Easter Memories - Then and Now

A very long time ago, when my sisters and I were young children, we eagerly looked forward to Easter Sunday. To us, at our young age, Easter signified a shopping trip for a new outfit, patent leather shoes, and of course, a spiffy Easter bonnet - all to wear to mass on Easter Sunday.

Unlike today, Easter bonnets or hats were a necessity. Years ago, women were required to wear a head covering to church to honor and respect the Lord.

We also looked forward to waking up on Easter morning to find baskets filled with chocolate rabbits, chicks and other varieties of candy. There wasn't an Easter I remember that we didn't hunt for eggs my mother hid the night before. We would then go to mass, as proud as peacocks, dressed in our brand new Easter attire.

After mass, it was customary to drive to Lakeview Park on Lake Erie to have our pictures taken in front of the huge Easter basket filled with concrete eggs. Some Easters, there would be snow on the ground and we would be shivering as our pictures were being taken!

We would then join our aunts, uncles, and many cousins at my fraternal grandparent's home to partake in a traditional Italian Easter dinner. The adults would linger at the table indulging in their last glass of vino, while the children would dance in the living room to the music on the radio.

As our families grew and my grandparents passed away, those memorable Easter dinners subsided. My immediate family and my father's sibling's families began to celebrate Easter in their own homes and formed their own traditions.

As I grew older, I realized that Easter was not only new clothing, candy, and egg hunts. I began to understand that Easter signified the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In the Catholic church, Ash Wednesday represents the beginning of Lent which commences forty days before Easter Sunday. Lent commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the desert before his crucifixion. On Ash Wednesday, the priest distributes ashes on the foreheads of the faithful in the form of a crucifix as he softly recites the words: "Remember, Man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." The ashes are not to be washed off the entire day.

Fasting is also encouraged, not only on Ash Wednesday, but the entire Lenten season. Lent is a time of prayer and sacrifice. Years ago, Catholics were not permitted to partake of meat on all Fridays. Today, no meat is to be eaten on any Friday during the Lenten season only.

In preparation for receiving Holy Communion on Easter Sunday, most Catholics made their "Easter Duty" of going to confession to confess their sins to a priest who would absolve them of all their sins. Today, confession is referred to as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Holy Week begins with Holy Thursday. This is the day Jesus joined His Apostles to partake in "The Last Supper," for He was to be crucified the following day.

On Good Friday, all crucifixes are covered in cloths, for this day commemorates when Christ was crucified and put to death. Our family business as well as most other businesses including banks would close the doors to customers between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to mourn the death of Jesus Christ. Historically, the weather on Good Friday would become inclement and dark between those hours.

On Holy Saturday, we anticipate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for he rises on the 3^rd day, Easter Sunday, according to Scripture.

On Easter Sunday, the congregation sings out in praise, "Jesus Christ is risen today - Hallelujah!" The crucifix is uncovered and Christ is resurrected!

When my husband and I were married and we had our own child, we participated in the same traditions of Easters past - Easter bonnets, Easter baskets, egg hunts, and photographs taken at Lakeview Park. However, being my daughter attended a Catholic school, she was more aware of the significance of Easter than I was at her age. My husband and I reinforced the Christian values of Easter with her as she grew up to be a young woman. She now has a daughter of her own and my hope is that she will carry on our Christian beliefs and family traditions to her own family.

Today, women are no longer required to wear head coverings before entering a Catholic church. Fortunately for me, I no longer have to wear one of those silly looking Easter bonnets!