Easter in Bauxite - Traditions and Changes
Many Easter traditions that some of us remember as children from the good old Bauxite days have taken quite a turn the last several years. Merchants were always happy to see this special day approach for the business rush. Customers were offered big Easter sales.
Remember the new shiny shoes, the frilly dress with a matching Easter bonnet to proudly model for others and the compliments at church on Easter
Sunday morning?
Those little white gloves and new purse were stylish; also, socks with lace all around the top were just added feminine touches for that special celebration. The young boys were adorned with new ties and dress shirts; sometimes a new suit was also included.
It was always exciting to see the different Easter hats the ladies wore to church, some large and frilly, while others were smaller and sophisticated. You just don’t see the ladies wearing hats in church nowadays for any occasion. Most are dressing in more casual wear.
Somewhere along the way many family traditions have also slowly but surely slipped away. Some families gathered on Saturday to decorate Easter eggs. These eggs were mysteriously hidden all over the yard early Sunday morning by the “Easter Bunny.” New Easter baskets were ready and waiting for an early morning egg hunt.
Many families gathered for an elaborate Easter Sunday feast with ham or roast, homemade hot cross buns, potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs with wonderful coconut cake and/or homemade banana pudding for dessert. Lunch was then followed by an additional Easter egg hunts for the children.
The hard boiled, beautifully dyed and decorated Easter eggs were real eggs. They have since been replaced by plastic imitations filled with candy treats and in some cases, cash prizes.
Somewhere along the way, the real reason for Easter celebration has taken a back seat to these plastic eggs, baby chicks and little bunnies. Easter was originally called Pascha in Greek or Latin and was a festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus after His crucifixion and burial in 33 AD.
The celebration became popular in America around 1770. Passion Week or Holy Week precedes Easter Sunday. The traditional meaning of each day is not known by many Christians. The Sunday before Easter is popularly known as
Palm Sunday. The week after Palm Sunday is called
Passion week, Monday till Thursday when Maundy service is conducted.
Maundy Thursday is my favorite service in the Christian calendar. It is in observance of the Last Supper and the humbling washing of the feet by
Jesus of the twelve disciples It was also when he said, “I give you a new commandment . . .”
In the Anglican Church and many other religions, Maundy Thursday service concludes with the total stripping of the sanctuary of everything but the symbolic altar cross which is then draped in black, done in absolute silence and in an unhurried, orderly fashion. The church remains in semi-darkness and participants exit in silence. This is symbolizing Christ was stripped of His power and glory.
The following day in the Christian tradition, Good Friday is observed in remembrance of His suffering and death at Calvary for the redemption of mankind. In the past, businesses and stores were closed at mid-day on Good Friday. The following Saturday is known as Holy Saturday, a quiet period remembering Jesus inside the tomb. Easter Sunday is in celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and victory over death.
To quote from the editorial written by E. M. “Mac” Trimble, managing editor of the Pick & Shovel newsletter, dated March 1952, titled Hope Reborn: “This year, April 13, 1952, is Easter Sunday. Whether beneath the vault of a sunrise sky or that of a church, religious services will devoutly observe the Resurrection of Christ from the dead, and re-birth of hope in the hearts of men.
“There will be, too, (for this land is free) those traditional superficial symbols which date back to the ancient Anglo-saxon rites of Ostara or Eastre, legendary goddess of Spring: the eggs and the rabbits which denoted life’s reproduction, the first flowers of reburgeoning Earth, projected today in new finery and hats.
“In those bright tokens, however, the deep and holy significances of Easter should not be lost. Neither should we forget, in marking the Resurrection, that there is something our country and all who cherish it stand today greatly in need of - a spiritual re-birth, a national regeneration of morals and men.”
Remember the Easter Sunday family dinners and the fun and games following, dressing our best for this special Sunday’s church service, seeing families sitting together and singing the good old gospel songs, hearing the laughter, seeing the handshakes and exchange of well wishes?
Sure do miss those days of Miner Memories and some of them are not so minor.