Gentle Spring.

Easter is slowly reaching its end. I have enjoyed the holidays and the short, but absolutely vital break away from work and the virtual world. The weather has been as mixed as one traditionally expects from the month of April. Almost a true cliché in fact; anything from hail and storm to a beautiful, warm sunshine.

The onset of a new month brings renewal in our nature in a very obvious way. Gone are the frosty nights and the sun grows stronger and more majestic by each passing day. It has added over six hours to our daylight. This means we are half way through the light increase before reaching the shortest night of the summer solstice.

My patio is changing as well. I did the first significant gardening of this year, taking care of my shrubs and bushes, trimming away dead branches of clematis, making it ready for its new season. I planted a few yellow pansies and multi-coloured violets, which add further life to my west facing patio. My daffodils are still only barely in bloom while crocuses are reaching their peak and slowly, the stalks of tulips and hyacinths are pushing through the soil.

This past Saturday the winds changed. A chilly breeze from east brought dry air and with it a pristine, bright sunny day. The first true spring day.
My terrace, completely shielded and drenched in sunshine became a tranquil oasis for the first time this year. As I sat on my sun chair covered in blankets, breathing in the fresh air and relaxing in the warmth of the sun, I relished in all the gentle beauty of spring that surrounded me in colours and scents. The life so palpable everywhere made me smiled with amusement as I recalled the massive snow blanket that used to cover this same spot just a few weeks ago.

Happy Easter To All Of You.

The Easter Bunny Explained.

Most of us are well familiar with the tradition of the Easter Bunny, but perhaps a few are aware of the origins to this lovely spring customs.

Commonly, the cute furry creature, that is sometimes depicted wearing cute clothes, brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning.

Some claim that the the Easter Bunny, just like the tradition of the Christmas Tree originated in southwestern Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, where it was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s. A century later, the tradition was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. The first edible Easter Bunnies likewise originated in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.

Other legends suggest that the Easter Bunny has roots in the pre-Christian, Anglo-Saxon history. The holiday was originally a pagan celebration that worshipped the goddess Eastre. She was the goddess of fertility and springtime and her earthly symbol was the rabbit. Thus the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons worshipped the rabbit believing it to be Eastre's earthly incarnation.

When the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity, the pagan holiday, which occurred around the same time as the Christian memorial of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, was combined with the Christian celebration and given the name Easter.

In any case, a bunny at Easter - whether a chocolate one or as a decorations - together with colourful eggs is as essential as the Tree is at Christmas.

And the one below must be the cutest one I have ever seen.

Easter Monday Of My Childhood.

Easter Monday is what I remember most vividly from the Easter celebrations in my childhood. Growing up in the communist part of Europe, the celebration contained a somewhat more pagan tradition.

Easter Mondays were renowned for a very odd, but never the least a very amusing custom. All the girls in the families were either soaked completely with water, that was poured over their heads from buckets held by the boys, or they were being hit across the legs, in a symbolic way, with long thin twigs or switches made from willow or birch tree branches, decorated with colourful bows. The origin of these customs is not completely known, but it has been suggested to be most likely symbols of rejuvenation and rebirth and are carried out as a contributing factor to keep the girls healthy and young.
I recall, that the striking with the willow branches was more a Czech custom, while the "watering" of the girls was a Slovak tradition.

Well, we did not concern ourselves at that time much about the origins of these traditions. All I remember was that on Easter Monday, my mother was constantly drenched and she kept changing into dry clothes every hour. This somewhat crazy spectacle would start in the morning, when my father would symbolically pour a glass of water over my mother, while she was still asleep and did the same to me and my sister. Interestingly, he would also give us fragrances as gifts. Getting these presents was worth the somewhat rough awakening.;)


But, that was just the beginning. We would dress in our best clothes, and so would my parents. One by one, friends and relatives would stop by during the day and all the males would pour buckets of water over my poor mother. Some of them took her even into the shower and showered her down. Describing it here makes it sound somewhat brutal, but it really was not. Everyone was always laughing and was in excellent mood. Particuarly the men. Although my mother secretly hated this. I think every woman did.
As children, me and my sister would most of the time only receive a friendly squirt of water here and there. Thankfully.

What I remember even more with amusement is an alteration of this "watering" custom, performed by the boys from school, that wold stop by our door. They would be more polite and not pour buckets of water over me; no, they would spray my hair with cheap fragrances and perfumes. Imagine what I must have smelled like, as sometimes there could be twenty boys coming by in one afternoon. In return, they would get money or beautifully decorated Easter eggs. I think they preferred the money.

I remember going to bed in the evening stinking something unbelievable - but - my hair would not come nowhere near a shampoo. It was absolutely crucial to keep the smell lasting until the next day. In school, all the girls would then smell each others hair and of course only the ones that had the most incredible mixture of scents would be the popular one.
Today I can not help but wonder whether any of them poured some extra fragrances on their heads the night before.;)

Easter Sunday.

Another beautiful day is reaching its end here in southern Scandinavia. Just like yesterday, it will offer a sunset out of this world - this one was taken yesterday when light cloud cover covered the setting sun.
I have been told, that if I ever wanted to sell my house (which will most likely never happen), I should decorate the walls with the multitude of sunset pictures I have captured out of the living room window over the years. Everyone who has experienced the sunsets from the house told me, that would guarantee a sale in no time.

Today I weeded the back terrace and I could not help but notice how much everything has changed since yesterday. Again over night. Particularly my clematis. I love those climbing plants, as they turn from nothing to something so stunning, it is close to unbelievable. Within a few months, this plant goes from a bunch of empty sticks to a green veil full of cobalt blue flowers. I have decided to post a weekly picture of the growth progress every Sunday, to show how beautiful it will get once we reach August.
The pictures below prove the statement I made yesterday, that is how growth can be watched over night. These are pictures of the growing clematis; note that the second picture was taken yesterday and the third one today. If you look closely, the difference is clearly visible (please click on the picture to enlarge).

