HAPPY EASTER AND PASSOVER 2023

Once again, Passover and Easter are running concurrently, but in a different pattern than they usually do when they come together. On the other recent occasions that this synergy has occurred, the first two nights of Passover have been followed by Easter the very next day. But this year, Easter is sandwiched in-between the eight nights of Passover.

This new configuration is perhaps preferable because it gives those of us who celebrate both holidays time to digest our brisket and matzahs before we move on to our ham and chocolate bunnies!

The strange thing for me is that I’ve been invited to many non-holiday-related events during this time period, including on actual Easter Sunday! Don’t people know enough to plan their opening nights, or play runs, or gallery exhibitions not on nights or days when the important invitees might be celebrating their heritages???

But on the other hand, those other activities give people who either don’t celebrate these holidays, or have nowhere to go to do so, something fun to do, to allay the possible depression of being alone during them. So there’s that, which I do appreciate.

Here’s something that does bother me about this holiday juxtaposition—over the years, I’ve seen articles about the differences between the two. How idiotic because…they’re completely different holidays! The only reason they’re connected at all is because they occur around the same time! But that’s it. They’re both happy holidays, as well, but actually, so are most.

I’ve also seen images of celebrating the duo together saying “Passover vs. Easter,” which means “versus” which is basically pitting them against each other. How nutty. And rude!

So anyway, I hope that my Passover celebrants have enjoyed the past two nights of seders, and that my Easter peeps, (not the candy, though it is my fave,) will have the best feast ever on Sunday.

This year is one in which I’m not celebrating either holiday with other people. I’ve just been staying in and being cozy with Mr. X. We may go out to a restaurant for Easter Brunch, but we’re still eschewing being inside an eatery, so even that activity is iffy.

But something hit me the other morning that made me feel really good about these holidays, even if I don’t go anyplace for them. And that thought came from playing solitaire on my mini iPad! It’s this—we don’t need to really celebrate either holiday in the popular sense of the word. Even though none of my friends had a seder this year, and none are throwing an Easter event, I realized that I’ve already been celebrating for myself in fun little ways!

For several weeks, those electronic cards on my Solitaire program have been Easter-themed, complete with a tiny bee flying around the flowers, and the entire screen actually. I must admit that the image has jarred me a few times because it looks like a real-life tiny bug crawling on my device! But the whole scene, with blue-and-pink cards that feature images of bunnies and chicks, and even the backs of the cards being adorned with Easter e-words, is so adorable I smile every time I turn the game on!

And I’ve been enjoying eating my annual Peeps since they appeared in stores a few weeks ago. I like them to be as crunchy as possible, (as opposed to the soft that they really are,) so I take them all out of the box the second I get home from the store, and leave them exposed for a week or two. And that way I have the fun of looking at them in all their colorful glory for a long while!

On the Passover front, Mr. X and I have been indulging in chocolate-covered matzahs that can be bought only at this time of year. I even watched the annual showing of The Ten Commandments this time because aspects of it, like the green light that falls over that Pharaoh home, have fascinated me since I was a little girl.

And I smiled at something so silly the other day. I was at my dentist’s office in a drab building in a not-gorgeous part of town, and on the way down the hall, I noticed a different office door with a Happy Easter sign on it. When I went to look at it up close, I noticed another door at the end of the side hall with just one tiny bunny hanging on it. There was no name on the door, and it was locked, but there she was—a little girl bunny in a cute dress, just hanging up there all by herself. I thought, “Happy Easter to me!”

So, if you have no place to go to on these holidays, and no fun or kind friends to do the traditional stuff with, please just triumph in these little fun things that happen only once a year. They should all put a smile on your face, even for a moment, which is always a good thing.

And now, I wish you all an absolutely wonderful Passover or Easter, or best yet, both! Enjoy whatever it is that you’re doing! And have some matzah ball soup and chocolate Easter e-words for me!