not so in washington dc. first of all, there is no easter monday in the sense that it is a day off. it's not set in stone but more of a flexible arrangement. one u.s. american told me that often people try to get off either good friday (before easter sunday) or easter monday to create a long weekend. but, he continued, the united states with its business sense doesn't believe in doling out too many holidays. indeed, there are only good round ten federal holidays in the united states according to the u.s. office of personnel management. six of them fall on a monday but easter is not among them.
also, the mix of people in dc further waters down the meaning of easter. there are buddhists, muslims, hindus and so on and for them easter is like any other day. from one buddhist i heard that little buddhist kids actually want to hunt for eggs in the temple on sunday to fall in with their fellow kids in school and the fun they hear about it. a muslim i talked to said that today is not important and easter not celebrated. i haven't touched base with my hindu friends about this -- yet -- but i remember how one of them didn't care much about christmas either. he rather got excited around march/april when the new year in his culture is celebrated.
the easter thing that is happening in washington dc on this occasion is the easter egg roll at the white house. [addition: this, however, happens on easter monday rather than sunday] since 1878 guests are allowed to partake in the funny sport in which you compete to roll an egg over the lawn as far as possible without cracking it. there is even a whole website dedicated to rolling with a cutely athletically dressed (white) bunny as part of an emblem on top of the page. and it wouldn't be the united states if there wouldn't be a commercial opportunity to buy an official white house easter egg, again recognized by the running bunny symbol: just $7.50 for one of the wooden eggs or $26.50 for the complete box of four -- purchasable via the national parks' website.
the roll actually started very noncommercially with a bunch of children related to president andrew johnson who rolled their home-dyed hard-boiled eggs down green slopes on capitol hill along with themselves. but over time the lawn suffered:
"The egg roll activity of 1876 took its toll on the grounds, a fact that did not go unnoticed by members of Congress. With an already inadequate budget to complete the landscaping and maintenance of the grounds, Congress passed a law forbidding the Capitol grounds to be used as a children's playground. The law was to be enforced in 1877. But that Easter Monday rain poured down, canceling any outdoor activities sending the egg rollers indoors to play.
On Easter Saturday of 1878, a small announcement in the local press informed the egg rollers the new law would be enforced. President Rutherford B. Hayes, taking his daily walk, was approached by a number of young egg rollers who inquired about the possibilities of egg rolling on the South Lawn of the White House. Unfamiliar with the activity [his first Easter Monday as President had been rained out the proceeding year] President Hayes, upon his return to the White House, inquired amongst his staff who briefed the attentive Chief Executive. The smiling President issued an official order that should any children arrive to egg roll on Easter Monday, they were to be allowed to do so. That Monday, as children were being turned away from the Capitol grounds, word quickly spread to go to the White House!"
all that activity must make hungry, too. while there are chocolate eggs and little bunnies amass in u.s. stores, they often come filled with peanut cream for the eggs and most of the time as a solid piece of chocolate for the bunny. in comparison, i remember that in germany a big hollow chocolate bunny was always part of the treasures found in one of the hide-outs in the garden. hollow rabbits or also tall hollowed chocolate santa clauses don't seem to be as popular in the united states as they are in germany.
another prop used year after year in my family was also hollow. it was a huge -- bigger than a u.s. football i would say -- cardboard egg that showed an easter scene one the outside. inside it was a padded with green paper easter grass and cradled treats in this fake nest. treats included also chocolate eggs, sometimes filled with eierlikoer [closest compared to egg nog but different], nougat [my favorite], or air again.
another standard u.s. easter treat seem to be jelly beans. maybe because they almost look like little eggs or maybe they don't need to be dyed anymore as they come in all colors right away.
whichever way you celebrate -- feel free to share your custom or simply enjoy another sunday!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment