Do you find that unlike Christmas, there’s a certain ease at Easter? Think about it.
The lead up to Christmas starts from October, as soon as the rush of back-to-school is over. It’s intense but exciting. There are always, always, so very many things to do: shop for food, for drinks, for decorations, for appliances and other household items, for gifts. We even end up buying things we already have without remembering we have brand new stuff from the year before. Sigh. We take on a lot. We consume a lot. There is just a lot of everything at Christmas.
On the other hand, there is the season of Lent that leads up to Easter. We shed. We abstain. We restrict. We reflect. And there is introspection. We think of ourselves with a view to hopefully being better. We eat less. We drink less. Hopefully, we pray more, practise mindfulness and think of ways of helping others.
Unlike Christmas with its extravagance and its unrivalled main meal, at Easter, we make a sumptuous Sunday lunch that may or may not have ham. Or we might opt for a lamb roast instead of the usual pork roast. At Easter, we enjoy the relaxation that comes with sipping tea and eat pretty little bites, baked treats, and sandwiches. We enjoy the outdoors of sunny afternoons, of pastel colours, flowers, wind chimes and children’s laughter. The pressure and exhaustion of Christmas is absent.
We embrace wide open spaces, parks, gardens, and beaches.
We picnic and fly kites.
As a kid, I looked forward to kite-making, and by that I mean I would look on in awe at how the frames would be constructed, the colourful delicate paper draped artfully and secured with a natural paste. The making of the tongues that would sing, the frills adorning the sides and the pièce de rèsistance (for me) the decorative circular piece of art that would be stuck in the middle of the kite. A circular piece of kite paper would be folded over and over until small, and various little cuts would be made between folds. Finally, it would all be revealed when unfolded, the design, a unique creation of the kite maker (or their helper). My uncles and cousins would let me help (smile).
Easter very much feels like a time of renewal. It feels like a time at which we pause, take deep breaths, and recharge ourselves with energy to take on the rest of the year. It’s like a new beginning.
Having said all of that, the one thing I don’t like about Lent leading up to Easter is the cost of fish. There is no feeling of ease there. Not. At. All. And it matters not where you are – the price of fish is astounding. I know, it’s about demand and supply but they overdo it. This season, I had a ball eating canned fish – sardines and tuna. I ate salt fish and a variety of smoked fish from Guyana. On Good Friday, I made Curried Prawns with a rich, thick paste made of fresh coconut, spices, and fresh herbs.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks’ time, there will be an ease on the premium price of fish and I can have bakes and banga(mary) sandwiches, rice and peas topped with fried snapper or fried snook and pan seared fish with sauteed vegetables.
I feel an ease at Easter. What about you? Do you feel it? Whether or not you do, and if you celebrate it, Happy Easter!
Cynthia
