Last year we celebrated Easter with 11 other family members. It was loud and chaotic and wonderful! But this year looked a little different. Quieter. More simple and pretty much just the two of us.
10 AM
I picked out something Easterish yet appropriate (for life in South Asia) to wear to church. White linen pants and a flowery shirt that I brought from America.
11 AM
Corporate worship took place in a house. We all sat on mattresses on the floor and the hubs and I worshiped in a language other than our own. After the message, we passed around the offering basket (a bright blue bag) as usual, each putting our hand inside and dropping colorful money. Next, we sipped hot chai and munched on banana chips as we talked (or attempted to speak) in the language.
1 PM
We went out to eat with a friend and ordered chicken sandwiches that tasted nothing like Chick-Fil-A but quenched our hunger.
2:30 PM
At home, I meal planned and meal prepped for the week which at the very least consisted of making a batch of peanut butter granola.
6:00 PM
We must have had a super simple dinner because I have no idea what we ate. (I am writing this a few months after the occasion)
I would have loved to have had the capacity to make a whole spread of American Easter dishes and have a bunch of people over to celebrate, but it just didn’t work like that.
As we reflected on the empty tomb we chose to gather around one simple food item. Rolls. Because they are fairly easy and extremely delicious. Resurrection Rolls— cinnamon sugar, dough, and marshmallows (that my friend randomly found in a touristy part of the city).
Thanks to the bread maker that I toted from American, making dough for the Resurrection Rolls was way too easy.
7:00
Family worship around the guitar + allotted time to chow down on melt-in-your-mouth rolls
Despite all the things being so different this year, I’m glad Him whom we celebrate is steadfast, immovable, and never-changing.
I think sometimes it is easy to be discouraged or lonely in times like this overseas when you’re not celebrating with a table full of family, or even friends. After Easter, a friend living in the States mentioned what a wonderful opportunity I have (that she was a bit jealous of) to be able to skip all the pressure and grandioseness of American Easter. For example…
Easter often equals:
1) have an Easter egg hunt filled with candy wrapped with pastel colored packaging
2) dye eggs
3) the Easter bunny
4) purchase a ham that feeds twenty
5) wear a cute dress specifically purchased for Easter that you’ve never worn before
My friend listed off pressures, similar to these, that she felt during during Easter weekend and gave me a new perspective on my situation.
I am not implying that any of these are wrong or shouldn’t be a part of Easter traditions but it is possible for these things, and others like it, to distract from the reason why we celebrate Easter to begin with.
It can become a stressful week full of shopping, planning, and preparing rather than of a joyous remembrance of the risen Savior who is alive today and forever.
There is beauty in celebrating holidays overseas (even though we grieve the fact that we aren’t able to be with family and we recognize their sacrifice as well).
The pressure of “doing all the things” is removed and you are given a new opportunity to create a space from scratch to celebrate in a way that reflects your values, beliefs, and priorities.
For us this year, Easter equalled:
1) simplicity
2) new beginnings
3) new traditions
4) new recipes
5) a quiet celebration
And for that I am thankful!