Happy Easter
What a fabulous partner I have! I love the previous post and the appreciation. I must tell you all that we came back to fresh flowers, wine, snacks, candles and a totally clean house with groceries in the fridge. What a person. I feel lucky.
Ireland was fabulous. I really have to say I was disappointed that I didn't miss the kids. I missed Rob and wanted to drink Guinness with him. I thought everyday..."today I will miss them", but it didn't happen. I think a big part of it was my thorough enjoyment of fabulous food, sitting in cafes and pubs, good conversation, and reading a book that I have been wanting to start for months. We saw all the sights in Dublin and then rented a car and went to southern Ireland for about 3 days. We circled the ring of Kerry. The weather was great and seeing the country was incredible. It was so green. The towns were populated with little leprechaun looking old women and men sitting on stoops with their plaid caps and chatting. We had lots of Guinness and realized why both of our partners are so into Guinness. It is really good!
Over the Easter weekend we are renting a car and going to a castle, a zoo and a historic town in the north called, Uppsala. How is that for diversity. Tomorrow for school, Saniya will dress up as a witch for Maundy Thursday. The kids dress up as witches and then go to people's door and give them a card and then they get candy. Interesting tradition, feels like Halloween all over again. Here is some info on Easter in Sweden:
"Today, for many Swedes, Easter is just an extended weekend during which they have a chance to meet spring head on with lots of daffodils, birch twigs and good food. Historically this was a time of great religious significance and until a generation or so back, the Easter week, starting with Palm Sunday, had an air of solemnity about it. Weddings and christenings were not considered appropriate during this week and it was not too long ago that adults dressed in black and spent their time mostly in church or in devotion on Good Friday. All places of entertainment including cinemas remained closed. It was considered highly unsuitable to pay anybody a visit. On this day it was forbidden to touch a needle or a pair of scissors or steel in any form so as not to violate the memory of Christ’s suffering.Much of this has changed but there are many Easter traditions that have survived to this day. The most popular of these is the påskris, birch twigs that are brought indoors and decorated with coloured feathers. Originally the birch twigs were used to give children and servants a good beating on Good Friday to remind them in a tangible way of the sufferings of Christ on the cross. The birch twigs are also believed to be a substitute for palm leaves that were spread in front of Jesus on Palm Sunday.
An ancient grisly aspect of Easter celebrations has developed into a fun thing for children. Little girls with painted faces, wearing head scarves and long skirts, go from door to door with a coffee pot which they expect to get filled with small change or candy. Known as påskkärringar - Easter witches or hags - their origins are to be found in the old superstition that Maundy Thursday was the time when witches stole household brooms and flew to dance and consort with the devil at a feast hosted by him on “Blue Mountain”, a fictitious mountain, possibly in present-day Iceland. There were witch hunts that developed from this superstition and as late as in the 18th century, women denounced as witches could still face capital punishment. The last trial of a woman for witchcraft in Sweden took place as late as in 1720. All doors and windows were kept closed on Maundy Thursday and the dampers of the fireplaces were firmly shut. Thresholds and door jams were marked with the sign of the cross in tar to keep the witches at bay.
The belief in witchcraft is the basis of another Easter tradition, especially in western Sweden where firecrackers are let off on Easter night and great bonfires are lit. Firecrackers and fires were considered to be a proven method to keep witches at bay."
So, there it is. Should be fun and different. Rob is going to England for a week on Tuesday and there is possibility he will take the computer, so maybe our skype groupees can converse with us this weekend. Maybe Sunday or Monday morning, your time.
Ok, take care all. Have a great Easter!
Yasmiene
Ireland was fabulous. I really have to say I was disappointed that I didn't miss the kids. I missed Rob and wanted to drink Guinness with him. I thought everyday..."today I will miss them", but it didn't happen. I think a big part of it was my thorough enjoyment of fabulous food, sitting in cafes and pubs, good conversation, and reading a book that I have been wanting to start for months. We saw all the sights in Dublin and then rented a car and went to southern Ireland for about 3 days. We circled the ring of Kerry. The weather was great and seeing the country was incredible. It was so green. The towns were populated with little leprechaun looking old women and men sitting on stoops with their plaid caps and chatting. We had lots of Guinness and realized why both of our partners are so into Guinness. It is really good!
Over the Easter weekend we are renting a car and going to a castle, a zoo and a historic town in the north called, Uppsala. How is that for diversity. Tomorrow for school, Saniya will dress up as a witch for Maundy Thursday. The kids dress up as witches and then go to people's door and give them a card and then they get candy. Interesting tradition, feels like Halloween all over again. Here is some info on Easter in Sweden:
"Today, for many Swedes, Easter is just an extended weekend during which they have a chance to meet spring head on with lots of daffodils, birch twigs and good food. Historically this was a time of great religious significance and until a generation or so back, the Easter week, starting with Palm Sunday, had an air of solemnity about it. Weddings and christenings were not considered appropriate during this week and it was not too long ago that adults dressed in black and spent their time mostly in church or in devotion on Good Friday. All places of entertainment including cinemas remained closed. It was considered highly unsuitable to pay anybody a visit. On this day it was forbidden to touch a needle or a pair of scissors or steel in any form so as not to violate the memory of Christ’s suffering.Much of this has changed but there are many Easter traditions that have survived to this day. The most popular of these is the påskris, birch twigs that are brought indoors and decorated with coloured feathers. Originally the birch twigs were used to give children and servants a good beating on Good Friday to remind them in a tangible way of the sufferings of Christ on the cross. The birch twigs are also believed to be a substitute for palm leaves that were spread in front of Jesus on Palm Sunday.
An ancient grisly aspect of Easter celebrations has developed into a fun thing for children. Little girls with painted faces, wearing head scarves and long skirts, go from door to door with a coffee pot which they expect to get filled with small change or candy. Known as påskkärringar - Easter witches or hags - their origins are to be found in the old superstition that Maundy Thursday was the time when witches stole household brooms and flew to dance and consort with the devil at a feast hosted by him on “Blue Mountain”, a fictitious mountain, possibly in present-day Iceland. There were witch hunts that developed from this superstition and as late as in the 18th century, women denounced as witches could still face capital punishment. The last trial of a woman for witchcraft in Sweden took place as late as in 1720. All doors and windows were kept closed on Maundy Thursday and the dampers of the fireplaces were firmly shut. Thresholds and door jams were marked with the sign of the cross in tar to keep the witches at bay.
The belief in witchcraft is the basis of another Easter tradition, especially in western Sweden where firecrackers are let off on Easter night and great bonfires are lit. Firecrackers and fires were considered to be a proven method to keep witches at bay."
So, there it is. Should be fun and different. Rob is going to England for a week on Tuesday and there is possibility he will take the computer, so maybe our skype groupees can converse with us this weekend. Maybe Sunday or Monday morning, your time.
Ok, take care all. Have a great Easter!
Yasmiene
posted by Yaz and Rob at 6:53 PM
1 Comments:
Oh my, Rob has surely shown himself to be a capable, caring partner and father. If he gets tired of his career he could start a business teaching his skills to other men. There's a world full of women who would be happy to pay a small fortune to send their partners for training......
I liked his post about his time with the kids, too. His admiration of your job is oh, so nice to see.
The 'hood's doing well. Just the usual petty theft but we love it here.
We've been in Australia/NZ/Cook Islands (and then Iowa) for a few months so haven't seen your blog in quite a long time.
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