This is a very special week of preparation for many Christians as Easter Sunday draws near.
All my life I have participated in preparing for Easter.
Certain traditions and ceremonies we followed when I was a kid are still very fresh in my mind.
As a child, there was no way I wanted to have anybody wash my feet in public.
On Good Friday, my mother made us turn off the radio between the hours of noon and 3 p.m., in commemoration of Christ's crucifixion.
The silence in our usual noisy household was deafening.
Another strange phenomena was that it almost always rained on Good Friday.
The cold, gray rain matched the sadness we felt in our hearts for our Lord's suffering and death.
Easter Sunday, of course, was always very exciting. My mom dressed us to the hilt in new outfits, including bonnets, white gloves and all.
There was always church, a festive dinner and fabulous Easter baskets.
As Holy Week begins, all these memories come flooding into my mind.
Once again, it will be good to remember and prepare.
DO YOU FOLLOW CERTAIN EASTER TRADITIONS?
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13 comments:
I have many fond memories of Easter growing up and even when my kids were little as we had many friends here to celebrate with. Now, with Sunday being the first day of the work week, we have school and it turns out to be just another day. Have a wonderful week. Tammy
Good morning Susan, your childhood sound very much like mine. We had a week of church events and Good Friday was a very somber day. Do you remember "dusters"? They were little light weight coats my mom made for us...usually navy with white colors. We had new outfits, shoes, dresses, hats, purses and of course those little white gloves.
We dyed eggs, made Blarney stone cakes (as shared on my blog), and had our Easter egg hunt and baskets, after church and breakfast and before the big ham dinner. My German grandpa liked picked eggs, so we always had those. They are so pretty when sliced with the deep purple. I remember when I was in high school, my mom and I went to a sunrise service, just the two of us and it was really special.
Enjoy the week.
Linda
PS...I didn't want my feet washed either!!!
There are definitely things that occur during Holy Week that are meaningful to us. Mid-day church services Monday through Wednesday, Maundy Thursday evening service followed by a Good Friday evening service lead us into a glorious Easter morning!
For 30 years or more, I have also baked Hot Cross Buns to share with friends on Good Friday. Plans are to do this again this year.
Wishing you a blessed Holy Week, Susan!
We normally attend a sunrise service at a neighborhood church. Our church rotates years with two other congregations nearby, so we attend whichever one is taking their "turn" that year, and breakfast follows the service. Normally, that service starts at 7 a.m., but the host church this year is starting at 6:30!! YIKES!!! Not sure we'll make it to that one, but we will definitely be a part of the cantata our own church is presenting on Sunday morning. This is such a wonderful, sad, but glorious week in the life of a Christian!
The first thing I want to say, is be careful with Lilies if you have cats! We just received an email from our vet that they are poisonous and they've already had three cats brought in who ingested some of the leaves and nearly died.
I'm probably not going to be attending church; I'm catholic, but I don't like some of the things they're invoking. I tend to have my own conversations with God and make sure I take time to be thankful all year long, but yes, a glorious week to celebrate. XOXO
When I became a teen, I had to sew my own dress for Easter if I got a new dress so that is what I did. Some turned out; some not so much.
Hi Susan,
Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I can relate to this post! I have 6 brothers and sisters and Easter Sunday was a big to do in our house...dressed up in Easter hats, new dresses, white socks, white gloves--my brothers in suits, then we would go to church. Great memories. I don't know how my mother managed to get us all dressed in time for church each Sunday.
xoxo.
Mary
Oh yes, I'm still in church on Holy week singing with the choir and preparing for our Easter Mass. This year we are singing the Halleluja chorus from the Messiah so we are very busy rehearsing that particular piece of music. My family will be here for Easter dinner and that will be so wonderful.
What a good mom you had. And I agree it almost always rains and storms on Good Friday around that time. Hugs, sandie
Welcome to RUSSIAN DOLLS, this blog's 361st Follower.
There was actually a post on the fabulous dolls that this place has in the Prudential Center in Boston.
You can find it by going to:
http://writingstraightfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2012/03/babushka-nesting-or-matryoshka-dolls.html
Thanks for following!
Hugs to all! Susan
We gather as a family for Easter brunch. I can remember trying not to talk on Good Friday. A lot of people think that Christmas is our most holiness of days. But Easter is by far the most holy of all.
I do remember thinking it was rainy and/or cloudy on Good Friday. And, just like you, my mom dressed us in a pretty dress with an Easter Bonnet and little white gloves to match our new lace socks and shoes. Did you also have newly cut bangs that were about an inch in length and curls made by sleeping in sponge curlers and styled with a rat-tail comb?
Those totally random memories came back just as I was reading your post :)
Easter dinner after worship with family ♥
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