Easter 2016

Dave Kenison's cartoon, 1973

Easter Sunday has many memories for me.  From a Catholic childhood, it's an inherently sweet holiday. It comes after forty days of purple covered artwork in churches, feigned sadness, and the guilt-ridden pretense of giving up something for Lent, all of which culminates in scoldings on Good Friday should I smile or hum a tune. So the Easter egg hunt on Sunday was a welcome relief.

Randy Wollenmann's creation, 2016

Easter isn't as big a deal as Christmas, but it's more significant than other annual events, whether Memorial Day or the opening day of boating season. It's somewhere with Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July, neither of which were celebrated in Australia when I was growing up.

Easter means Spring. It's a Spring festival. That by itself brings up sweet memories of waking up one Easter Sunday at the University District house in Seattle to one of those rare sunny days in Lower Alaska with a gloriously blue sky. Outside my window, the huge cherry tree was in full bloom. It was stupendous.

This Easter Sunday created some new memories and some new associations.

My Easters will forever be enriched knowing that in Martha's family, they have been cooking rabbits on each Easter Sunday for decades. Martha's daughter, Jamie, did us the honors by barbecuing this iconic symbol of Spring.

I don't know why we are squeamish about the idea of eating rabbits. Lord knows, they are pesky varmints in any garden. We eat cows, pigs, lamb, fish, and chicken. What's the deal with bunny wabbits?

I admit that I made a note of the butcher where Jamie got her rabbit, and I paid close attention to how she cooked it because it was scrumptious.

We had no reservations about ham, a traditional Christian food for such auspicious occasions as Easter and Christmas. We maintained the hoary tradition for our Sunday celebration,

My Easters will forever be enriched knowing that grown ups can still enjoy Easter egg hunts, wear silly hats, and smile for the camera.

What are your Easter traditions?