Family Easter Traditions

When I was growing up, Easter was a holiday where the family would get together, usually around 2 o’clock, and have dinner. We weren’t religious, so church wasn’t a thing that we did, but it was a day to spend with family.

While we were all pretty young, our parents would take us to O’Neill Park. We’d drive in and find the perfect spot to set up our family lunch. My mom’s potato salad was THE best, plus ham and other goodies. After lunch, we’d go play in the creek and I remember my sisters catching tadpoles, which would die a couple days later. I didn’t even know what a tadpole was until I got older. Ew, frogs!

As we got older and the family grew a little bit, O’Neill Park became too crowded. Our dad drove us around until we found an empty picnic area next to another creek in Silverado Canyon. That was our Easter picnic for a few years, and we’d bring chairs and use the camper’s table to eat at. My niece, nephew, little brother, and I would go across the street to the elementary school (closed for the weekend, of course) and play around there after lunch.

After a few years THAT place got too crowded, so we’d just stay home and have a barbeque in the backyard. Instead of Mom making everything, we’d have a potluck, and there was always plenty of food. My sisters were all married with kids of their own by this time, so it was fun to see my little nieces and nephews running around hunting for Easter eggs.

There would be some marathon on TV, either the Twilight Zone, or Star Trek, or MASH, and we’d talk about all the news and events with everyone.

I wish you all a happy and safe Easter this year.