Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site

Yesterday was the first day of spring.  A time of renewal and breaking from the cold winter months.  Flowers bloom and Robins reappear (I still think they are here all winter). I read that sometimes Robins winter in our area but don’t sing during the winter.  My opinion is there’s not much to sing about in winter. They’re fairly smart birds.

Easter is just three weeks away and I’ve read more than a few articles on why we have an Easter Bunny. Easter is a Christian holiday, but it has been celebrated by other religions and pagans for centuries.  The Jewish faith celebrates Passover in a completely different manner for very different reasons.  Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Jews celebrate the delivery of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. 

So why an Easter Bunny?  That myth may have come from Germany who celebrated a goddess named Eostre (sounds sort of like Easter) who was a goddess of fertility.  What, after all, is more fertile than a bunny?  That’s where the term “multiplying like rabbits” came from.  But this bunny was very judgmental and decided if children were good enough to deserve gifts of colored eggs and candy.  Maybe that is why that ugly Easter Bunny at the mall scares children.

When my kids were small we always colored Easter eggs.  On Saturday evening after supper, the eggs were boiled, and the dye prepared.  I had probably just put the final touches on the Easter dress for my daughter or shirt for my son.  (Later they didn’t want Mom’s homemade items, but it worked when they were little).  They each had a basket (I recently found my son’s in the back of a closet.  It now holds extension cords to keep them altogether.) Their artwork went into their baskets to sit overnight while the Bunny came.  And he always did.  They got candy, toys and something that they needed – often socks and underwear.  The Bunny was nothing if not thrifty.  Then we all ate hard boiled eggs for a week. 

When I was a child my mother dressed up three little girls with hats, gloves, socks and shoes that matched the homemade dresses.  She often had a new Easter dress too if she had time to sew for herself. 

I often thought the renewal of spring and the donning of new clothes went hand in hand.  There was nothing religious about it, but we did wear them to church the next morning.

So, you have three weeks to get your spring ensemble ready, color your eggs, and maybe celebrate Easter as your religion dictates.  Any way you look at it, spring is a time of renewal of the earth and your spirit.  Winter is over and warm days are ahead. 

What are you doing for Easter?