Easter is coming up and I am remembering a time when we actually called it that as opposed to "spring holiday."

In our house we looked forward to early morning Mass followed by a chocolate bunny surprise and a nice ham dinner. I remember going to a community-sponsored easter-egg hunt once, yet I am now hearing that many families had their own backyard hunts and even made colored eggs. Our family lived in apartments, so I guess that's why I didn't know about family traditions like that.

I'd be interested in hearing about any other traditions held during this time of year: faith-based or otherwise.

Josie, we did the church thing too. I recall a few years when we went to the Easter Vigil on Easter Eve at midnight.

Prior to church, we rummaged through our baskets that were loaded with candy, but once we received First Holy Communion, we couldn't eat an hour before the service so it was like murder to see all that candy and not eat any until we got home from church.

We also had ham dinners. When all of us were in our teens, Mom started doing one big family basket and did so until the year she died.

As grown adults, Mom and Dad always did the Easter dinner with a a big plastic egg hunt for the grandkids. Lots of fun memories. Each color egg represented an amount of money. The kids didn't know the amount going in to the hunt. Once the hunt was over, they cashed in their eggs with Mom-Mom.

I don't recall egg hunts as a kid. What I recall the most was hiding eggs in the house for days after Easter and we'd continue to scream hot or cold as the humter was getting either closer to or further away from the egg. And we used the hard boiled eggs too. Who cared if they were out of the fridge? We didn't know better back then.

Any oher childhood Easter memories?

Easter time. It was very important to dress up, with a hat and white gloves! I also loved white shoes; in fact, in the day, Easter was the first day of the year it was fashionable to wear white shoes.

I remember we all got new dresses each Easter except one time I remember that mom didn't. When I asked her why (I was probably 6 or 7), she said, Oh she was so in love with her older clothes that she wanted to wear them again and again...she just loved them! Little did I know that we were scraping by and she barely had enough to give us new dresses. God love her...the sacrifices she made for us five girls!

Alway Sunday school then the childrens picnic.Same place same children year by year.Hens eggs were hard boiled in onion skins then paintbox out to decorate them.Rolling them in a race.
we each had a chocolate egg in a box.
We were on a farm so had a special place with a hill and rocky outcrop...perfect for sitting on.
We did not get new clothes until summer.My birthday in May was when we shopped for them.
White shoes at church/sunday school but not at picnics.