Easter season is a time of many different happenings. Before I go on, let me explain some of the terms I have used to identify the Easter season. Please do not consider the following as a historical or religious lesson. They are only my memories and could differ from yours.

Easter Sunday is the day on which Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is never on the same date. It is determined by a formula created in ancient times. Easter Sunday is the Sunday immediately after the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21st.

Fat Tuesday is the unofficial name of the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is the last chance that you had to indulge in your desires before the Lenten season started.

Ash Wednesday is the official start of the Easter Season. The ashes refer to the ashes, which are made from the Palms fronds that remained from last Easter season. The ashes are applied to the foreheads of penitents as a mark of their commitment to the Lenten season.

Lent is the forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. It is the time of season observed by Catholics to abstain from food by fasting, penitence, and self-denial.

Fasting is to abstain from food. During Lent fasting is done every Wednesday and Friday. On those days meat is eaten sparingly at one meal. Certain days, fasting is total and no meat or food is eaten.

Penitence is the admission of guilty and sins. It is an act of submission to the Lenten duty as a reserve to change for the better, and to be contrite.

Contrition is to be deeply and humbly sorry for your sins and a resolve never to commit them again.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter Sunday. On that day palm fronds are distributed in Catholic churches as a remembrance of the palm fronds that the citizens waved along the route that Jesus Christ took to his return to the city of Jerusalem.

Holy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter Sunday that is observed as a day of vigil. Catholics observe this evening in prayer reflections and self-reflection as was done by Jesus Christ. We usually spent a good part of the evening with the Boy Scouts in church after Mass. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday and is observed as the day that Jesus Christ was crucified and buried.

Now that I have tried to explain some of these things, I will try to weave them into a fabric that is the Easter season. The Easter season really starts before lent. On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, many people decide what it is that they will fast on during the Lenten season, and fast you should. The object of your personal fast is supposed to be something that you like and will really miss. It will be difficult to do without something for forty days, but that is what the fast is about. It is supposed to remind you of the fast that Jesus Christ imposed upon himself.

Fat Tuesday is the last chance that you had to "pig out" on all the things that you were to fast on. Food of all types was prepared and eaten. The usual fast items such as sweets, donuts, cakes, pies etc. were eaten to gluttony with no conscience. By the way, Fat Tuesday is the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Brazil. They know how to enjoy the pre-Easter season.

Ash Wednesday is celebrated (sic) but attending Mass and receiving ashes on your forehead. It is applied in the shape of a cross to remind you of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the ashes on your head got you into trouble by those that didn't understand why you had dirt on your forehead. Those idiots were promptly ignored. It is the beginning of a self imposed sacrifice such as no donuts for forty days, and to some it was the beginning of torture of a desire denied.

Fasting from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays wasn't too bad as it gave you a chance to eat fish or some other non-meat meal. It was Mom's chance to get you to eat some strange foods in the name of fasting. It also gave a chance, for those adults that needed it, to lose a little of the spare tire that they had acquired over the previous holidays.

Penance and contrition was practiced by going to church often and making sure that your presence there was witnessed. Heaven forbid if you told Mom and Dad that you went to church and they later found out that you were really hanging out on the corner.

Palm Sunday was eagerly looked forward to as it signaled the impending end of lent. At the end of the Mass on Palm Sunday everyone received some palm. Some of this palm was to be given to your family and neighbors that might not have been able to go to mass. It was also given as a sign of respect to those that it was given to. A visit to the Holy Cross-cemetery on Palm Sunday was a part of paying respect to the dead. Woven palm was placed on the graves of your loved ones.

Holy Thursday evening was spent in church. We went to mass in the evening and stayed to observe the vigil. Our boy scouts were always there and they acted as ushers and escorts during and after the mass.

On Good Friday from noon to three in the afternoon is the presumed period of time that Jesus Christ hung on the Cross. For us it was a time that we were to be in church for three hours. As an alternative, we had to remain silent for that time. Try it, it isn�t easy.

On Holy Saturday, the churches were packed for midnight mass. Some churches had a sunrise service on Easter morning. These masses were packed.

Easter Sunday was the culmination of the season and was celebrated with many things. You put on your new clothes and went to mass. After mass you visited the homes of your neighbors and relatives. When you got home you were free to eat any of the forbidden things that you had not eaten for the Lenten season. Hot cross buns were bought of made. Panatone, cannolis, and other sweets were served to all those that visited your home.

Easter Bread is a sweet cake baked in many shapes and always contained a whole egg . . . in the shell. Colored eggs were hidden through the house and the kids had to find them. The winner was the one that found the most eggs. Some times an egg that was hidden didn't get found until some were near Thanksgiving.

Later we played eppers or "gargoina" with the eggs. This game was played by choosing a hard-boiled egg and testing it's ability to withstand cracking by being tapped with another egg. If your egg cracked you had to peel off the shell and eat it. If it didn't crack, you could try to crack someone else's egg. One year I won every contest . . . I used a ceramic egg. I'm glad I didn't get caught.

We always ate early in the afternoon on any Sunday. The Easter meal was especially large with antipasto, soup, ravioli, spaghetti, gravy meats, baked ham, potatoes, vegetables, and a variety of breads and rolls. This was followed with dessert.

After eating for about three hours the meal was done. Everyone was totally stuffed and the ladies still had to clean up and do the dishes pots and pans before they rested.

The rest of the day was spent in the reflection of how good we had it, visiting or playing monopoly or some other games.

Compared to some others, we had it made. It wasn't the food or other things that made it special, it was the love and the family bonding that made the Easter season an especially close season. The religious aspects cemented us together in a way that is all but lost today.