Easter Traditions and Decor

They are really serious about Easter in this quaint German Town!

Notice the hundreds of eggs in the tree!

Fountain all decked out!

Ok, I am the first to admit: I had it with the snow, no more, please!!!!! I want spring and bunnies bouncing around my yard, and cheerful children hunting for eggs. Ok, it is not that idyllic around here but hey, one can dream. What I most long for is some flowers and some sun and some color.
I grew up in Germany where Easter is the second biggest holiday of the year. So naturally, Easter is still big in the Osman house. More correctly, Easter has become big in the Osman house! I remember my complete shock when I woke up my first married Easter morning and my husband did not have any presents for me. It is not so much that I am hugely into "stuff," I just had never heard of such a thing. Of course, you give Easter presents! My poor husband was kind of befuddled, he had messed up without even knowing :)

I have two favorite Easter traditions:

1. Blowing out eggs and then decorating them. I remember as a little kid trying to blow them out, being entirely unsuccessful AND getting a headache from my efforts. So my mom had the pleasant task of doing it each year. One year, I tried it again. I had not only grown in stature but also in "Easter egg blowing out" ability. All of a sudden it was so easy and I couldn't imagine ever having a hard time with it.
I wish I still had some of those early eggs, but they are all gone. Two Easters ago though, I got a pleasant surprise and a most cherished possession. My husband's mother Pauline, who is now in her 89 year and has been a great artist her entire life, kept many of the Easter eggs that she had done in the past. My husband's sister, knowing how much I love genuine hand crafted items with meaning, sent them to me. I still cannot believe my luck of getting them; after all, Andy's mother has 7 children, and I am a daughter in-law. No complaints here, though! So what do you do with those eggs? Germans have Easter trees. They find branches with buds that are just about to bloom, usually forsythias, flowering cherries or oftentimes pussy willows. The branches are put into large vases with water, the resulting "Easter Tree" is decorated with the eggs and sometimes Easter bunnies etc. kind of like a Christmas tree. Then as the days go by, the flowers start to bloom and the eggs are nestled amidst the first signs of spring.


I love how they even manage to make a gray house cheerful and inviting!Easter Trees!

2. My other favorite Easter tradition is the Easter fire. It is a huge bonfire that each city puts on. Literally, thousands of people come to attend this event. Traditionally, it was the time when the Christmas trees were burned to celebrate the coming of Spring and the resurrection of Christ. Not sure how many xmas trees are burned these days (although Germans still use mostly fresh ones) but who wants to have a dead tree hanging around for months? However, the fires are still as impressive as those of old, maybe more. They are large, very large. Several stories is not exaggeration and I have fond memories of watching the Easter fire during a chilly evening at the outskirts of town and meeting up with all my friends. In my town, there are two days when everyone is out and about: during the Easter fire and at midnight on Christmas eve. Coincidence? These are also the only two days a year when the people of Happy Town attend church. BTW, I promise, I did not make up that name :)


Of course, all the dashing volunteer firefighters are present as well! Big draw when you are young and live in a small town :)

Be sure to check out the slide show on the left, click on it and the pictures will enlarge. Froehliche Ostern!