Surviving Easter
Through a woman's eyes
By Cheryl Springer
Stabroek News
April 4, 2004
Easter time, Easter time
Flowers bloom at Easter time
Church bells ring
Children sing
Happy, happy Easter time
Easter is, or is supposed to be, a happy time. Perhaps it has been commercialised, but Easter is also family-oriented. It brings to mind Easter eggs, flowers, bunnies, chocolates, kites, hats, tea parties. One of, if not the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, Easter follows Lent, a season of soul-searching, repentance, reflection and taking stock. It lasts 40 days, which represents the time Jesus Christ withdrew into the wilderness before his crucifixion.
While in other countries the Easter egg hunt is popular and the US is famous for its Easter egg roll on the lawns of the White House in Washington, in Guyana, kite-flying is the major Easter activity. This is stating the obvious, because kites went on sale in Georgetown at least a week ago, if not longer.
Sensible parents will choose plastic kites; they come ready made in a packet. You simply insert the three or four sticks that come with the kite, attach the twine and you're ready to fly.
The slightly more adventurous will pick the wooden-framed ones with their gaily coloured paper. When you purchase these kites, you must also get a 'balla' (polythene twine on a stick) and a tail; the kite must have ears and a 'bull.' If you're half sensible, you will get the vendor to attach these components before you take the kite away.
Really clever parents make their children's kites from scratch. (They go into the forest and select two trees - one from which the kite paper will be made and one from which the sticks to fashion the frame will be cut. Just joking!) But seriously, people (meaning men) still actually buy kite frames, kite paper, glue, twine and cut strips of cloth to make their children's kites. Somehow, they always manage to get a frame that is slightly bigger than the child/children involved, and this is because secretly, they want to fly the kites themselves. Because this is what their daddies did to them when they were little.
Don't get me wrong, some of the kites turn out beautifully and win prizes in the annual kite-flying competitions. But just some.
Meanwhile, mommies are checking the picnic baskets to see how well they survived Mashramani, and planning the feast. Heavy food is always best, like cook-up rice and chicken, because hopefully, if their bellies are full the children will fall asleep after an hour or so of kite-flying. But there is always the likelihood that they will be too excited to eat. So during a lot of tut-tutting and head-shaking as the kite is being built, mommy plans her Easter survival kit.
* Paper towels/tissues: These will be needed to dry the tears when (a) the kite does not go up; (b) the kite does not stay up; (c) the kite bursts and flies away; (d) the kite attempts to yank junior off his feet; (e) junior has to give his sister a turn at flying the kite; (f) any other tear-making opportunity comes along.
* A couple of balls and a bat: These come in handy after (a), (b) or (c) above, or when they simply get bored. (Tip: Wise mommies never take just one ball; it is bound to get lost and then you are back to square one.)
* Some band-aids: Collisions and falls, cuts and bruises. Band-aids cover the wound so it does not look as life-threatening, and the tears dry faster.
* Change of clothing: Better than rowing over spilled drink or wet pants.
* Painkillers: Nothing spoils a child's day like the words, "mommy has a headache." In fact, some mommies take two before they leave home as a prophylaxis; headaches are almost guaranteed.
* Back up: And just in case it rains at Easter, which means staying at home, and there is a power outage - no TV; mommies are checking out the snakes and ladders, draughts, Chinese checkers and monopoly games to ensure all the pieces are accounted for.
Ready to trade kite-flying for an egg-roll or egg-hunt? Let's talk about it next year, shall we?