Tag Archives: Celebration

Celebration – Easter Traditions

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Just like the other holidays celebrated throughout the year, Easter has so many wonderful symbols and traditions.  One is the symbol of the Easter Egg and the tradition of coloring the eggs. Another is the Easter Bunny who leaves a basket of treats for the children and also hides eggs for find on an Easter Egg hunt.  Here is a little history about how and when these symbols and traditions came to be a part of our Easter celebrations.

Easter Eggs

In centuries long past, eggs were a symbol of fertility and new life.  Many cultures, like the ancient Egyptians and Romans, used eggs for this reason during their spring celebrations.  To Christians, the egg is a symbol that represents Jesus who was resurrected from his tomb three days after his crucifixion.  During the Lenten season, certain foods were forbidden from being eaten, such as eggs.  People hardboiled or otherwise preserved their eggs to be eaten at the end of the period of penance and fasting.  The tradition of decorating eggs comes from this time, people would paint and decorate their eggs as they were waiting for the Lenten season to be over and then they would eat them on Easter Day as a celebration.  The custom evolved over time and families today enjoy painting or dyeing their Easter eggs.  (Please check out this month’s craft post, Jeweled Easter Eggs, for an elegant alternate style of decorating eggs)

Easter Egg coloring - 2010

The Easter egg represents a celebration of new life and people started to give eggs carved from wood and even precious stones as gifts.  Around the world, different countries have their own traditions of the Easter Egg.  The most elaborate Easter eggs are created in Eastern Europe. Known as pisanka in Poland and pysanky in the Ukraine, these beautiful eggs are created by carefully applying molten wax onto the surface of an egg and creating specific designs.  The egg is then submerged into a dye for coloring; this brings out the lovely patterns.  (When we went to Poland several years ago we purchased a couple of these eggs and I always bring them out at Easter to display in the china cabinet in our dining room)

Easter Eggs Stories:  There are two Polish legends that tell the story of how colored eggs have become an Easter tradition.  The first one is the story of the Virgin Mary delivering eggs to the soldiers at the cross, as she pleaded with them to be kind to Jesus she began to wept, her tears fell on the eggs and spotted them with brilliant colors. The second story tells the story of when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, she had brought eggs with her for her daily meal; when she arrived and uncovered the eggs, the white shells had taken on the colors of the rainbow.

Easter Bunny

2001 Easter BunnyThe custom of an Easter bunny seems to have originated in Germany.  Rabbits and hares have long been an ancient symbol of fertility and springtime.  Children were told stories about an “Easter Hare” who would lay special colored eggs and the tradition was that children would make nests for this magical creature to lay his eggs.  When German immigrants came to America in the 1700s and settled in Pennsylvania they brought this custom with them.  As the custom grew over the years across the United States, the Easter bunny would make his early morning deliveries and the nests became Easter baskets which were filled with the traditional colored eggs and other treats were added including chocolate bunnies and eggs, jelly beans and even small gifts.

For my family, growing up there were always family traditions at Easter, the Easter Bunny always came to our house and left baskets filled with jelly beans and chocolate eggs.  We also looked forward to getting a brand new dress, shiny patent white shoes and sometimes a spring hat to wear to church on Easter Sunday morning.  After church we looked forward to an egg hunt and then sitting down to a delicious ham dinner.

What are some of your families Easter traditions?

Celebration – President’s Day (Part Two)

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A good way to celebrate President’s Day is by watching some great movies about presidents.  Two of our favorite presidential movies are about fictional presidents, “My Fellow Americans” and “The American President”.  Here is a suggestion to make President’s Day a special evening: order a pizza, make a salad and enjoy a delicious dinner with the family, then get comfortable on the sofa and watch the movies.  Please be advised: both these movies are rated PG-13 and might not be suitable for younger children.

To continue with the theme of fictional presidents, one of our favorite television series is “The West Wing”.  This show is so well written and the dialog is fast-paced and we also enjoy the balance of comedy and drama; it keeps the series fun and exciting.  I know you can’t watch all 154 episodes in one night, but this is one of those television series that is worth watching again!

My Fellow Americans

This 1996 comedy movie is about two fictional ex-presidents, President Russell Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and President Matt Douglas (James Garner).  These two former rivals of opposite political parties are drawn into a scandal by the current President William Haney (Dan Aykroyd).  Presidents Kramer and Douglas become reluctant allies on a desperate search for evidence to establish their innocence in the “Olympia” scandal and they narrowly escape into the Appalachian Mountains as they are pursued by government agents.  These reluctant allies are on a desperate search for evidence to establish their innocence in the “Olympia” scandal. Surprisingly, as these two former presidents travel through Middle America; they meet illegal immigrants, a homeless family and they even find themselves marching in a gay pride parade.  Wait for the plot twist near the end of the movie and the fun ending to the movie.   Supporting cast includes John Heard as the bumbling Vice President Ted Matthews, Wilford Brimley, Lauren Bacall, Sela Ward, Everett McGill and Bradley Whitford.

