I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!
Here is another holiday not often used except, perhaps,
in Christian stories, but it could be a neat holiday for children’s books and
any stories that revolve around families. That’s not all though, a story
featuring wiccans/pagans (witches) can also use Easter scenes because
Christians and Wiccans do the same things, but for Wiccans it is for the Spring
Equinox.
1. Dye Eggs
This is always an activity that kids love, so let your
MC’s children get colorful fingers by dying eggs with water, vinegar and food
coloring, or with paint.
2. Egg Hunt
Now have your MC and his/her spouse or bf/gf hide eggs
(real and plastic) all over the house and/or outside. This could be a fun and
sweet moment between your characters. Then you get to describe the shenanigans
as the kids look high and low for the eggs. This really would make a cute
scene. I want to write one now!
3. Easter Bunny
And of course if you’ve got kids in your story, you also
need to include the Easter Bunny! The Easter Bunny brings all kinds of goodies.
He’s almost as loved as Santa. So let the parents mention this furry friend and
have the kids squeal with excitement when they see a carrot was devoured and
treats were left. Parents can do this and also teach their kids about Jesus and
the real meaning behind this day.
4. Church
Many people go to church on Easter. If your characters
are religious, you can mention the Easter service they attend. Keep it short
and sweet, though. Not all readers will want to read a long-winded church
service scene. You could always add more to this scene, such as a romantic
meeting…many couples meet at church.
5. Easter Dinner
A feast with honey-glazed ham, green bean casserole or
collard greens, and yams/mashed potatoes is nice to do for a family-oriented
story. Or even a romance…think: meeting the parents for the first time. This
could go smoothly or be a disaster…like a Thanksgiving dinner.
QUESTIONS: I still dye Easter eggs for fun but also
because I like hardboiled eggs. Do you dye eggs? Do you remember when you
stopped believing in the Easter bunny? I think I was about 8 or 9. I tried hard
to keep believing, though.
We don't buy eggs anymore, so it's been years since we dyed any.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you for not buying eggs anymore.
DeleteI dye eggs with my son, but he didn't want to do it this year because he couldn't eat them! *LOL* Great writing tips for the holiday. I stopped believing when I was about 7 or 8. I already knew Santa wasn't real by that point. Parents who party on Christmas Eve don't make for good quiet Santas!
ReplyDeleteI knew Santa wasn't real by then too but I very much wanted to believe the Easter Bunny was at least real. lol
DeleteI used to enjoy dyeing the eggs. Haven't done it for years! I remember the smell of vinegar, the fizz when you drop those Paas tablets in it. I know there's lots of fancier ways to color eggs now. but I'm kind of old school. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't use Paas tablets, but I do use apple cider vinegar. That smell will always remind me of dying eggs.
DeleteHaven't dyed eggs in years. I once wrote a post about a killer easter bunny lol
ReplyDeleteKiller Easter Bunny. Nice! LOL
DeleteI've never celebrated Easter, but I do enjoy the 1/2 chocolate the day after. LOL
ReplyDeleteAlso, like many DVD's, I enjoy placing hidden Easter Eggs on my blog. I even have a tag to identify where they are. I like to have fun with it.
That all being said, great suggestions Chrys.
Who doesn't love half-off chocolate? lol
DeleteMy kids always liked dying eggs though they don't all like to eat them. We haven't done it for a while. Hope your Easter was grand.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters liked dying eggs but hated eating hard-boiled eggs.
DeleteI'm so old, I remember dying Easter eggs when you had to use hot water and my mom would always be afraid we would burn ourselves. We never did though, LOL. Three siblings, we each got to dye a dozen of eggs. We lived on egg salad sandwiches and ham sandwiches the next week after Easter :)
ReplyDeleteI think my kids stopped dying eggs early high school years. Haven't dyed them in years.
Great tips for writing about Easter, especially if that is in the timeline of where the story takes place.
betty
I still dye eggs with warm water, food coloring, and apple cider vinegar! That's how my mom did and it hers before her.
DeleteI never really enjoyed dying eggs, but my family used to do it when I was younger. We also used to do a candy hunt in lieu of an egg hunt (but there were a few plastic eggs filled with candy), and church, and the big ham dinner, and the frilly Easter dresses complete with straw hats and little white gloves...
