Easter Weekend

Germany still clings to the church calendar when it comes to federal holidays.  In England, they're called "bank holidays" but even there the bank holiday (federal holiday) dates are often associated with the church calendar anyway. 

Here there's the extra-long Christmas holiday, the extra-long Easter holiday, extra-long weekend for Pentecost, among others! Everyone, regardless of their degree of piety, enjoys the long weekends, but you have to plan ahead.  Easter weekend means that ALL shops are closed on Friday, Sunday and Monday, so you don't diddle with shopping!

And as in much of the US, these holy days have become more and more secular, but the symbols of the holiday persist, likely because they are even older than religion.

We have eggs, decorated, hanging from branches that leaf when they are brought inside.

We have spring flowers.  Tulips are a favorite.

It's a time for a bit of a celebration, no matter what your leanings, so that we do.  Sunday,  we had guests for lunch, and they brought a gift: a dear maiden with a spring flower!  This is from the Erzgebirge where they have made these sweet figures by hand for decades and decades.

We had carrot soup, lamb, green beans, potatoes, lemon curd and raspberries for dessert.  Lovely.

Monday, everything still shuttered, we drove to an area south of here to take a walk.  It's spring on the calendar, but not so much in the trees. But we did notice the bird houses, and they even have addresses!   Who writes to the birds?

It was nice - some nature, fresh air, and some exercise.

Later, some leftover dessert, a bit of tea, and a rest from all that work!