My Fellow Americans Trivia

  • The title of the film comes from the common phrase used as a traditional opening of presidential speeches.
  • The movie was originally supposed to be a Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon movie.  Unfortunately due to illness, Matthau was replaced with James Garner instead.  For this reason the film was unofficially known on set as “Grumpy Old Presidents”
  • Some memorable lines for the movie:
    “Hail to the chief, he’s the chief and he needs hailing. He is the chief, so everybody hail like crazy…”
    “Well, as usual, the Republican comes up with a plan while the Democrat just aimlessly wanders in the woods”

The American President

This 1995 romantic-comedy movie is directed by Rob Reiner (he also directed “The Princess Bride”) and written by Aaron Sorkin (he created “the West Wing” television series.  In this movie fictional President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is a widower with a young daughter who is preparing for his upcoming re-election.  Based on his high approval rating and on the advice of his chief of staff A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen), they attempt to pass a controversial crime control bill before the State of the Union Address.  Meanwhile, President Shepherd meets an environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) who has recently moved to Washington D.C. who has her own agenda to get legislation passed regarding reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  Spontaneously President Shepherd invites her to attend the upcoming State Dinner for the President of France.  A romance soon develops and causes problems when a political rival Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) uncovers some damaging information about Sydney’s past and tries to derail President Shepherd’s re-election plans.  The movie ends with the State of the Union Address.

The American President Trivia

  • Originally Robert Redford was cast as the President but he was replaced when he had a falling out with the director, Rob Reiner.  Also at one point, Emma Thompson was considered for the role of Sydney.
  • Michael J. Fox, who plays Lewis Rothschild an assistant to President Shepherd, based his character on George Stephanopoulos.  Stephanopoulos was the communications director during the 1992 Presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, when Clinton was elected Stephanopoulos became the White House Communications Director, then a Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy before he left in 1996.

The West Wing television series

“The West Wing” television series ran for seven seasons on NBC from September 1999 to May 2006.  The show takes place during the administration of the fictional President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and centers on daily work of the West Wing of the White House which is where the Oval Office of the President is located and also the offices of the presidential senior staff.  “The West Wing” ensemble cast centers on the President, the First Lady Abigal Bartlet (Stockard Channing), Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), Communications Director Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff), Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Alison Janney).  Numerous secondary characters appeared throughout the show’s seven seasons.  Generally the storylines involved the main characters with some advancing into other positions in the fictional presidential staff, some characters left and other characters where added over the course of the series.  During the series final two seasons, the plots involved both the final years of President Bartlet’s presidency and the campaign and primary elections for the next president.

“The West Wing” received critical acclaim and many entertainment awards.  What kept the show interesting were the fast paced, humorous scripts filled with intense dialog brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin.  The show developed a technique known as the “walk and talk”.  These scenes generally involved long conversations started between characters as they are walking from one location to another with various characters joining or leaving the conversation as they move through the halls of the West Wing.

The West Wing Trivia

  • The series was supposed to center on the presidential senior staff with the fictional President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) originally scheduled to appear in only four episodes per season but after the pilot was filmed it was determined that he was needed as a permanent character.
  • Martin Sheen had an injury to his arm when he was born and has a very unusual way of putting on his jacket and this unique style was incorporated into the character of President Bartlet.
  • A portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican President, traditionally is hung in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House during a Republican administration.  During a Democratic administration a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt, a Democratic President, hangs in the room.  In the Roosevelt Room of President Bartlet’s White House both portraits are used.
  • During the first season, reporter Danny Kincannon brings C.J. a live goldfish in a bowl.  The goldfish/bowl became a permanent part of C.J. office and whenever it appears in later episodes, the decoration in the goldfish’s bowl changes to match the theme of the episode.
  • Sadly, actor John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry, died from a heart attack in December 2005, about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack on the show. The cast and crew were devastated and a brief memorial message from Martin Sheen was broadcast before the episode “Running Mates”, which was the first new episode that aired after Spencer’s death. The loss of the character of Leo McGarry was addressed in the episode “Election Day”.

Celebration – Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day … the holiday of love and romance!

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14 in many countries around the world. It is a day to remember and honor your loved ones with cards, flowers, candy, etc. I personally think that we should be celebrating our love every day of the year and not just one single day. I know that I feel very happy when my husband brings me flowers unexpectedly … a guaranteed smile on my face!! But, how did this romantic holiday start?

