The Lauries Go To China...AGAIN: Easter

Easter is not much of a holiday here, but for us it's very special and we couldn't let it pass unnoticed. I try to be a good mom and re-create our western holidays as closely as I can. I often fall short, but the kids seem to appreciate that I do try. (And tell me I'll do better next year.) Easter is particularly problematic since it is not celebrated or even recognized here at all. (Other than by mass arrests of house church members who try to assemble, but that's probably best addressed in a different blog.)

Thanks to friends and some good luck I was actually able to assemble 6 quasi-Easter baskets this year, complete with handcut grass (strips of colored paper accordion folded to act like grass).

The best part by far was dying the eggs. I was in Beijing until the night before Easter so the girls were given the mission to find white eggs...a rarity here and more expensive than the brown ones we usually buy. They had to overcome lots of objections from the storekeeper who tried to steer them toward the brown ones and their brother, Peter, who also couldn't fathom why they wouldn't just get the eggs we always get. But they persevered and came home with two dozen lovely white eggs. When I got home I got out the dying materials (sent by Kathy J, what a great friend! Only a 1st grade teacher would think of that!). What a fun time we had! I know my Chinese kids had absolutely no idea why we were coloring the outside of the hardboiled eggs, but it was too fun to question.

They had a blast and the eggs turned out beautifully.

Things got even more bizarre (from their perspective) on Easter morning when they got up and were told to "find the eggs". ?? Why weren't they in the refrigerator where they belonged? lol But they all got into the spirit of our odd little ritual and had a great time. THEN they ate the eggs. And the candy...never daring to question WHY I was letting them eat candy in the morning, afraid any questions might restore my good sense. :)

In the afternoon, the five girls and I went and set up our new-to-us croquet set (thanks Kirsty!) and gave the entire neighborhood a show as we had a lot of laughs trying to get those balls through the wickets. It was hot, so we topped it all off with ice cream from the corner store.