Easter in the northern hemisphere makes a lot of sense. Once dormant trees are beginning to clothe themselves in lime green, blossoms and flowers are creating a pretty and fragrant backdrop to our everyday lives and furry and feathery beings dart about energetically. The metaphor of new life is everywhere. One sunny morning recently I stood on our back veranda, trying not to move or make a sound as I watched a squirrel performing acrobatics from branch to branch, large fluffy tail swinging about. He stopped and grabbed a stem of lilac blossoms then took a big bite and balanced there munching. It was such a delightful sight I felt like laughing, but I didn't want to spoil the performance so I just smiled quietly in amusement. At that moment in my peripheral vision came a flash of azure blue and a rotund bird, head topped with a short dark crest, perched on a branch of the cedar tree quite nearby. Immediately it was joined by its equally beautiful mate and the two
of them hopped around, their gorgeous blue feathers brilliant in the morning light. I had not seen birds like this before and here I was enjoying a spring surprise from a front row seat. I found out later from the next door neighbour that they were blue jays.After several days of searching in vain for Hot Cross Buns to buy I eventually found some in one supermarket (on Maunday Thursday evening, just before Good Friday) which were a little different from ours. They didn't have quite the same spice and had an icing cross on top, which made heating them up a bit difficult but they tasted ok. Home-made chocolate chip Hot Cross Buns complemented the local variety, so all members of the family were catered for.
The Easter traditions in Berkeley this year were rather different from what I am used to. The Good Friday service was at dawn, which is not that unusual, but it was combined with an anti-nuclear protest at one of the University Science labs. I didn't feel particularly comfortable joining in a protest at that venue (having a husband and several friends who are scientists at the University) or for that reason (although I have lots of doubts about the safety of nuclear energy I don't know that it is a moral issue), so I didn't attend. Ben an
d Dave had school that day. It seemed to be a normal day for many Americans. I had a lot of trouble buying Easter eggs. There were none at our local supermarket, so I caught a bus to another supermarket where I also had trouble finding them. I asked one of the shop assistants if they had any Easter eggs and she looked puzzled. I had to explain what I meant and she showed me a display with fluffy chicks and rabbits, a few tiny chocolate rabbits and a small collection of Cadbury creme eggs. A bit of a contrast to Australian shopping centre aisles with row upon row of chocolate eggs, and rabbits of various sizes and colours. Just in time, I found out that chemists are the places that sell chocolate Easter eggs! So the boys got their Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning after all.On Easter Sunday we attended the local Presbyterian church where the pews were packed with people and the front of the church was beautifully decorated with white flowers. Trumpeters and and bell-ringers played, as well as the usual pipe organ and choir. Afterwards we enjoyed a shared brunch and all the children had an Easter egg hunt, this time searching the lawn for coloured hard-boiled eggs and plastic eggs filled with various goodies. So that's what American kids eat for Easter!
