The Gypsy Life: What are your Easter Traditions?

I love Easter traditions! There are so many out there that it seems that every family puts their own unique touch to the holiday. I hear about egg hunts and bunnies and then there is the Holy side of Easter. All of the traditions are fabulous!!! Have you ever looked into the history of Easter and how the correlation between the resurrection of Christ and bunnies ended up co-existing together? If not, check this out!

When I was a little girl, we combined both holidays like many families today. We would dye Easter Eggs! This was a BIG deal in my household! My Dad was usually home for Easter, so the family always did this holiday a little bigger than many other families. (BTW, my dad was in the Navy and out to sea 4-6 months out of the year). My Dad was king of dying Easter Eggs too. They weren't fancy, but he really enjoyed dying eggs! It wasn't uncommon for us to dye up to 5 dozen eggs! Wow! Right?

This is me around 7 years old. We were just getting started dying Easter eggs. :)

After all the eggs were dyed, we would set them out for the Easter Bunny to hide them. He didn't hide all 5 dozen unless we had company, but he would hide a dozen or two outside in the yard! We lived on an acre lot too... It was green and lush around Easter so there were MANY places to hide Easter Eggs! The Easter Bunny always brought wonderful gifts and treats too! I remember one year I got a bike and a kite! My neighbor used to get this large egg that was made of peanut butter and coated with chocolate every year from the Easter Bunny. The two of us would eat that egg until our bellies hurt! :)

This is me hunting my eggs. One egg at a time! Thank goodness I had cousins to help me! :)

In the late afternoon we ALWAYS had ham, potato salad, cranberry salad, coleslaw, biscuits and of course every year my aunt Wally would make her famous Easter Bunny cake... Complete with jelly bean droppings! Ha Ha Ha... It was great to be around family!

I have to admit, Easter was one holiday that my family didn't spend much time in church. I think it's because we spent endless hours re-hiding eggs and hunting them and basically spending time as a complete family. Easter was a fun holiday and a time to spend with friends and family! (And don't get me wrong, we were very schooled in the resurrection of Easter Sunday).

Today, I try to stick with the traditions I grew up with. We dye Easter eggs (not 5 dozen, usually 2), and the kids make signs to warn the Easter Bunny about our cats. Of course the Easter Bunny comes and hides eggs, but plastic eggs have given way to the "real" eggs at our house especially now that we live in Texas. :) And of course the boys and the baby will get an Easter Basket. The most important thing we will celebrate this year is togetherness and many many laughs I hope!