarious. I on the other hand was very disappointed and cried.  Why I should cry over not getting candy eggs that I did not like, I do not know. It was just the fact I did not get any eggs.  

              Our Easter egg baskets were made of straw.  They had green plastic type grass and we had a few Easter animals like bunnies, chickens, or ducks in the basket.  I remember ours being more like the basket on the right, more oval shaped.  
                We had this bunny that was somewhat like cardboard, but I think it was made of paper mache.  Mine was pink.  
              My Grandma Ike usually gave us our own candy, a big hollow chocolate bunny, jelly beans,  chocolate eggs, and chocolate covered marshmallows. 










          Another favorite Easter activity was dying eggs.  My mom would boil at least 6 eggs for each of us 3 kids. Most of the time we had to take 6 eggs to school for our school Easter egg hunt. She would take the hot water used for boiling the eggs and put in a coffee cup along with vinegar and a dye tablet.  There were 6 main colors in the kit.  Then we would dye the eggs and put on an old rag to dry.  The only other decoration in the kit was a paraffin stick (wax) that you could write or make designs on the egg before placing in the dye.  Where the wax was, no color or dye would show and you would  see what was written or drawn.
        There was not a lot of emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus, which I now find very odd since that is the reason to really celebrate Easter.  I am not sure why.  It was somewhat like Christmas, and was not really considered a religious holiday.  I do not really know why this was.  I am glad that I now celebrate Easter as the day of the resurrection of Jesus, which means I will be resurrected and live with Him forever in heaven.