5 ideas for Easter, which is the festival of light, of rebirth, of life. In the small world in which we are enclosed by events, we can open doors to immense spaces if we use our creativity and imagination.
Life gets better if we value everyday gestures and fill moments with meaning. What will you be doing at Easter? For Easter Monday I will definitely choose the traditional Italian picnic, while for Easter Day I will try to decorate the house in the best possible way, transforming it into a space of rebirth.
1. From ‘Easter cleaning’ to decorations
The tradition, of Jewish origin, is to do a thorough cleaning before Easter, removing every residue and legacy of winter. It can be an opportunity to get rid of the superfluous and to make space within ourselves. The Jews do not leave a single crumb or grain of yeast lying around.
Decorations are really important. Prepare paper flowers, or cut them out of coloured fabric, and scatter them around the house, as if a floral wave had passed through your walls. Give preference to pink and white.
Prepare baskets with jars of primroses, violets and hyacinths. They will perfume the house, giving it a spring-like appearance.
A few stuffed or papier-mâché chicks are a must. You can also make them from cardboard inside toilet paper and wool. If you have time, try colouring the eggs by boiling them with natural dyes such as turmeric, flowers, red turnip. And then make baskets with the coloured eggs, a sign of new life.
2. The eve candle
For Christians, the Holy Night is the most sacred time of the year. The Easter Vigil is full of unique symbols and rituals. If you can’t go because of the pandemic, you can organize a small celebration at home, where you light a beautiful candle made of real beeswax (order it online from local producers). Search the web for a good version of the Exultet, sung well, and listen to it while lighting the candle.
If you are not a practising believer or if you have other religious backgrounds, organise a solemn moment of candle lighting anyway, which marks the light after the darkness. And we need it so much.
3. Breakfast with a gourmet colomba
5 ideas for Easter. For an impressive wake-up call, you can scatter the flowers secretly early in the morning so that family members get up with a nice surprise and get off on the right foot.
Breakfast is an important moment. If it is not possible to go to the bar or the pastry shop, we take good care of the first meal of Easter. You can order gourmet colomba (typical Italian Easter cake) of many different origins, all of which are the fruit of great tradition. This year we choose the haute patisserie of Abruzzo with Sorelle Nurzia. Or you can choose a pastry shop close to home, ordering the dove of your choice. A nice hot chocolate will do the rest.
4. Menu for a tasty lunch, even without meat
If you want to have a lunch that is light, but tasty and refined, even without meat, choose the menu I will prepare. Starter: steamed asparagus with a grated hard-boiled egg on top and delicious oil.
One dish: ricotta and egg muffins. They are prepared by placing caramelised red onion on the bottom of the muffin cases, then a mixture of eggs, ricotta cheese and grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake in the oven at 160° for 25/30 minutes.
Side dish: fennel salad, orange, pomegranate seeds and walnuts.
Sweet: the morning colomba, with a warm custard and a handful of violet petals on top.
5. ideas for Easter: hunting for chocolate eggs
If you have children, a treasure hunt can be fun, where instead of treasure there are chocolate eggs, as long as they are not maxi-sized ones. For people who don’t want to play treasure hunts, you can order a chocolate egg with a personalised gift, something that will stay and make the day unforgettable.
The important thing is to take care of every little gesture, thus filling everything with meaning. Happy Easter preparation!
