Easter…. New dresses, patent leather shoes, lace trimmed anklets, white gloves and of course, the ever popular Easter bonnets. Remember those days? I am not so sure we see that kind of hoopla today, but it sure brings back memories for many of us. I love this photo of my sisters and our mom, taken around 1960. It makes me think of the notion of rituals. Some might think that word is a bit stifling, but I believe the idea of rituals brings security and comfort to children as they grow up.

We need those rituals to create a sense of belonging and family unity in our world today. Having raised two sons, we don’t have the family memories of the Easter bonnets and gloves of course, but I bet if I quiz our sons, they WILL remember the ritual of getting spiffed up on Easter morning, complete with me chasing them down with comb and spray bottle of water to get that hair just right, especially before the Easter pictures were taken. Maybe this memory will even bring them a laugh some day, along with what I have heard so many times already… “Mom, you were ridiculous with that hair thing!”

Our boys also had the holiday ritual of Easter egg dyeing. Again with boys, we didn’t really have the girly touch to any of this. I would prep the kitchen table with a cute Eastery vinyl tablecloth, line up the cups of colored water, get the wire wands all set up and await the gorgeous beauties my boys would create. Oh, such high hopes I had! Well, the beautiful eggs would start out with great pastel colors, reminding us of the hues of Spring, only to soon be changed up to what the boys called “The Death Eggs”…. The Death Eggs would end up being the colors of gray and black, depending on how many colors they could combine. Why leave those pretty pastels the way they were? Oh no, the best method they could come up with was mixing every single color together to create these little gems. Lovely, just lovely. The Death Eggs. Oh well, tradition! Yes, that’s the way it goes, raising boys, and we’ll take tradition any way we can get it, right?

Do you have some Holiday traditions that stand the test of time? Traditions are a funny thing, since so often the original intent veers so far off the mark that the rituals take on a life of their own. Whatever your traditions, just enjoy them, even if they are as goofy as the “Death Egg”… In the end, that’s what makes a memory, the quirky, “You had to be there” type of mentality. Have a joyous holiday and may your traditions be cherished, no matter what color your Easter eggs turn out to be! Maybe I’ll get that spray bottle of water out again, since my own hair could use a little spiffing up!

Here’s a photo of Matt and Jeff, coloring Easter Eggs back in the day, still young enough to go along with Mom’s idea of keeping the eggs pretty!
And one more photo.. Easter, 1995…Oh the memories!