Do you remember... do you remember that holiday that was celebrated a month and a half ago?
๐ค I know it was quite a while ago, but I have a draft waiting since then with a topic related to that date. Easter and Easter decorations, and it seems that today it is finally arriving here on my blog to be written and published. Incredible, isn't it? On April 1st, as if it were an April Fool's joke (but it wasn't a joke hahaha), the admin of this community posted that monthly topic, along with a hope/promise to contribute to it with her collection. Oopsie, nothing since then in the collectors community from my side. Not even the topic for May, which was obviously skipped, as I couldn't be around and prepare a post or check the possible entries.
But better late than never. And I want to bring you a new theme for June, so even though this post may seem very out of season and outdated, I really have to keep my word and show you the Easter decoration that is typical for my family.
For the first time in many years, we were able to find the time to travel to our hometown and be with our parents for this holiday. The traditions and customs that were celebrated when I was a child myself are still there, preserved from oblivion. It was very nice to see and participate again in these preparations for the holiday and share the traditional Easter Eve dinner with all of them.
A traditional dinner includes boiled ham, boiled eggs, fresh green vegetables like spring onions or lettuce, radish, beetroot, grated horseradish, and bread. My parents always prepare their ham in the winter and save it for Easter. A day or two before Easter, they soak it in water and cook it on Friday night (or Saturday morning). It usually cooks for a couple of hours, if it is a large piece for a large family. When the ham is done and taken out of the water to drain, pre-washed eggs are added. About fifteen minutes of cooking is enough for them. The boiled eggs in this case get that ham flavour too.
Besides the traditional dishes, one of the most important features of the Easter holidays is the painted eggs. As small, we used to get them as gifts along with some chocolate bunnies or sweets.
So, the eggs that would be dyed are cooked separately. It is also a special tradition and there are many ways to dye and decorate Easter eggs. There have been a few wonderful posts with Easter eggs (thanks @bibana, @duskobgd and @qwerrie) showing how it can become art. We usually put grass or flower petals in stockings to leave a mark on the eggshell, and dye them in onion skins or red paint. My sister usually combines several colours, not just the traditional red. There are also stickers for Easter eggs, which my mother-in-law used this year.
I know, our Easter eggs are not real pieces af artwork, but they were prepared with joy and eaten with joy as well! Still, there are other kinds of decorations that are not suitable for consumption... for example, wooden decorations or eggs of other materials that are hung from willow branches.
These wooden birds, nests and little eggs are the same ones that my family has had for more than four decades, and they are still here to prove their longevity.
This blue chocolate bunny is also proving the same!!! We got it when I was small, and I guess we were too sorry to eat it. So it was preserved in this form, and every year my mom finds this bunny and places it as a decoration. Although he is a bit injured (no surprise he is a bit injured after so many years), he is otherwise healthy and alive. She calls it Methuselah Easter Bunny. ๐
A younger relative of this Metuselah Easter Bunny lives in Spain. A lot younger bunny, although as my son grows - and he is not so small anymore - this example also adds to his number of years...
My son was sorry to eat it, so it stayed untouched.
The following images show the decoration my sister placed. She put the willow branches in a vase and hung these cardboard/paper Easter eggs.
I see she also got some different decorations for the holiday. Maybe they are not new, I don't know, but for me they are new - I see them for the first time.
All these photos you see in this post were taken during the Easter holidays spent at my parents' and sister's home (except the Spanish chocolate bunny of my son), but I still have my Easter decoration here in Spain. Don't worry, I will not post about them now haha, maybe I will be able to make a post about it next year ๐.
Soon I will have to start preparing the next month's topic ๐ so I finish here my official entry for ~~last month~~ April's theme.
