Since I come from a big family, holidays are always a big festivity and each has their own traditions and special place in my heart. For example, on Christmas day we have family brunch with my mom’s famous breakfast casserole, we read the Christmas story, open our stockings, and then normally open presents in the afternoon or evening instead of the morning. On Thanksgiving we have the typical thanksgiving dinner, watch football and then set up our Christmas tree the day after. On St. Patrick’s Day, my mom makes us pancakes or french toast which she always dyes some shade of green with food coloring. Easter however, is my favorite holiday because we don’t really have one set tradition. But is it still a day where all my family, including my aunts, uncles and cousins, gather together with my grandparents to celebrate.
Growing up, my family would do the traditional things to celebrate Easter, including going to an Easter Sunday service and then having an easter egg hunt with hidden gifts baskets and eggs. The gift baskets weren’t really elaborate and would mainly just have our favorite candy and a small toy in it. We tried many different easter traditions like painting easter eggs, wearing special easter dresses, and even egg-spoon racing, but nothing really stuck with my family. Except the tradition of gathering together as a family.
As my family gets older and grows, Easter can look a little different; we have changed locations to my aunt’s house from my grandparents and have also added the tradition of Easter brunch to our list instead of an huge Easter egg hunt, as a result of most of us being too old for an egg hunt. However, there is still one thing that remains constant: family. No matter how far away we live, we still make a conscious effort to keep the Easter tradition of family alive and will still travel far to come together and celebrate Jesus and his resurrection.
Hannah Bonanducci 
Shane Witzer