Gardener's Creed |  |
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I believe in good brown earth, sun and seed and soil. Rest is sweetest when it comes after happy toil... I believe in miracles, bud and lead and fruitBspringing into loveliness from the hidden root. I believe that God who made rose and bird and bee Wanted us to make His world beautiful to see Meant us to be gardeners, making green things grow. I believe we do His work when we plant and sow. I believe that He whose Hand fashioned Eden's bowersBput into the heart of man love of trees and flowers... That is why a garden gives us blessings manifoldBhealth and healing and contentment, peace and joys untold. Patience Strong |
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Easter Egg Customs Around the World The association of eggs with Easter is ancient. Just when it developed is not known, but the egg is a symbol of the life force in many countries and in many religions. It represents the revival of the fertility of the earth. The return of spring meant more to our remote ancestors than it does to us, for it was a sure promise of creature comforts of which they had been deprived during the winter months, including pleasant weather and a greater variety of food.ItalyItalian families bake a special round cake for the holy day andorate it with Easter eggs. On Easter Eve the Italians take their eggs to church where they are blessed by the riest. At the Easter feast next day, these eggs are put in the center of the table with everything else arranged around them. There are sometimes as many as two hundred, all of them brightly colored. Everyone who enters the house during the holiday is offered at least one egg, and no one may refuse this token of the Resurrection. The custom of paying visits on the afternoon of Easter Sunday is a popular one. Children look forward to it because at each place they are given Easter eggs and sweets. | |
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GermanyThe Easter bunny, beloved of our own children, is German in origin. The boys and girls place nests in their gardens so that the Easter rabbit may fill them with eggs. If the weather is unpleasant, he hides them in various places inside the house. There are several popular egg games which take place throughout Germany. Egg gathering is one of these. Eggs are placed at certain intervals along a racetrack. Children run down the line with baskets, each trying to gather the most eggs. In northwestern Germany, peasants hold contests to see who can devour the most eggs. A favorite decoration in Germany is the Easter egg tree. The egg trees vary and some families also hang cakes or sweets, in the form of rabbits and lambs, from the trees branches. Others place a nest of gifts beneath the tree. The Easter tree is then put in a prominent place for all to admire.
Bulgaria Bulgarian families prefer red Easter eggs and always place the first decorated egg before the family icon as a symbol of the Resurrection. The farmers believe that if they sprinkle ashes around their chicken yards on Good Friday, eggs will be plentiful all year. It is also customary to exchange gifts of eggs and cakes on Passion Saturday. Greece When friends or relatives meet on Easter day, one knocks a red egg against the egg of the other and utters the greeting, Christ is risen. The other person replies, Truly, He is risen. Then the eggs are exchanged. A food typical of the Greek Easter feast is called the Bread of Christ. It is a special round loaf of bread, marked with a Greek cross and decorated with red Easter eggs. Russia Among White Russians it has long been a practice to give exquisitely decorated eggs as presents. Usually these are not real eggs, but some of them are of great value because of their extraordinary craftsmanship. Inside the eggs there are often tiny tableaus, scenes of Russia, or miniature paintings of royal personages. Another style of Easter eggs, the Ukraninian pysanky, are beautiful works of art. The name is derived from the Ukrainian verb, pysaty, which means to write. The designs which decorate the eggs are drawn with a stylus dipped in bees wax. The pysanky vary in design from village to village, but certain motifs such as plants, animals and geometric patterns remain common throughout the Ukraine. No two eggs are alike. United States Children for the United States enjoy many Easter customs, one of which is the annual egg-rolling contest on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C. This has taken place each Easter Monday since it began when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. The children roll their eggs downhill, and the egg which rolls the farthest without cracking wins. The boys and girls make up other egg games on their own. When they have rolled all the eggs they brought, they often roll down the hills themselves, laughing merrily all the way. The event is a memorable one, enjoyed by young and old alike.
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