EASTER

For children, Easter is a special time of the year. In Serbia, where I am actually from, Easter is the third favorite, behind Birthday and Christmas.

On a Saturday evening, a six year old me, would go out in the back yard and gather a full basket of grass. With Dad's help, we would make a perfect nest for Mr Bunny just outside the terrace door. Mr Bunny would come during the night and leave a special egg, which I am supposed to keep in the fridge throughout the whole year, as a house keeper egg and of course, presents.

On a Sunday morning, small Tea would run to the nest and go through the presents and show them proudly to her family. Because, once again, Mr Bunny got me exactly what I wanted. After, everyone congratulating me on my presents, Mum would dress me up and give me a small basket with grass at the bottom of it. All excited, I would go out and meet with other kids at the beginning of the street. Then we would start the most exciting thing of all the Easter traditions.

Armed with baskets, our best cloths and smiles from ear to ear, we would knock on the first door. The neighbor would open and kids in one voice would say 'Hristor Vaskrese' while the host on the door would answer 'Vaistinu Vaskrese'. The host would invite us in the living room, sit us down like the most important guests of the year, serve us tea or hot chocolate and make chit-chat with us. We would sit like adults, with our legs crossed, watching our dresses and cloths not to wrinkle, behaving our best and showing off with our table manners.

After having few biscuits and finishing our tea, the host would bring out their basket with colored eggs (which were painted on the Good Friday before the sun rises) and we would choose the best looking ones. Thank the host for having us and set off to the next door and do that all morning, knocking on every house of the street.

Returning home with 30 or more eggs (5/6 broken due to me swinging the basket), my family would sit around the table and enjoy the richest breakfast of the year, eating it from Grandma's china. During the breakfast those 30 or more eggs come in handy in our egg cracking contest. Everyone chooses the egg that we think it is the strongest and we start crashing each other's eggs. Not crashing exactly, cracking more, head and tale of the egg. The winner egg is put besides the house keeper egg in the fridge. The only part of Easter I do not appreciate is having to eat all the eggs I cracked :(

In the afternoon we would go to our family and friends houses, exchanging eggs and small presents. Going exhausted to bad at around 5pm.

I love all this traditions and have the most wonderful memories of it. It makes me a bit sad that now people would judge me, if I dressed up this Sunday and head off with my basket :) However, I am looking forward to this Easter egg competition!

What are the traditions you enjoy the most?