A little about Easter traditions.
Easter’s religious meaning is clear; however, there are several theories about the origins of some of the more fanciful Easter “traditions.”
Many believe that the Easter bunny came with immigrants from Germany to America in the 18th Century. Children made nests for the bunny to lay its eggs and thus a tradition was born. Others think that eggs were once a forbidden food during Lent, so people painted them and decorated them to celebrate the end of fasting. It seems that as far back as the 1200’s, Easter eggs were being colored and decorated. The practice may have come from Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt, where coloring eggs was common. Europeans in the middle ages gave decorated eggs as gifts.
Rolling eggs down hills may be connected to the symbolism of rolling the rock away from Jesus’ tomb. Some think that President James Madison’s wife, Dolly Madison, heard that Egyptian children rolled eggs against the pyramids, so she organized an Easter egg roll for children down the Capitol lawn. The event moved to the White House in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was in the White House, after complaints that the Capitol lawn was being ruined. Lucky children 12 and under can still wander the White House lawn on Easter Monday looking for eggs. In small towns, those who’d dressed up for Easter would stroll through the town after services, perhaps inspiring Easter parades!
As the founder and managing director of Destination Sitters, LLC, a national hotel and event babysitting service, and the mother of two children, I strongly believe that family comes first. I personally needed babysitting when I moved to San Diego 14 years ago. Like most parents, I assumed there were standards for temporary babysitting; in reality, there are no state standards or licensing requirements for temporary babysitting. The idea for Destination Sitters was born! I wanted to Give Parents Peace of Mind® when traveling with their children, so I created strict screening requirements for the sitters we refer. There is nothing like the peace of mind that comes from getting great professional help to care for your children, especially when traveling away from home. I and my partners, along with our office staff, have that one goal in mind with everything we do.
Through the years of working with children, I have been inspired to write three books, and this blog for parents’ and children’s wellbeing. I believe the best way to teach a child is leading by example, with love, honesty, integrity, compassion, perseverance, and personal responsibility. Learning these values and teaching children that all women and men are equal will encourage them to dream big to be anything they want to be!
An entrepreneur for over 35 years, I previously spent years running a construction and design company with two offices in California and built million-dollar estates and remodeled existing ones. For three and half years, I was one of the primary designers on HGTV’s Curb Appeal. I have also been published in books, magazines and newspapers, and have been a featured designer in multiple showcase houses.