Summerlike Easter.

We have had a continuous string of warm days. It has been a rare two weeks, with sunny days and the occasional shower in the night. I can see the nature changing in front of my eyes. I love this time of the year, when every single morning I can look out onto my garden and see that something new has sprouted, in what seems, just over night.
We have had the warmest April beginning on record and also the warmest Easter on record as well.
Today I worked many hours trying to remove the weed on my front terrace; it is painstaking job as the terrace is tiled and in between the tiles something unwanted always grows. However, this year I truly enjoyed it as the weather was gorgeous.
I also took out my coffee table set; this usually means that summer is approaching fast.
Both my terraces are filled with ladybugs. I could not resist making a little collage of the many beautiful tiny red "pearls" that decorate my many flower beds and pots.
Hoping everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend.

Easter Cinematography.

While growing up in Sweden, I recall that there was a tradition to broadcast particular films on television during the holidays. It became quiet customary to repeat a special broadcast every year. That was long before the cable with its multitude of channels. We only had two at that time and one of them would always show the Anglo-Italian television miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" during the Easter weekend.

I was already then enthralled by this masterpiece. Even though it is over thirty years old, still today I watch it with the same intensity as I did when I was a young girl, as it is close to impossible not to be captivated by the creative force and visions of Franco Zeffirelli, the director. His perceptive talent in casting, the ability to create authentic settings and his compelling storytelling has always appealed to me. Other of his works worth to mention in this context would be the adaptation of the famous Shakespeare love tragedy, Romeo and Juliet from 1967.

The success of this Easter miniseries was attributed not just to superb direction, but also to the astounding performance, both visual and creative, by the actor Robert Powell in the main role. Zeffirelli also did again cast Olivia Hussey (who appeared ten years prior in his "Romeo and Juliet") in the role of Mary. Her ethereal appeal brought serenity and a tranquil allure into this important role.

Easter Thursday And A Birthday.

Today is Easter Thursday, also called Holy Thursday.

Coincidentally, today is also my little sisters birthday.

My sister used to be my best friend, my confidant and my true partner in crime. As children, we behaved the way sisters do. We played a lot and we fought a lot, usually over truly insignificant things, which however seemed so very important to us at the time.

Growing older, a fervent bond developed between us, as a result of our family's emigration to the west. We became best buddies, sharing secrets and confiding in each other with our troubles, relying on and finding strength in one another, when the rest of the world seemed alien and hostile. I recall as if it was yesterday, when upon our return from school each day, we would be sitting in the kitchen or in one of our rooms, having a snack, talking the afternoons away. Funny, I never realized then how precious those few hours would once become and how I would miss them.

But time waits for no one and one day, I left my sister behind when I moved thousands of miles across the ocean, to another continent. After that, our lives took us in different directions and as adults we were never to live in the same country again.
Sometimes I wonder what happened to the wide eyed, cute, sensitive little girl that I so instinctively tried to protect at all times. Whose hand I automatically reached for (and did so until our late teens to her aggravation) as soon as we were crossing a road. The one who used to come to me for help with her homework, who used to look up to me and who used to ask me for advice. She is no longer there. Instead I see an independent, strong, capable woman, loving wife and a devoted mother.

Today is a very significant birthday for her, as it is the last one in a given decade. It is indeed strange to part with that one number, almost a familiar friend, that has been around for 10 years. For a brief - and not so brief - moment, it can evoke feelings of bittersweet melancholy over getting older.

But then we drink some cheap Champagne, shed a tear and smile a smile, while we say good bye to the decade that treated us well. And then finally we conclude the one and only truth; that age is after all only a number.

Therefore my little sister, I promise you, it is a piece of cake. Enjoy your last "you know what" something and believe me when I say;
'The best is yet to come'.
Congratulations!

Easter Eggs.

Growing up in Eastern Europe, the tradition of "Easter Eggs" was a very significant one for me.
We did not grow up with the western tradition of "Easter Egg Hunt", although we do recognize the symbol of the Easter Bunny.

In the Slavic culture, the decoration of Easter Eggs is an art form and the display of the decorated eggs is a must in each household. There are many ways, in which one can chose to carry out the decorations. The true, talented artists can create incredible masterpieces. The most common method to decorate is to use the empty eggshell of raw eggs, from which the contents has been has expelled. Then, using hot wax and a metal loop stylus, one can create intricate ornaments all over the surface of the empty egg. After the wax has cooled and hardened, the egg is submerged into series of colour baths creating a stunning pattern that is revealed eventually, when the wax is melted away.
Other techniques include using dry straw, colourful fabrics and wool.

Of course, most ordinary people opt for a much more simple way of colouring the Easter Eggs. My mothers used to hardboil them and then dip them in water soluble colorants, which were commercially available. Once the colour dried, we decorated the eggs with Easter motifs stickers and rubbed them in vegetable oil, to create a wonderful shine. Then the eggs were placed in baskets all over the house during the holidays.

Corn Husk Dolls.

In Slovakia, where I was born, there is a tradition to make so called "Corn Husk Dolls". Sold as souvenirs, these dolls, as the name implies, are made out of dried corn husks. They are also use in homes as decorations for different holidays, among those Easter. The handmade dolls are very delicate and often include significant details; some of them even carry small objects, such as baked bread (made out of real dough).
My dolls are more simple, still I like to display them on the shelves around the holidays.