Easter In Stanthorpe

This time last year, we celebrated both Easter and Halloween at the same time!
Easter because Cadbury says it is Easter, and the calendar dictates this is so, And Halloween because the seasons say it is a time to celebrate the end of the growing season, and prepare for everything to sleep and have a rest.
So we had the vineyard in all of its Autumn colour and the orchard in brilliant yellow and orange, the maples in purple and orange pumpkins we hollowed out and mad jack'o' lanterns for the camp fire we had prepared.
Demelza had invited some of her friends over to help celebrate with us.We made shortbread shapes both witches spiders ghosts and bats and bunnies and Flowers and baskets.The contrast was really bizarre.
But in the southern hemisphere, we don't follow the seasons for our seasonal festivals. And that is to our detriment, because the meanings for these holidays are lost on the kids. Lost to the point were the other day my colleagues stated they didn't know why we had Easter, they just knew that it is a holiday.

So In Stanthorpe lots of effort goes into explaining the Christian position on why Easter is Important. So at least the kids get to have the idea that it is about rebirth, and new beginnings new baby lambs and chickens and daffodils elements of spring and the eggs are for fertility although it is confusing when it is celebrated in Autumn, which is not the time for new beginnings, and so that is why we celebrate Halloween at this time because it is a seasonal Holiday, not because Mr Cadbury or the Church say It is time to.

The children left our house after cooking and decorating bags for their goodies and having a sausage sizzle around the camp fire. They all had an exiting and interesting time. And the Girls; Demelza and Ce'nedra ,enjoyed sharing elements of how we celebrate these holidays in our home.