Easter Weekend

Birthday season is about to begin at our house!  So Friday we went to a party store and pick out plates, napkins and such for their birthdays.  We then met up with some friends for dinner at the mall.  We had an after dinner show of a water fountain set to music.  We watched the water "dance" to the beat of "Eye of the Tiger!"  It was so fun!  The kids loved it and were clapping!!  I should have gotten a picture, but I got caught up in the moment and the camera was forgotten!  It's funny as I sat there thinking about how we respond to things, as Americans, as opposed to how Czechs respond to things.  We might be enjoying something at the same level, but I am wearing my enjoyment on my face.  I'm smiling, laughing, talking.  The Czechs around us sat and watched hardly cracking a smile.  I'm sure it makes me stand out like the American that I am!  Well, and add to the fact that my kids are running around and LOUDLY speaking English!  Ha!!

I had boiled some eggs on Friday in preparation to color Easter eggs.  So we got them out on Saturday and went to work decorating our eggs.  Some friends had given us some left over decorating kits, so we had a good assortment of supplies!  We had a sports theme, some beads and various dye colors.  The kids loved the beads, even Brennan!  Ha!

On Sunday Bridge Community hosted an Easter egg hunt.  Complete with a visit from the Easter bunny!!

 Our Easter meal consisted of McDonalds and I had Thai!  How traditional!  Ha!   We went home for a short time and then headed to church that evening.
On a side note, our Sunday Gathering has lost our meeting place and right before Easter!!  At the last minute the hotel we were using decided not to renew our contract.  So, now we wait to see what God is going to do!  We have some leads, but it will take time to look into!  We are very fortunate that our organization has an office space with a meeting room, so we do have something to fall back on!  That is a huge blessing, but only a temporary solution. 

In the Czech Republic Easter Monday is celebrated.  Sadly, this is a bigger day than Easter Sunday due to the many years of communist influence.  It's more of a celebration of the beginning of Spring.  We can go all over the city seeing signs of Easter.  Bunnies, eggs, Easter trees, the Easter Market set up on the squares and even sticks (more on that in a minute)!  An area of rich protestant heritage with the movement of Jan Hus, but there is very little celebration of Christ now.

Due to our busy day on Sunday I was really feeling the loss of an Easter dinner.  Really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I desired it greatly. So, with only a few days of preparation we threw together a quick dinner with a few friends on Easter Monday.  I tell ya, I got so caught up in chatting that the camera was forgotten again!  Ha!  But it was a fun time.  Oh, I was able to get a photo of the awesome carrot cake I made (is that tootin' my own horn or what?!  Ha!).  I went on  a hunt for just the right Easter dessert and decided to go check out the Pioneer Woman's awesome recipes.  Sure enough, Ree did not disappoint!  I knew from the title that this would be a good one.  It's titled Sigrid's Carrot Cake - Perfect for Easter!  If she says it's perfect for Easter than alright!  I left the pecans out since Karis is allergic.

Our friend Mary Ann stuck around after the meal and we finished up the night with some movies.  Nothing says "holiday" like watching movies!!  I've had so many friends telling me about Julie & Julia and how much I would like it.  They knew my love for cooking and blogging!!  So, I had to go buy it off ITunes.  We also got The Princess & the Frog.  I was really excited to buy this to show Karis that the princess can also have dark skin!  But, I was quite disappointed with the heavy theme of voodooism throughout the movie.  It's one thing to have a witch, like in Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, but this had much more of an evil feel to it and was a constant throughout.  That saddened me and reminded me how much more we need to review movies before buying.  Disney, how you have disappointed me!  There went $20 bucks!

Ok, back to the sticks, otherwise known as pomlázka.  Here is an explanation I found. 
The tradition dates back to pagan times.  Its original purpose and symbolic meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to bring health and youth for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped with the pussywillow twigs. Boys would whip girls lightly on the legs and possibly douse them with water, which had a similar symbolic meaning. An Easter carol, usually asking for an egg or two, would be recited by the boy while whipping. The girl would then reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and tie a ribbon around his pomlázka. As the boys progressed through the village, their bags filled up with eggs and their pomlázkas were adorned with more and more colorful ribbons.
This tradition is still largely upheld, especially in villages and small towns, although it may have lost its symbolism and romance and is now performed mainly for fun. Some boys and men seem to have forgotten that the whipping is supposed to be only symbolic and girls don't always like that. The reward has also changed - money and shots of plum brandy (slivovice) are often given instead of or in addition to painted eggs and candy. So by early afternoon, groups of happy men can be seen staggering along the roads... All that aside, Easter remains one of the most joyful holidays on the Czech calendar.

 We have not purchased a pomlázka in the past, so I decided it would be a great souvenir of our time in Prague and a reminder to pray for this country that so desperately needs Jesus!

I do hope you all had an enjoyable, Jesus-filled celebration!