Easter Gift Baskets
A basket full of goodies and treats in shades
of pink, yellow, green, mauve, and blue make up what we usually envision for
‘Easter Colors’. When the sun starts to shine a little
longer and we see the Robins scouring the ground for food we know that spring
is here and Easter is just around the corner. We look forward to
the pastel colored eggs, fuzzy little bunnies and ducks and a family meal that
includes all your traditional favorites for this holiday.
As a child you remember all the cute
decorations that would fill the house and the basket you used to get full of
goodies. You’d use the basket as well to take on your brother or
sister in the ‘hunt’ to see who could round up more little eggs! You
have to admit however, that while some of the ‘eggs’ were decorated
beautifully what kid really got excited about a hard boiled egg? It’s
the chocolate ones we’re after! The yummy treats with creamy
centers or crispy bits all buried inside and chocolate exterior. Tucked
into Easter gift basket would be a plush soft duck or bunny making it all
appeal to us visually, to our touch but most important of all to our taste
buds.
Our guarantee is simply this: If you are
not satisfied with your purchase for any reason*, we will send a replacement
product or cheerfully refund your money! *The only exception to this guarantee
is if the product has been used or damaged. We value your business and know
that you have many choices, that is why our products are 100% satisfaction
guaranteed.
Easter Traditions
As children we woke on Easter Sunday to our
colored wicker baskets packed with plastic straw in green, pink or purple was
my favorite. Nestled in the straw were decorated hard boiled eggs,
chocolate shaped bunnies, small chocolate eggs and other treats like bright
jelly beans that became a standard over time with our family. These
Easter gift baskets represented all things bright and beautiful and signaled
the nice weather approaching. Baseball, soccer and riding your bike
through the neighborhood playing tag or hide and seek with the other kids
until your mom would call you for dinner.
I often wonder why these symbols were used to
represent what we have come to know as ‘Easter’. In reading
I have discovered that the Egg was, and still is, the symbol of fertility and
new life. Makes sense right? In Medieval Europe eggs were
forbidden during lent with the other fasting during this time. Pancake
Tuesday, the day prior to starting lent evolved as a way to use up the eggs
before lent began. To preserve any eggs not used they would be
picked or, yes you guessed it – hard boiled!
The eggs were decorated to represent the
symbols of spring. Using the bright colors of blooming flowers, sunshine
and all things of spring that make it so beautiful. The
decorating of eggs has become a real art form over the years. With
fine precision detail artists use these tiny canvases and recreate portraits,
gorgeous still life art with flowers, or even landscapes. These
pieces of art were exchanged as gifts during this time, given to servants as a
thank you, given to a romantic partner or given to children.
The Easter Bunny was also derived from the idea
of birth as this friendly fluffy little animal has also been a sign of
fertility. It certainly has made a name for the most ‘fertile’
animal known. The history seem to indicate that the bunny was used as a
symbol of Easter dating back to the 1500 in writings from Germany and
introduced by the Germans to the Pennsylvania Dutch during the 1700’s. In
the 1800’s someone in Germany
got the idea to create an edible version of the bunny using pastry and sugar.
Coming from a German background and a great grandfather, grandfather and uncle
who have all shared in running a family bakeshop I can attest to the fact that
it all seems to get down to pasty and sugar! This translated to cakes
being made in the shape or Bunnies, and this German influence was likely what
translated into the chocolate Easter Bunny.
Some interesting little tidbits to explain why
you get what you do inside that Easter Gift Basket year after year. While
taking a big bite and ripping the ears off your chocolate bunny, you may have
the Germans to thank for that. When you look down at a bright colored
Easter egg, carefully decorated and presented as a gift, think of the folks
from Medieval Europe. By the way, hope you have a Happy
Easter!