Favorite Easter Memories
During Lent, I treasure my favorite Easter memories. Mom took pride in dressing up my siblings and me for Sunday Mass. She was a homemaker and Dad a disabled World War II Infantry veteran. When he was too sick to work his factory job, he was hospitalized in the Veterans hospital in St. Louis. Finances didn’t always allow Mom to buy us new clothes. But she was a resourceful and skilled seamstress. She sewed our clothes without a store-bought pattern.
One Easter, Mom made a vest for my younger brother and matching dresses for my two older sisters and me. Here we are being our silly selves posing for a photo Mom took in 1955 with her Brownie camera right after she made our fancy duds.
In front, our brother Jimmy starts us laughing. My just-a-tad-older-and-taller-sister, Kathleen, giggles next to me, as Glenda tries to keep a straight face in the back. (Missing from photo are our oldest sister Patricia—and youngest brother Timmy and youngest sister Bridget—who hadn’t been born yet.)
Easter Sunday, we were on our best behavior as we proudly wore our new outfits to Sacred Heart Church in North St. Louis City.
After we arrived home, we searched for our Easter baskets. They were filled with jelly beans, wrapped marshmallow eggs, one chocolate rabbit, and colored eggs we had helped dye the day before. Then, we girls helped set the table while Jimmy read the “funny papers” (the Sunday comics) with Dad while Mom took the ham out of the oven. The ham had been scored and cooked with a pineapple brown-sugar glaze and cloves on top—a special recipe passed down from Mom’s mother—our Grandma Blanche.
One of the best parts of our meal was dessert. Grandma grew up on a farm and knew all about animals. Her homemade white cake had coconut frosting and was shaped just like a baby lamb. It was almost too pretty to eat. The pure white Easter Lamb Cake had two black jelly bean eyes and a red jelly bean mouth. The ears were rounded like a real baby lamb and the bottom surrounded by Easter grass.
Through Grandma Blanche (photo below), we learned the Easter Lamb is a symbol for Christ, so the Easter Lamb Cake became extra special for us. And it tasted delicious too!
Years after Grandma Blanche passed, I continued the lamb cake tradition until my mold became damaged when the basement flooded in our old house. Last year, I described the lamb cake to my granddaughter, Cari, who immediately got excited. At Christmas, my husband, Walt, and I surprised her with a lamb cake mold.
This coming Easter Cari is going to make a lamb cake. She’s putting her own spin on it—carrot cake filling and cream cheese icing.
Now, five generations later, Christ will be praised on Easter by Grandma Blanche’s great-great granddaughter, Cari, who will bake a special cake in remembrance of His sacrifice for us all.
If baking a lamb cake is too much of a challenge for you, there are simpler options. I found lamb and sheep-shaped cookie cutters, as well as chocolate molds online.
Recently, I watched children’s author Anthony DeStefano be interviewed on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He wrote the book, “The Sheep that No One Could Find.” The story is about the parable of the lost sheep. I thought it would be an excellent book for parents, grandparents, guardians, aunts, or other adults to read to their loved ones, or possibly donate to Alleluia Baskets.
Here are links to Target and Amazon. It’s also available at other outlets. The cover is magnificent.
The Sheep That No One Could Find - By Anthony Destefano (hardcover) : Target
While searching online, I found other gifts that would be appropriate for Alleluia Baskets. Lamb socks are available in several age groups and sizes, and they would bring smiles to children who find them on Easter morning. Here is a link. These come in four different colors and sizes.
My hope is that this post will get you thinking about your favorite Easter memories and, like me, you will give glory to Christ for His love and generosity.
Your Sister in Christ.