For the last few years my Lenten/Easter ritual has been to forego Cadbury's mini eggs (the small solid chocolate ones with the crisp coating) for the whole of Lent. The fast is broken at Easter. Our local store begins to stock the eggs from February onward and we buy a bag as soon as they touch the shelves. This is America—the land of the free and the big—and our egg stash is a 42 ounce bag. That's a lot of eggs. Three hundred and thirsty three, to be precise. The first egg of Easter is delicious—just like I knew it would be. It's well worth the wait.
But why wait seven weeks? Why deny yourself at all? Why suffer the temptation every time you open the cupboard as the little eggs cry out "Eat me now! You know you want to!"
I suppose it is about character building. And an aspect of character is the virtue of patience; the ability to wait for something, or someone, without getting ratty, or without jumping the gun. That is no bad thing. Those closest to me know that patiently waiting has not been my strong point. Knowing that, my little Cadbury mini egg ritual each Lent/Easter is a baby step in learning to wait with patience.
My little ritual reflects the larger Christian ritual of the Lenten/Easter cycle of waiting patiently through the difficult days of Lent for the spring of Easter—for us in upstate New York the dizzying mix of cold, rain, sleet and snow and the first few days of warm sunshine.
But this is certain: Easter follows Lent. Each year we marvel as the plants bravely show their faces as they break through the still cold earth, the birds return (blue jays, finches, cardinals, titmice, robins, doves, nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers) and the garden fills with the sweet spring chorus. Light always follows dark. Warm always follows cold. Spring always follows winter. Life always follows death.
Christ is risen! They are risen indeed! Happy Easter to all!
+Ab. Andy