Vermont

Easter 2021

What are you making for Easter? If you’ve followed me for any amount of time you are probably aware that I really admire and borrow from Jewish traditions throughout the year because they are often richer than strictly Christian traditions. Jewish traditions seem to involve sustenance, symbolism, repetition, and community. This habit could also be influenced by how much I liked The All-of-a-Kind Family series as a girl.

Either way, I was happy to learn this week about Easter/resurrection cookies–meringues made with egg whites, sugar, crushed nuts, a touch of vinegar, ingredients mixed together while reading aloud specific passages from the Bible, then the pan of cookies is placed in a warm oven and opened the next morning. It has all the marks of a lovely tradition. Going to try it on Saturday. This link is to a pdf with all the directions, but you can find lots of images online as well.

Definitely going to make this mustard sauce as well.

Nothing will quite soothe the longings to be back in the enormous ornate church with a choir waiting to sing. The bundles of flowers everywhere you look mixing yellow, white and green; all of the stems leaning toward the congregation in the pews. The rush to get dressed in the morning, managing to find a dress to fit each girl, not bothering to worry about clean hair or fingernails. Waiting to shout hallelujah! together. The electric excitement of children already fueled by morning jelly beans, lining up to see baby animals brought in that morning by a man from outside the city and now waiting in the library just off the sanctuary. And after that, watching as they find even more candy nestled within the nearly neon plastic eggs scattered in the church garden. You, drinking very hot but very bad church coffee, thinking maybe you might only ever dress your children in white, they look so nice.

 

8 Comments

  • Laura

    I’ve found a lot of meaning in observing the liturgical year- it’s full of rich traditions! It’s a nice practical reminder that our world is filled with order and beauty with which Christian tradition can help us to engage. I’ve used some of the ideas Kendra Tierney lists here in years past: https://catholicallyear.com/blog/the-you-can-still-do-this-guide-to-a/ (her ideas are all steeped in Church tradition). It’s too late to use them this year, but she does have lots of other interesting ideas on her site, as well as a book specifically about liturgical traditions.

    Those resurrection cakes do seem very special and meaningful. I’m sure your girls will enjoy them! God bless you and yours!

  • Katharine

    Happy Easter! I love the idea of those resurrection cakes. Putting that on the list of traditions to incorporate — next year! I love that there are always more ideas for next year.

    Holy Week and Easter definitely have me missing actual services in an actual church. But one thing that I’m remembering to love (or, frequently reminding myself to appreciate) about our virtual church and at-home Holy Week activities is how much room they leave for answering questions right away. Certainly a plus with a little one who is just starting to grasp what all this fuss is for.

    • Rachael

      Yes! Throughout this year I’ve really been thankful for the slow chill mornings that church has been. Though we’ve homeschooled for years, Sundays were always a rush for us, along with lots of adrenline and hurrying around. Thanks for this reminder Katharine.

  • Taylor

    I’m going to make the egg white cookies some time this week! Easter is a whole season right? I did brunch prep on Saturday and a few other traditions over the weekend (foot washing is perpetually adorable with toddlers), so I didn’t have the energy for resurrection cookies. Still excited to try them this week 🙂

    • Rachael

      It certainly is a whole season and I love that approach! Thanks for sharing some of your traditions with me, Taylor.

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