The legend of the patron saint, St. Valentine, goes back many centuries and the origin of the tale has become something of a mystery. One legend says that Valentine was a priest during the third century in Rome. At the time, Emperor Claudius II decided single men made better soldiers and prohibited them from marriage. Valentine defied the Emperor and continued to perform secret marriages for the soldiers. The Emperor discovered this, Valentine was sent to prison and the Emperor ordered his execution. While Valentine was imprisoned he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer and before he was executed, he sent her a note and signed it “from your Valentine”. There are several other stories about Valentine, but he is always portrayed as a sympathetic, heroic and romantic person.

In the Middle Ages, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem, “Parlement of Foules”, which is said to be the first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love. By the 15th century, Valentine’s Day had become an occasion for lovers to express their love by presenting flowers, offering confectionery delights and sending handwritten sentimental notes, known as valentines, to their loved ones. By the 19th century, paper valentines became so popular in Victorian England that factories started mass producing greeting cards with popular symbols of love such as: the heart, doves or lovebirds and Cupid with his bow or arrows.

In the United States, it is estimated that 190 million valentines are sent each year making Valentine’s Day the second largest card holiday. According to those statistics, women purchase and send 85 percent of those valentines. Those numbers do not include the mass-produced character themed valentines that students give to each other and their teachers. The idea of exchanging cards has extended into gifts such as: roses, heart-shaped boxes filled with an assortment of chocolates and in the 1980’s the diamond industry began to promote giving jewelry to that special someone! Now, with the Internet, it is estimated in 2010 that over 17 million e-valentines were sent.

l remember as a child, sending and receiving valentines in grammar school! Luckily, my mother saved us boxes filled with our school papers, art projects and within those boxes were the valentines cards from my fellow classmates. It is fun to see the old fashioned style of these 1960s valentines and remembering all those friends from so long ago. I kept up that family tradition of saving the valentines for my kids. For my daughter I found a cute Valentine-themed box and this is where she has saved her valentines from school. Every year she likes to sort through them and remember her old friends back in California and her new friends here.

Do you do any special ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I would love to hear from you, send me a comment with your traditions or ideas.

Celebration – Groundhog Day

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Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2 and originally began here in the United States in central Pennsylvania as a German custom. According to folklore, when a groundhog emerges from his burrow and sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It is a grand social event with food, entertainment and speeches and the groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil makes his appearance at some time during the day.

What will Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction be for this year? Actually our weather here in the Midwest has been relatively mild. We have had some very cold temperatures for the last couple of months with only had one significant snow fall in December that gave us over a foot of snow and that was enough for sledding and building a huge six foot snowman that we traditionally called Frosty! I’m hoping Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction is that warm weather will be in the forecast! We are in the process of planning spring and summer vacation trips, thinking about the beaches in North Carolina and Florida, so we are in the mood for warmer weather.

One of my husband’s favorite movies is “Groundhog Day” and he loves to watch it over and over and over again. Sometimes I resort to hiding the movie but he always seems to find it. (I’ve got to find a better hiding place!) I must admit that it is a very clever and entertaining movie to watch … did I just say that!

“Groundhog Day” is a 1993 film directed by Harold Ramis and the comedy stars Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. The brief synopsis of film is that Phil Connors (Murray), an arrogant Pittsburgh weatherman, and his news producer, Rita (MacDowell), are given the dreaded assignment to cover the annual Groundhog Day events in Punxsutawney, PA. After being forced to stay in town overnight due to a blizzard, Phil wakes up in the morning and finds himself in an endless time loop that has him repeating the same day, February 2, over again and again. Confused, Phil comes to realize there are no consequences for his horrible actions because in the morning everything was like it never happened. Through this process, Phil finds himself falling in love with Rita and he takes advantage of the situation to learn information about her to try and win her over. After finally confiding in Rita about everything, she advises him to take the time to improve himself and change his bad behavior to become a better person. Eventually, Phil is able to use the experience to the help people in the town. He winds up giving an eloquent report on the Groundhog Day celebration that gets a lot of attention and after the evening dance, he finally wins over Rita. He wakes the next morning and finds the time loop is broken; it is now February 3.

“GROUNDHOG DAY’” MOVIE TRIVIA

  1. The movie was NOT filmed in Punxsutawney, PA but mostly filmed on location in Woodstock, IL which is coincidentally 45 miles from Bill Murray’s real hometown of Wilmette, IL. Since the film’s release Punxsutawney has become a major tourist attraction.
  2. There is a small plaque on the curb in the town of Woodstock at the spot in the film where Murray filmed the movie scene where he repeatedly steps into a puddle; it reads “Bill Murray stepped here”.
  3. The director of the film originally wanted Tom Hanks to play the lead character but decided against him because he was “too nice”, he also considered Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and John Travolta.
  4. Bill Murray was bitten twice by the groundhogs used in the filming; he had to have anti-rabies injections because the bites were so severe.
  5. The time period depicted in the movie is believed to be close to 9 years, when it is considered that the character of Phil Connors becomes a master piano player, an expert ice sculptor, etc. the time needed would be more likely closer to 30+ years.