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of the candy...I don't really miss any of that. :)
My family never did candy hunts. I did it once at a church but there were so many kids that I only found a few plastic eggs.
DeleteWonderful Easter post Chrys, I don't buy eggs now as my grandchildren are well into their teens and I think prefer the cash. Will certainly add your link on the A to Z.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
I think all teens prefer cash. lol
DeleteI remember dying eggs for Easter when I went to daycare when I was younger. Haven't done it since I left. I was raised in the Catholic church so my mom or aunt would takes us all to church.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this post Chrys. I've yet to write about Easter but you've just inspired me to include an Easter/Spring Equinox scene/event as part of book 3 story ideas to my current YA supernatural work in progress.
I'm so glad I could inspire you for your YA supernatural WIP. I bet this scene would be a fun one in your story. :)
DeleteWell more fun for me than for my MC and her mother. On the bright side they'll both be on the same page. ;-D
DeleteAh. I see. Well, then it's be fun for the readers as well. ;)
DeleteI no longer celebrate Easter, but I enjoy writing holiday chapters and scenes for religions that aren't my own. When I still celebrated Easter in childhood, my parents used to put notes around the house or apartment, like a treasure hunt for my Easter presents, culminating in finding the Easter basket itself.
ReplyDeleteMy E post for this year's A to Z on my main blog will (mostly) be about how Easter was celebrated in Imperial Russia. Orthodox Christians have a very strict fast, Great Lent, for the seven weeks leading up to Easter, with a lot of foods they're forbidden to eat. One week before Great Lent begins, meat is already forbidden, and people gorge themselves on all the foods which will soon be off-limits. When Easter finally comes, they have a huge meal with all the things they weren't allowed to eat.
A treasure hunt for your Easter presents is a clever idea.
DeleteI'm not doing A to Z this year but I'll try to visit your blog on this day to read about how Imperial Russia celebrated Easter.
I'm not a big fan of Easter. I started to lose my enthusiasm for it as an adult, not sure why. So, thanks for this inspiration, Chrys :)
ReplyDeleteI do like the symbolism of the religious holiday though. The sacrifice, death and re-birth would go well with a serious plot line.
When you don't have kids around, Easter isn't as much fun anymore. The symbolism is great Easter.
DeleteMy parents were never into fairy-taling their kids. We always knew there was no Santa and I doubt we were made to believe an egg carrying bunny existed either. But I think we might have participated in Easter Egg hunts when I was really small for good fun.
ReplyDeleteI understand that. Now-a-days, many parents are practicing the same thing as your parents.
DeleteMy nieces and nephews do all the egg dying now. I get to watch the hunt and feast on the deviled eggs later.
ReplyDeleteI loved the childhood myths. I still do, but I can't remember when I knew for sure that Santa was never going to visit me again.
I adore childhood myths too. I can't help it. And I can't help but pass them on. :)
DeleteWhen I figured out Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny went along, too. I haven't done Easter in years.
ReplyDeleteI think after I learned about Santa when Easter came that was when I put two-and-two together. It didn't help when I walked into my parent's room that night and saw the bundles of Easter goodies on their bed, waiting for us kids to go to sleep. lol
DeleteI took plastic eggs and made them into Minions.
ReplyDeleteCute!
DeleteOh the images you summon!
ReplyDeleteAt first when Santa
went away
I could only pout
When Easter Bunny
went astray
I let out a shout
And then the fairy
didn’t pay
when all my teeth fell out!
Gone are childhood dreams
for little ones, no doubt
when all too soon they realize
what life is all about.
I love that! You are so good at creating prose so fast after reading my posts.
DeleteYou are a master at inspiration, lady Chrys!
DeleteAw. Thanks. :)
DeleteI haven't dyed eggs in a long time. My mom got 3 dozen this year for my nephews, but then they got sick and weren't able to come! =(
ReplyDeleteAw. That stinks. :(
DeleteWonderful suggestions. When my boys were little we had lots of fun dying eggs, having Easter egg hunts, and family together. They're scattered from coast to coast now, but the memories are always with me. Hoe you had a lovely Easter.
ReplyDeleteThe memories are the best. :) I had a realizing Easter. I hope you had a good Easter!
