Easter Monday

This is the last day of the Easter holiday. Actually for me the best day of them all. Meals have been cooked, shopping has been done, invitations have been fulfilled and it is just a day to relax and more or less do nothing. In Switzerland the shops are completely closed over Easter on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday so no-one can or has to go shopping.

When the kids were younger we seem to have spent the complete Easter Saturday afternoon boiling eggs in a large saucepan (at least 30 eggs as then all 4 children were at home). We bought various types of wood containing natural colouring elements and the eggs took on the colour of the wood, brown, red, violet or yellow according to the type being used. In delicate work we collected various plants from the garden (mainly clover) and tied them to the eggs with cotton. After they had been boiled the eggs had the imprint of the plants. Of course, this was psychologically very benefial to the children - after all mummy and daddy were being perfect examples of parentage. I usually spent at least an hour afterwards scraping the dye off the table top and pans not to mention scrubbing 4 pairs of childrens hands after this Easter tradition had been carried out. The funny thing is we must have enjoyed it as hubby and I still colour the Easter eggs today, but in a simpler way and not so many. We buy tubes containing various colours which we put in a solution of water and vinegar. Boil the eggs and then submerge them in special plastic cups in the dye mixture for about 5 minutes. The result is to be seen above.

Another tradition was hiding the Easter nests. If you had a garden this was quite easy. You hid chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, real eggs (coloured of course) and other such Easter sweets all around the garden. The children searched for them on Easter Sunday morning and what they found was theirs. What they didn't find was probably Christmas and New Year combined for the worm population of the garden. At this time we didn't have a garden, so not wanting to disappoint the children, the Easter treats were hidden in the home. Such places as the oven, cupboards, under beds or cushions were used. Over the years the kids knew where to look, but they had their fun, It was just a bit risky when the chocolate egg hidden under a cushion on the settee wasn't found until someone sat on it. The basic idea was that the Easter bunny had brought the presents (something like the Christmas Santa but with two big ears and a basket on his back containing the eggs).

Today is Easter Monday, my last day before going back to work tomorrow so I am enjoying my last day of freedom. What did we have for lunch today? No problem - a ready cooked ham which just had to be warmed in the plastic bag, cooked red cabbage and potatoes - ready to serve in 30 minutes with the help of the pressure cooker and the microwave.