Those unusual traditions

Whilst we Birds vaguely follow a few NZ Easter traditions, there are some US customs which I have observed and are a little unusual to me.  Mind you, we've never eaten at an American's for Easter so I can't really comment on their food.  

They don't seem to give Easter eggs to people.  If you have children, you are likely to partake in an Easter egg hunt.  They like to use plastic shaped eggs filled with treats.  Sometimes smaller eggs, sometimes toys.  I guess the plastic protects them if they're not found, or a squirrel gets them first.  I'm not saying we don't do this tradition at home, but it seems a bigger/more common occurrence here, churches organise hunts for all the kids.

Females wear a new dress to church on Easter Sunday.  Not a new skirt, a new dress.  In fact, men wear their best suit.  It's a pretty thing but I've never quite remembered to go out and buy one and then it's often slightly chilly so I don't even want to put a dress on.  I'll try again next year. They* get really dressed up for Good Friday, too.  Soph's friend told her off when she showed up to church to play violin in jeans and a top, she had to get her friend to deliver some clothes to the church.  Phew.  Jbird and I were on sound and tech.  It was the Friday evening service so we went in end of the week clothes, real sloppy.  Looking down at the congregation - we could have been at a wedding.  Everybody looked gorgeous!  I'm glad we could sit up in the sound box and hide.

Everybody invites their friends and family to church so it's a really busy service.  My tradition in NZ (is this true for you too?) is to go away at Easter time.  It's a four day holiday so I guess it makes sense to get out of town.  I know I've been to church on Easter.  Or...I think I have?  Not to say we're not celebrating the reason for the season - a lot of the time I was either at a youth camp or a Christian camp of some kind, culminating in some of my most spiritual experiences.

All the pagan traditions which we like to link to Jesus fit really well here because it actually is spring time.  Eggs, bunnies, spring flowers.  They all make sense.  Especially after a brutal winter.  Our first winter in Bloomington, there was a lot of snow, it was dubbed Snowmageddon.  Spring came at Easter that year.  It was delightful and a far less abstract reflection. 

* They? Them Yanks! I don't really like being 'us' and 'them' - it's not good for culture shock - yet I have turned this post into just that.