Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter
Happy Easter. I have been saying it for a few days now but to be honest I do it just to be polite, it's kinda what you have to say you know? Oh I know what Easter is supposed to mean--the death of Jesus, his resurrection and because of that we are all saved. People around here assume I am Catholic which I must say I am not. My parents were converted to Mormonism from Catholicism when I was very young, unfortunately though the missionaries (19 yr old kids really) who converted my parents informed them that everything they did (Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, Holy Week) was all wrong; wrong, evil, and not what God wanted. In trying to be good Mormons my parents gave up everything that didn't jive with their new faith. Unfortunately these well-meaning but ignorant missionaries failed to inform my parents of what they COULD do for Easter and so I pretty much grew up with no Easter traditions, other than Easter Eggs (which we always did at some park because the PS Fire Department would do it the Saturday before) I wasn't aware that people had dinner (kinda like Thanksgiving but in Spring) or that you were entitled to gifts (wow another Holiday with gifts???). It wasn't till I was a teenager that I started to discover these things (Both the Sprungers and the Dorius families invited us over once)and of course once I headed out into the world and learned about other traditions did I realize that there were so many cool and interesting beliefs and ceremonies associated with Easter. The most excitement that Mormonism offered (when Easter was in April) was to get to sit through General Conference (2 days' worth of sermons) exciting stuff for a teenager.
So now when people ask what I am doing for Easter I tell people all this, but I also let them know that I am slowly (along with my ex) introducing traditions to our children that we never knew or that culturally would be significant, (since most Hispanics tend to be Catholic, heck even those that are no longer Catholic still embrace some of the Catholic traditions because Catholicism is so ingrained in Hispanic culture and my kids are 1/2 Hispanic) we try to introduce those too. Of course I do all this in an effort to undo the effects of the cultural rape that I feel I have suffered, I don't expect my children to follow all these ideas, but at least I would like them to be aware of what is out there and let them choose what they would like to honor.
Oh and if anyone in Utah knows any 50 something year old men who served a Spanish-speaking mission to Southern California in the late 70's (specifically in Indio, CA)--please pass their contact information to me--they OWE me several years' worth of gifts and Easter dinners!!!!
So now when people ask what I am doing for Easter I tell people all this, but I also let them know that I am slowly (along with my ex) introducing traditions to our children that we never knew or that culturally would be significant, (since most Hispanics tend to be Catholic, heck even those that are no longer Catholic still embrace some of the Catholic traditions because Catholicism is so ingrained in Hispanic culture and my kids are 1/2 Hispanic) we try to introduce those too. Of course I do all this in an effort to undo the effects of the cultural rape that I feel I have suffered, I don't expect my children to follow all these ideas, but at least I would like them to be aware of what is out there and let them choose what they would like to honor.
Oh and if anyone in Utah knows any 50 something year old men who served a Spanish-speaking mission to Southern California in the late 70's (specifically in Indio, CA)--please pass their contact information to me--they OWE me several years' worth of gifts and Easter dinners!!!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Well I saw someone else
Well I saw someone else do it so I did it too, I am able to blog via my phone now. How cool is that??
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