Monday's Question Of The Day - April 17, 2017

[MoochNNoodles]

Happy Monday. (Is that an oxymoron? ) To those of you with children on spring break and a sugar high simultaneously; you have my sympathies. I didn't put much candy in my kids Easter baskets because I also put jelly beans in plastic eggs to hide. The problem is; my mother also hides a plethora of eggs for the grandkids and she pretty much STUFFED them full of candies. I should post a picture of just one of my kid's bags!!

When I was a kid my Grandpa would save his change and fill eggs with that. My cousins and I thought it was AWESOME!! I doubt we ever got more than a couple dollars but we sure thought it was just THE BEST. So of course I'm reminiscing and thinking how simple that was but so memorable. Back in the old days...

What was the Easter holiday like in your family when you were a child?


My family was fairly traditional, primarily Catholic, and revolved around a meal at my Grandparents with my cousins, Aunts and Uncles. After church/mass of course. At Easter there was always the egg hunt and the lamb made out of butter. Gram would have a lily plant on the coffee table in the living room. (They didn't have cats. ) Grandpa would have his camera and tripod out to take a family picture. Before dinner we would have communion basically. Grandpa would start it and then eventually we would all go around the room breaking off a piece of wafer from each other's portion; giving hugs and kisses on the cheek. There may be a name for this but I don't remember it right now. It's been a very long time since I was able to do that.

After dinner we would have a pretty typical Sunday afternoon. Mom would nap. The guys would go down to the basement to watch sports, the kids would play and anyone else would gather in the living room. Eventually board or card games would be started. I miss those days.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Oh Boy ... I miss those days also . Lucky us to have had those times ! I wonder if many people play board games today ?
Easter was not such a big thing for my family as other holidays but there was always candy baskets with the green plastic "grass" and a chocolate bunny that would soon be eaten . My brother and I would compare candy from our baskets and trade a few with each other. I do remember Mom painting boiled eggs and hiding little candy surprise treasures in the yard .

Best wishes to you & yours ~

 

[jennifurr]

I found Easter to be a very fun holiday for me. Every year, my family would create an Easter egg hunt for me and my brother. The one that stands out the most was when I was about 8. My paternal grandparents hid lots of eggs outside and made a contest out of it; whoever collected the most eggs wins a prize. Some of the eggs have Looney Tunes characters, and they were worth more points. I ended up collecting the most eggs, and won a coloring book.

Another family tradition was that I would leave carrots for the Easter Bunny (which I later discovered wasn't real) the same way I would leave cookies for Santa. I would write him a letter, and he would write back, thanking me for the carrots. One time, he even commented on the pen I used to write a letter (it had Bugs Bunny on it).

 

[Kat0121]

We were catholic too. We went to mass then we would have a big dinner. Roast beef or something like that. We had our baskets of goodies. I still make DD a goody basket.

 

[Winchester]

Mom and Dad always made a basket for each of us. My aunt and uncle would come and they always brought a basket for each of us, too. Lots of chocolate made me a happy camper (still does, in fact; to this day, I have "thing" for chocolate bunny ears.). Mom always did the ham dinner. We didn't do church.

Once we got older, we didn't have baskets. Instead Mom bought a huge two-piece hollow chocolate egg and filled the egg with little chocolate figurines: bunnies, chicks, etc. She kept it on the hutch and we'd walk by and grab a hunk. In fact, Mom says that's how she knew for sure that I was pregnant. That year, she had the hollow egg with the figurines. But they all went to Tennessee to Nashville and I didn't want to go along (because....Nashville), so Grandma came down and stayed with me. When Mom came back, she figured all the chocolate would be gone (because I am a serious chocolate hound....it's really bad). Much to her surprise, it was all there. She said she suspected I was pregnant, but when the chocolate hadn't been eaten, she knew. She couldn't eat chocolate when she carried all three of us and she figured it out. The whole time I was pregnant, no chocolate and no KFC....go figure.

We always did a basket for our son, too. We would keep it out for him to see when he got up in the morning. Until one year, he ate every single thing in his Easter basket before 6:00 in the morning; there was a lot of stuff in that basket, too. Then he wondered why he was so sick. He is a serious chocolate hound, too; he definitely takes after his mother with the chocolate. That ended that. From then on, we kept the basket in our bedroom closet and gave it to him once we were all awake and out of bed. (FWIW, he did try sneaking into the bedroom to get his basket. I was awake and watching and, just as he was ready to grab his basket, I said, "Busted!" )

 

[LTS3]

We don't celebrate Easter so there was nothing special about the day. At school we would do thngs like make Easter baskets out of milk cartons and other decorations and those got displayed at home for a few days but that was it.

