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Teaching English and Art together, putting on the GospelCafé concerts, prayer, meeting with our new French friends. It's a good life!


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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Joyeux Paques!! - Happy Easter!!

     Easter in France is known as Pâques. (pronounced "Pack"). Something I read said, "The historic country of France is widely famous for its deep rooted religious faith in Catholicism; hence Easter festivities in France are in perfect tune with the secular French rituals of today." They leave for the vacances (vacations) here as they have a week off. Many go to Tunisia or other warm places by the beach but it was in the 70s all week so many stayed here. People here rarely go to church. Some might show up on Easter morning - but few. They are willing to go to the malls to get ready for spring and they have a meal with families and of course have the bunnies and chocolate eggs for a hunt with the children. I did not buy one chocolate egg or boil any. A little girl in church today handed me a blue foiled chocolate egg. It's still in my purse and her beautiful dark face and large dark eyes will forever shine in my mind as she handed me that precious little gift.
     One of our churches had an Easter egg hunt in a neighborhood yesterday which I helped with. 30 children came to hunt eggs and the parents had their cameras as the 3 to 6 year olds played a bunny hopping game to pick up the boiled eggs in the center of the field. The older children played a "ball" game while some of our adults and youth hid the chocolate eggs in various places around the park. I helped to poor the drinks and cut the gateau (cake) for them after the celebration.
     Pâques, the French word for Easter, comes from the Hebrew word Pesach which means Passover. The Jewish feast was at the setting for the Easter events recounted in the Christian Gospels.
     The only written record explaining the origin of the word Easter dates to: AD 725. The English historian Saint Bede explained the origin of the word Easter in his work "De Temporun Ratione". Eosturmonath, meaning "Easter-month", was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April. Easter comes from ancient roots meaning "shine and dawn". East—the direction of dawn, came from the ancient root, aus.
     For those of us who may do an easter egg hunt in the states but have gone beyond our wonderful Easter family times to know what Easter truly means, we say, "He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!!" He lives forever with his saints to reign!
     Thank you Lord Jesus! We are forever in your debt. - Carol

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