There's a lovely bit in The Sound of Music (the book, not the movie) when Maria is describing Easter weekend and she says, "Children who still believe in the Easter Bunny are told that on Holy Saturday all the church bells fly to Rome, where the Holy Father blesses them, and afterwards they fly back to their places, freshly blessed."
How apt, because the whole world seems freshly-blessed at Easter. That's partly due to the season, of course: Spring makes all things new and opens up a world of possibilities. I get a bit sappy about spring, since it's my favourite season, but really, what's not to like about fresh air, new leaves, baby flowers...So this week, everyone has been talking about life. My Jewish classmates have been talking about Passover. (I had a great conversation about unleavened bread with a Jewish classmate the other day-- he says it's gross, and I told him that's because he's never had my grandma's unleavened bread, which is fabulous. Also, he mentioned Matzo pizza, and I am totally all over that idea.) Christian classmates of all stripes have been talking about Holy Week. And of course, I know a handful of people who celebrate Passover and Easter, which is not as strange as it may sound when you first hear it.
Lives saved. Lives reclaimed. The new life of spring. Easter fills us with such promise. A blessed day to you.
Which (if either) do you celebrate: Passover or Easter? Do you have any special traditions?
8 comments:
I discuss both every year, but I am not sure how well I celebrate either of them. I want the celebration to remind me that G-d is doing amazing things to rescue us now. I just hope we all stay rescued. :)
We recognize Easter every year with a family gathering...
Wonderful post! Thank you!
We celebrate Easter and the Ressurection.
Happy Easter to you! I just got back from a family dinner that brings together six families, and we even Skyped with our American aunts and uncles and one cousin in Michigan (we're in Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada.) That was a howler!
My Michigan uncle said, "Just remember, if Jesus hadn't been born, we wouldn't have this day together."
And my Nova Scotia uncle said, "That's the one with the Christmas tree."
And I said, "Go back to church."
@Chad: Very nice.
@mybabyjohn: I was thinking today how nice it would have been to have been with Chad's family today-- they had an Easter brunch & posted the pictures on Facebook! I'm so jealous!
@Kerri: You're welcome!
@Diane: Happy Easter to you, then!
@Julia: First of all, I'm totally jealous that you live in Nova Scotia. That's on my "must-visit" list. Secondly, that's hysterical.
Of course, in Australia it's not spring, it's autumn :D
I haven't read the Sound of Music! Should add it to my TBR list!
Funny you should mention that, because I was thinking about the southern hemisphere during church yesterday (after I wrote the post), and how a lot of the way I feel about Easter doesn't really apply below the Equator. Does that make it a completely different holiday, I wonder?
I love the book! I've been a fan of the movie since I was tiny, but the book really filled in some gaps.
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