These are the best days off as far as I am concerned. Although we all should be reading The Master and the Margarita, that Russian surreal classic framed around the events of the first Easter and a one fanged cat in a suit, we also have to contend with all the pagan spring and fertility imagry - and chocolate and maple syrup running starting and the end of winter and the melting of snow and no expectation of large amounts spent on gifts or forced family gatherings with that third cousin. Thursday night to Tuesday morning off by law not choice.
In law school while working out who got what exam date off for which holiday, hands were raised to object to Easter Monday to which response was made asking the no doubt devout student exactly what Christ did on that Monday. Zippo. It's a freebie like Boxing Day. Plus coming a week after March Break and St. Paddy's (especially in Newfoundland where they get that off, too) it has been a quiet time anyway. Then there are the NCAA's sweet sixteen games to watch, walks to watch melting and hot crossed buns from Pan Chancho if I ever get off my butt to go down there and get some. I think "Hot Crossed Buns" is the only quasi-religious song to enter the canon of playground singing.
Comments
portland - March 25, 2005 8:44 AM
i love easter too. in the old days it was a trip to boston or burlington to see spring. now i'm here and i dont even get it off. freaking dumbass separation of church from state (and by the way - yeah - as if). did jesus invent hot cross buns the way he invented pancakes (see palm sunday, i.e. pancake day)? isnt monday the day he said, "awww screw this, there's no salvation for this lot" and went back to what he was doing? if not, maybe he should have.
and there's this priest, see, that's assigned to a little town in outport nfld. he doesn't know what he people know about easter (there's not been a clergyman out there for some time) so he brings them in to test thier knowledge. "what's the meaning of easter?" he asks one. the newf describes santa and christmas and goes on at length and the priest throws him out. the next guy describes halloween. and so it goes, on down the line until, discouraged, the priest decides to try one last time. "what's the meaning of easter?" he asks a resident. "easter bye," says the newf, "easter? that's when our saviour, the lord jesus christ died up on the cross to save us from our sins." "yes, yes" says the priest. "and then they took him down and put his body in a cave" says the newf " "yes," says the priest. " and then every sunday he rises from the dead and comes out of the cave... "yes yes" say the priest. "and if he see his shadow....."
portland - March 25, 2005 9:03 AM
shrove tuesday. sorry. that's the pancake day - right? i think i missed it this year. what's a shrove by the way? just asking.
Alan - March 25, 2005 9:20 AM
Here is a crappy web dictionary defintion of "shrove" which kind of makes sense:<blockquote class="smalltext">shrive
verb shrived (past tense), shrove, shriven (past participle), shrived, shriving (present participle)<blockquote>1. To hear a confession from and give absolution to someone.<br>2. To unburden by confession or otherwise.<br>3. To impose a penance on someone.<br>4. To receive or make confession. Compare shrift.</blockquote>Etymology: Anglo-Saxon scrifan to write or prescribe penance, from Latin scribere.</blockquote>