Spring holidays

Easter is not as big as Christmas, but the stores are filled with candles, napkins, and items needed to have a beautiful table, or påskebordet.  Families gather for Easter lunch that is almost as big as Christmas lunch (several varities of herring, fish filets, salmon, egg & shrimp, chicken, lamb, or pork tenderloin, roastbeef, and cheese).  There are restaurants that serve the same meals and advertise Easter buffets, but they are not open on Easter. 

the snowdrop represents the first flower of the season

One Danish tradition is to make something resembling a paper cutting or snowflake and write a love poem on it.  Children often send them to their grandparents, but instead of signing it use a little code, like the number of dots corresponding with the number of letters in the child's name.  If the recipient can't guess who sent the letter, the sender receives an Easter egg.

The Sunday paper (a bit like the Parade magazine) reviewed 15 Easter beers, but I am not sure if that is as many as are made for Christmas.

chocolate soccer ball and cleats

I don't pay much attention to Easter items in the U.S., but I think these are unusual.

pre-filled Star Wars eggs, also available Hello Kitty eggs

The most significant difference I notice is that almost everything (grocery store, library, bank) is closed on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, and Easter Monday.  Many families hang out at their summer homes but don't take big trips.  The cycle of vacation days starts 1 May, so many people have used up their days by now.

It is telling that if you put easter and passover into Google Translate it returns the same word - påske.  If you capitalize the words then Passover comes out as Jødisk, or Jewish.  Knowing this, it will not surprise you that we found exactly one place selling matzah (maybe there is a place in Aarhus, also, but it is three+ hours away).

At the store there was matzah from three countries.  David chose the Israeli matzah.

    Dutch matzah - 155kr/$30 for 4.4 pounds

    Israeli matzah - 107kr/$20 for 4.4 pounds

    French matzah - 165kr/$31 for 2 pounds

I did find a horseradish root (peberrod) and beets.  The library system has some old haggadot, but we are using a photocopy of part of the haggadah we regularly use, Why on This Night by Rahel Musleah.

Next year in California?