Now let me see . . . spring cleaning was finished last week. Our Easter eggs are decorated. We've baked a coconut cake just like grandma used to make. We've done the marketing - there's a sugar cured ham, new spring potatoes and sweet peas for creaming.
Each little dress and suit is pressed and ready for Sunday. Every bonnet is in tip top order. All the little white shoes are polished. All the little white gloves and stockings are sparkling clean and carefully mended. . . What else needs to be done?
Easter Baskets
for everyone. Of course!
Large or small, an Easter Basket has always been one of my most treasured possessions. Probably because of the time and thought put into the each one. Time and thought, not money, are elements that make for extra special Easter Baskets, in my estimation.
Here's a list of the stuff Nana will be putting in her Easter Baskets, along with a few thoughts on the subject:
We'll start with a cuddly pink and white bunny rabbit
This adorable little guy represents one of the many different customs observed
during the Easter season. He hops into our celebrations with a basket filled
with Egg-cellent treats and surprises! 
Each time we give him
a hug he seems to say "Happy Easter! Remember why I came."
Easter Customs and Legends *
Easter is celebrated on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. The meaning of many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in pre-Christian religions and in Christianity. All in some way or another are a "salute to spring," marking re-birth. The word "Easter" is derived from Eastre, the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.
The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday.
People worldwide celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day He was resurrected.
Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States.
Today on Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.
The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.
In England, Germany and some other countries, children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World.
In the United States in the early nineteenth century, Dolly Madison, the wife of the fourth American President, organized an egg roll in Washington, D.C. She had been told that Egyptian children used to roll eggs against the pyramids so she invited the children of Washington to roll hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building! The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War. In 1880, the First Lady invited children to the White House for the Egg Roll because officials had complained that they were ruining the Capitol lawn. It has been held there ever since then, only canceled during times of war. The event has grown, and today Easter Monday is the only day of the year when tourists are allowed to wander over the White House lawn. The wife of the President sponsors the celebration for the children of the entire country. The event is open to children twelve and under. Adults are allowed only when accompanied by children!
Traditionally, many celebrants bought new clothes for Easter which they wore to church. After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town. This led to the American custom of Easter parades all over the country. Perhaps the most famous is along Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Good Friday is a federal holiday in 16 states and many schools and businesses throughout the U.S. are closed on this Friday. *
There is a legend about a young rabbit who, for three days, waited anxiously for his friend, Jesus, to return to the Garden of Gethsemane, little knowing what had become of Him. Early on Easter morning, Jesus returned to His favorite garden and was welcomed by His animal friend. That evening, when Jesus' disciples came into the garden to pray, they discovered a path of beautiful larkspurs, each blossom bearing the image of a rabbit in its center as a remembrance of the patience and hope of this faithful little creature.
Next, we'll add 
a couple of fluffy yellow Easter chicks.
What a precious handful they are, too. Just a tiny ball of chenille with two little beads for eyes, a tiny yellow bill, and wires for feet and legs. The chicks we can buy today aren't nearly so delicate as the old-fashioned ones in Nana's collection.
The Easter Chicks represent the frailty
of human existence and our dependence on God's watchful care and mercies.
Our Easter Basket wouldn't be complete without a few
Chocolate Eggs
filled with truffle cream
Basic truffle cream - ganache
9 oz heavy whipping cream - bring to a boil
8 oz milk chocolate chopped or chips
8 oz vanilla chocolate chopped or chips
Poor hot cream onto chocolate and stir immediately.
Add 1 1/2 oz of butter and stir until smooth. Let cool and store in refrigerator.
Use the ganache to fill -
Chocolate Eggs:
You will need a 3" egg-shaped mold
You may need the following equipment:
stainless steel spatula, plastic spatula, brushes, bowls, trays, wax sheets, knife, thermometer, pastry tip #10 or larger, decorating pastry bags, and a double boiler or microwave for melting chocolate.
How To Melt Chocolate
Melting chocolate to use as a baking ingredient for candy work or decoration
requires gentle heat. Chocolate that is overheated may scorch, lose flavor
and turn coarse and grainy. Stir melting chocolate after it has begun to
liquefy. Because of the sensitivity of milk solids to heat, milk and white
chocolates should be stirred almost constantly while dark chocolate need
only be stirred frequently during melting.
Here are two good methods for melting chocolate so that it is smooth and
glossy.
In a Microwave Oven
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwave
at MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 1 1/2 to 4 minutes, until the chocolate
turns shiny. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate
until completely melted. Stir milk and white chocolates after about 1 1/2
minutes. Because of their milk proteins, they need to be stirred sooner than
dark chocolate. (If overheated, these chocolates may become grainy. Never
allow the temperature to exceed 92 degrees F)
In a Double Boiler
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not
simmering, water. Melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove the top
part of the double boiler from the bottom.
Allow the melted chocolate to cool to about 80 degrees F.
Using the brush, coat the inside of the mold with dark chocolate.
Allow the first coat of chocolate to dry and add a second coat.
Add more coats of chocolate if necessary.
Make sure each coat of chocolate has dried thoroughly before adding a new coat.
The egg halves should be approximately 1/4" thick
It is always a good idea to make additional egg halves. Some may brake when un-molding or during assembly. Left-over chocolate halves can always be re-melted or used for other decorations.
When the chocolate has dried use a spatula to scrape off the extra chocolate from the edges of the molds. Gently, un mold all of the eggs.
Fill with each half with ganache, glue halves together with melted chocolate, and decorate eggs with piped on icing.
They're too good to miss.
Additional instructions and complete recipe available athttp://www.pastrywiz.com/
But the MOST important thing you will find your basket is a tiny Holy Bible. In the Bible you can read all about Jesus! He is the real reason we celebrate Easter you know.
Finally, we'll tuck in a few flowers in our basket, tie on a great big bow and give it to the ones we love most on Easter Sunday Morning!
So when Nana's Easter Basket comes your way, just remember
how much you
are loved... OK?
Embassy of the United States of America
Dag Hammarskjölds Väg 31, SE-115 89 Stockholm
http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/eastera.html
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