I love the traditions attached to festivals because they offer opportunities to share stories.
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The stories in some homes may be religious, in others more social and in yet others the opportunity to delve into the history and facts behind these traditions and so much more.
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As I stirred away the marzipan mixture, I recalled stories of my own childhood… my mothers prowess at making the yummiest marzipan, and decorating huge quantities of these marzipan eggs, bunnies, chicken and Easter bonnets, which she personally made and decorated to sell at my parents cafe, Majora. They were so well known that people would travel from across Bombay to pick some up.
It was a time when we didn’t just walk into stores to pick up sweets or chocolates…they were always a treat. So standing around in the kitchen, we would hope that the wooden spoon or the traditional copper ‘sweet-making’ vessel would be given to us to scrape off the bits stuck to it…our little pre-Easter ‘treat’.
It also made me dwell on how our community has probably drawn this marzipan tradition from the Portuguese, but adapted it to traditional flavours like the use of cashew nuts instead of almonds and the use of rose water.
For us it was never chocolate eggs, neither were the hard sugar paste egg shells filled with random store bought sweets ever allowed to be distributed to family.
There was a pride and joy in the ‘home-made’, and much in the giving as in the receiving. We did however get very excited on the rare occasion we received a store bought Easter Egg.
Times have changed and the kinds of decorating techniques have changed. While familiar with many of these newer techniques, I find a certain comfort in decorating these eggs with the same kind of icing and patterns that my Mom did.
What are the traditions you follow on your festivals that provide the opportunity for stories?
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Easter is a time of hope, new beginnings and rejoicing.
May this Easter Sunday nudge you to count your eggs and blessings!
May this post prompt stories to share.
Wishing you all a happy and joyous Easter.
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