He is Risen! Alleluia! After 40 days of fasting, prayer and self-denial, the time for celebration has finally come!
Even though its hard to remember sometimes, we can't forget that the Easter season lasts longer than just one Sunday. Are you kidding? Do you think that those 40 straight days of preparation and repentance were all for just 24 hours of rejoicing? Of course not! The Easter season lasts a full 50 days.
Besides the holiday itself, my favorite time around Easter has to be Holy Week. When Palm Sunday arrives my excitement starts to build up. By the time the Sacred Triduum rolls around I am absolutely pumped! All three days are filled with some rich traditions which I love: from the seven church walk on Thursday evening to the blessing of the Easter baskets on Saturday morning.
We had already bought all the candy we needed from Malley's while staying at my grandma's house a week prior, so I spent the days leading up to Easter getting ready in other ways. Since I'm the least busy and don't live out of state, I was a good candidate to become the official family Baker of the Easter Goodies. On Holy Wednesday I made some special Holy Thursday rosemary buns, which are a close cousin to Hot Crossed Buns. My mom was right, though. I should've started them earlier in the day; They weren't done till 12:40 a.m. ! But despite that, they did turn out pretty good. On Holy Thursday, my friend came over and showed me how to make her grandma's famous nut roll, which, by the way is DELICIOUS! It was my first experience making nut roll and I was surprised at how easy it was. On Holy Saturday I made an Edelweiss Coffee cake. Yummy! There's still one last piece I'm saving in the fridge.
And let's not forget my most favorite pre-Easter activity: dying eggs. I love taking plain white eggs and transforming them into colorful masterpieces. The process reminds me of the transition from winter to spring.
Upon looking up tips for dying the eggs, I came across this fun method:
http://www.rd.com/slideshows/11-ways-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally/
I thought it looked like such a fun project to do, but unfortunately, this year I can't. But if you're unlike me and don't have an egg carton full of hard boiled colored eggs that are still needing to be eaten, perhaps you can try it for yourself. Let me know if it works!
