Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Greetings #1



Hello Friends and Happy Easter!

I write "Easter Greetings #1" because I am lucky enough to celebrate Easter twice. My mother raised her children Roman Catholic, but my father and his side of the family are Greek Orthodox. We will be celebrating Greek Orthodox Easter next Sunday :)





These are not Easter lilies. They are beautiful Irises from my sweet boyfriend Jordan. I thought they were appropriate images for Easter Sunday. I also loved this poem I found, "The Easter Flower," by Claude McKay.



The Easter Flower
by Claude McKay

Far from this foreign Easter damp and chilly
My soul steals to a pear-shaped plot of ground,
Where gleamed the lilac-tinted Easter lily
Soft-scented in the air for yards around;
Alone, without a hint of guardian leaf!
Just like a fragile bell of silver rime,
It burst the tomb for freedom sweet and brief
In the young pregnant year at Eastertime;
And many thought it was a sacred sign,
And some called it the resurrection flower;
And I, a pagan, worshiped at its shrine,
Yielding my heart unto its perfumed power.

I think I like this poem so much beacuse reveals the beauty of Easter to people of all religions, through a simple, lovely flower. I do not consider myself a practicing Catholic anymore, but like the "pagan" author of the poem, I too appreciate the sacred, perfumed wonder of the Easter Lily. It is also easy to recognize the comparisons to Christ in the usage of the words; tomb, worship, and ressurection.
Happy Easter! Especially to my sister in Hawaii - Alexis we will miss you today!


2 comments:

Swati said...

Oh Stephanie! I LOVE purple flowers...especially Irises!! You made my day! This is the 2nd blog today that shows me purple Irises in their latest post :-D.

Happy Easter X 2 :-))))

Alexis said...

Happy Easter to you too, sweet sister! I missed you for both Easters...I hope you won the egg crack yesterday!