Kristie never really cared much for Easter. As a child, it was her least favorite Holy-day. As a girl, she was expected to dress up appropriately in a pastel dress with lace and fluff, some tight white Mary Jane’s with lace cuffed socks, white gloves, and a simple white straw hat embellished with pink satin ribbon woven into the eyelets on the band. Her usually wild unkempt mat of strawberry blond hair was pulled and twisted into twin pony tails and set with rag curls into ringlets.
She was expected to be on her best behavior even though she was a little hellion who liked to go outside and get dirty. She was allowed to sit in church with her great grandmother on Easter Sunday. She was always well behaved when she was with her. To Kristie, she was an angel from God Himself sent down to Earth to make her life more pleasant. She had tried getting her grand child to go to Bible class with the other kids, but the girl was recalcitrant and did not appreciate the lessons they had to give.
Kristie was quite content to sit in church holding Gigi’s gloved hand and listen to the readings from the Saint James Bible and quotes from Mary Baker Eddy’s, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She liked the Christian Science Church service which was always led by two readers; one man and one woman. The music and singing were also major delights. There was always a featured song from the popular genre sung by either a strong male baritone or female soprano like, “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high… and don’t be afraid of the dark…”
Gigi would have wrapped up fifty cent piece for the child to put in the donation basket when it was passed. Gigi always gave a cheque in an envelope. She was a major supporter of the church and had been instrumental in having it built, which is interesting because in the present day it has become an Islamic Community Center. Wonder what Gigi would think of that?
After church, the kids got to open their Easter baskets. Some of the candy was fun, like chocolate bunnies filled with chocolate fudge and nuts, multi-colored jelly beans fruity and sweet. There were over a hundred colored eggs to find which had all been boiled and dyed the night before. The egg hunt would have been set before church by one of the aunties. It was the most fun to search for eggs in the Fernery which was a lath house, cool and mossy. The kids ate way too many eggs doused with salt, pepper, and a shot of Tabasco sauce.
Since they were all dressed up they couldn’t go out back and play, so the cousins sat swinging their legs back and forth on an increasing sugar high in various rooms of the Big House waiting for dinner.
When dinner was about to be ready all the aunts and uncles began arriving after consuming some of the hard stuff up at Uncle Wally’s house. Gigi didn’t allow drinking in her house, although Grandad did keep a bottle of something out back in the shed, and Mimi always had an ice bucket in her private rooms chilling her favorite Hamm’s beer.
Dinner was the traditional ham studded with pineapple rings and cloves, mashed potatoes, candied yams, broccoli, carrot, and Brussels sprout medley, kitchen sink (everything) green salad, jello salad, and PIES!! Boysenberry, apple, lemon meringue, pineapple upside down cake, carrot cake, coconut cake, hand cranked ice cream, and just in case anyone hadn’t had enough sugar… a huge box of See’s candy was passed around!
All in all, Easter for the kids was dressing up for a huge feast, a celebration of spring, lots of sugar and eggs, going to church, and, oh yeah… Jesus!
(First published 4/1/13)