 

[Freedom]

Growing up, my Easter was very much like yours, MoochNNoodles. Roman Catholic, and Sicilian - EAT!

Mum always had Easter baskets for us, so in the morning we'd find those waiting in the living room. Chocolate, breakfast, more candy, then off to Mass. Back home for a bit more chocolate and off to my Grandparents' house, for dinner with them, and all the Uncles and Cousins. My job at every gathering as to ensure we had enough chairs at the table. I would have to check who was coming, count, and go around my grandparents' house getting chairs and bringing them in to the dining room. Usually we were 17; a few times we were 21. One family of 5 (cousins at my Dad's generation) kind of alternated when they were with us, when with the other family. Dinner (at noon) was several courses: lasagne, salad with ham and turkey, plenty of side dishes and Italian bread (no rolls, please!), and lots of chatter. Two tables, one for the grown ups, one for the 'children.' Thing is, being as my bro and I are the youngest of all the cousins, the 2 of us and 1 other cousin were forever at the 'children's table,' even in to our late teens. There was just no more room at the other table!

Everything would get cleaned up, women would wash the dishes and put things away, men would have some nuts and nut crackers to keep us little ones busy. Often my Nonno would have a honey dew melon - a rare treat! And we each received a thin slice. Then came the desserts and coffee! Every aunt made at least 1 and usually 3 or 4 desserts. Followed by another clean up. Nonno would bring out some home made Anisette, everyone (adults) had a shot glass. Children were allowed to dip the pinky finger in to sample a taste.

Of course the weeks leading up to this feast involved going to stores to find THE perfect outfit for Mum and me. Dresses, stockings, white gloves - Mum used hers year after year but I either outgrew mine or managed to lose one, get one dirty or some such. New shoes, hat - HAD to have an Easter hat! All the Aunts and female cousins were also decked out in new outfits. The men had it easy - suit, tie, shine the shoes, done. LOL

So different now. My cousins are all grandparents and have their own family gathering. I've never married nor had any children, so I spent the day here at home with my cats and dogs. I DID have one chocolate bunny!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That does sound a lot like our family holidays Freedom ! 2 of my Grandparents are Italian, first generation American. My other Grandmother was Polish and Greek (but she sure made meatballs and sauce like one! ); also first generation American. My other Grandfather was German. So we had a blend of cultural traditions and foods. My Grandparent's house was small so there wasn't even room for a real kid's table; just card trays tucked against one wall facing each other. If my out-of-town cousins were there Gram gave up and we ate buffet style. Everyone knew their jobs and just did them. (And that makes me feel like a parenting failure here! )

When I was little I remember having the white gloves and an "Easter Bonnet." I don't remember at what age I stopped getting a new dress for Easter but I know I dressed up for it as a teenager. My son wore his first bow tie yesterday. I couldn't find him dress shoes so he was wearing a new pair of chucks. Boys really do have it easier!! Fortunately DD loves to be decked out. My little niece was so proud of her dress and sparkly shoes she had a little swing in her step and didn't want to take it off. But me? I was in jeans and a new short sleeved shirt. Our church has everything from casual to suits all the time anyway.

 

[jcat]

Ours was your traditional Roman Catholic holiday, with mass, then a family get-together with a big dinner. My mom used to go all out with our Easter baskets. She actually drove to another city every year to get special handmade Easter candy, and our baskets were huge. There was always a big coconut cream egg in the middle. Even after I married and moved overseas, she'd get me one of those eggs and save it for my next visit.

 

[Primula]

The only thing I remember about Easter was Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday & very nice chocolate Easter Eggs on Easter Sunday. We never went to church & I don't recall anything special for Sunday dinner.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Easter baskets, coloring Easter eggs, and Easter dinner with the family.

 

[muffy]

I remember my grandmother making home made candy on Easter. The best thing she made was big dark chocolate eggs with butter cream in the center. They were so good I would love to have one right now. I remember getting a new Easter outfit and sometimes going to church. I don't remember having a special Easter dinner.