Easter {Jessica Butler}

Easter is primarily a celebration of Spring for my family and has become for me an extension of the Vernal Equinox. We have traditionally gathered together for a meal and some time together on Easter Sunday. Frequently I spend time planting flowers and working in the garden. We do color eggs and my children enjoy Easter egg hunts and searching for their Easter baskets on Easter morning. In fact they love the searching aspect so much that this tradition of hiding surprises has extended to their birthdays as well. Both of them now request that their birthday gifts be hidden, sometimes with treasure maps and sometimes without.

While my Easter celebrations now have many similarities to those from my childhood, I have scaled back considerably from what my parents did for Easter. Things are more manageable, the meal is simpler, the time and activities are less hectic, the mood is more relaxed. More eggs are hidden but less candy is involved.

The second part of Easter that has meaning for my family is that my grandmother was born on Easter and while I was growing up, whether it fell on her birthday or not, the celebration was very much about my grandmother. She loved Spring and enjoyed singing Easter songs to us. She spent time in the garden and in the kitchen helping my mother make Easter dinner. There was always potato salad. There was always my grandmother. Although she has passed on, her presence is still very much a part of Easter for me. I can still remember her showing up at our house on Easter morning, excited, glowing, singing out, "Happy Easter!" Spring is here! A time for new beginnings...