DeleteDon't dye the eggs anymore. The boys are too old and no longer care. Never thought of it as a holiday to write about. I will have to consider it though!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how you could put a murderous twist on it. ;)
DeleteI dyed eggs as a kid. It was so fun. These are great descriptions for writing about Easter.
ReplyDeleteI will always remember dying eggs as a kid. :)
DeleteI would still dye eggs of I didn't feel nausea after eating them. Bummer. Wouldn't it be cool if the Easter Bunny was named Harvey and was invisible and 6ft tall:).....of course I am stealing this idea from a movie. My dad always said that was his name. Fond memories.....Good Friday was watching my meat and potatoes dad salty away from eating meat and then, in the last hour before midnight, asking my mom if it was midnight yet. He felt he was weak from not having meat. My Aunt and U clue would come down every Easter with their 3 kids and Saturday night, my mom would blow out about a dozen eggs, clear the table and set it up to paint them with real paints! We could make a scene or do abstract....it was so much fun and quite the wonderful tradition we had for many years. I still have some of the eggs and, next year, plan on having one of these festive nights. Sunday, we went to church where I would yawn and watch my dad do the whiplash- fall asleep only to wake up by jolting your head back. It was quite funny. When we came back, and if the weather was nice, we would go a hunting for eggs and chocolate. My dad would get I on the action but when he found something my mom told him to put it back. He thought that was quite unfair as he found it. This was a man who was in his mid 60's and a lumberman:)
ReplyDeleteThe Easter Bunnies' name is Harvey? Who knew? ;)
DeleteI always wanted to paint Easter eggs. It looks like fun and you can get more creative.
Sounds like you have great Easter memories. :)
It has been years since I have dyed eggs. My family didn't do it very often, but we always got an Easter basket full of candy and a few toys :) My mom and dad didn't really try to make my brother and I believe in the Easter Bunny or Santa, although there were times when I was 7 or 8 when I wanted Santa to be real.
ReplyDeleteI had wanted Santa to be real too when I realized he didn't exist.
DeleteI don't dye eggs anymore, but until recently, my bf and I still did Easter baskets and the egg hunt for each other. It was a lot of fun. We're trying to eat healthier, but it seemed odd not to do something special.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Rise of the Guardians? Very fun, original take on the Easter bunny.
That's cute that you and your bf did Easter baskets and egg hunts for each other.
DeleteI haven't seen that. but I'll have to check it out now.
I think you'll love it!
DeleteI probably would. :D
DeleteMy daughter stopped believing at 8, which was just this past December. Santa and the Easter Bunny went out the window two days before Christmas. Sad. :(
ReplyDeleteAw. That is sad. Especially about Santa just before Christmas.
DeleteI remember when I was young getting a band of silk flowers and ribbon for my hair. My mother wore an Easter Bonnet. It may have been for a parade.
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
That's sweet. I never dressed up for Easter but I adore the dresses and hats for little girls.
DeleteHi Chrys .. I've never died eggs - and not having children then never tried at that stage ... but I love the ideas you put down here ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteNot even as a kid? You should buy some eggs to dye for fun right now! :D
DeleteI was very upset when I learned the Easter Bunny wasn't real. I think I was about 8 years old. My mom told me, but I wasn't ready to know that.
ReplyDeleteI dyed eggs up until a couple of years ago with my kids. Now they're not interested, so I don't bother. I like hard boiled eggs, though.
It's hard when you're a kid and you're not ready to know that these things you believed in so passionately aren't real.
DeleteI learn about so many crafty things I can do during holidays, such as Easter. On a friend's FB page, I learned that you can dye eggs with shaving cream. Never knew that! And of course, I love looking at pictures of all the Easter themed recipes and desserts-some look too pretty to eat.
ReplyDeleteDye eggs with shaving cream? That's different!
DeleteHope you enjoyed Easter, Chrys. I buy the dyed eggs. It's traditional here in Germany - and we can eat them, yum yum! Protein :) My goddaughter made me an egg cup made out of ... an old egg box and lots of feathers :) Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy my Easter. I hope you enjoyed yours, Nicola!
DeleteYou can buy eggs already dyed? That's neat.
My family doesn't celebrate Easter though my sister likes to buy chocolate eggs for my nieces. I have to say, they look very pretty!
ReplyDeleteWho can resist chocolate eggs? ;)
Delete