Easter in Hawaii

We had a good amount of Easter celebration in Hawaii. And you know what I love about Hawaii? There is none of this PC stuff about not celebrating Christian holidays. Hawaii is a pretty spiritual place in general, so faith is a common practice. However, Hawaii is the third most unchurched state in the union, with less than ten percent of folks attending a Bible believing church. Given all of this, no one blinks an eye about celebrating Christian holidays in the work place or in public. I love it! Plus, you can talk about your faith and people do not absolutely flip out, because that just wouldn't be showing aloha. People are willing to listen, even if they don't agree.

So, the first part of the Easter celebration started with goody bags at school. In celebration of Easter, the kids exchange little cellophane bags with treats with every kid in the class. Think Easter basket in a bag. That meant tons of Easter candy. And good candy, too. One other thing about Hawaii. You give good stuff or it is goes noticed! No, there was no Jesus in the bag. But it was in celebration of Easter, not "Welcome Spring."Next, we were invited to an Easter egg hunt up the street. Now this is what I mean. This is truly local style, and I loved it. We were invited to an Easter party. This was not a Just For Christians kind of a thing, even though the party was focused on Jesus and His resurrection. There were about fifty kids there, and they were broken up by age group. Son1 was in the under 5 group. It started out that kids no older than three went first to collect Easter eggs with treats. I got funny looks because Son1 is tall and in the youngest group. He was taller than some of the 4 and 5 year olds. I explained he wouldn't be 4 until August, and he was a real three year old. After his group started, then the 4 and 5 year olds ran and picked up the eggs. There were two bounce houses that were each about 2 stories tall going around back. Then, there were Christian Easter crafts offered in the garage and in the driveway under the easy up tent. (That is a heavy duty tarp to all of you on the mainland. They are called easy ups here.) Also, a Christian drama skit was performed. Delicious local food was prepared for everyone there. Later that day we went to another Easter party for Hubby's work. Son2 had his first cotton candy. He chomped it right down. There was an Easter egg hunt, bounce houses, egg coloring, and several other keiki (Hawaiian word for children) activities. We did concede and torture our children by asking them to sit with the Easter bunny. They hated him, and I can see why. He is scary looking, isn't he?

Easter Sunday we went to church. Brunch was served local style. Buffets here are described as served local style. Now, I learned from a group of local friends early on that when you serve local style in Hawaii you always have too much food or it is considered rude not to have enough. Also, you should have enough left over if people want to take some food home. Well, the brunch line was several tables long and then four tables of desserts, pastries, and fruits. This brunch at our church is one of my favorite Easter in Hawaii memories. We are sitting under an easy up tent. The boys were dressed in matching shirts, and people commented on how cute they were. Something I have learned with having boys is that they too can be cute! I am wearing a green top that matches the stripe in their shirt. This goes back to us dressing like a team! It was special to have GG join us. She enjoyed watching Hubby play the bongos for worship, too.

The end of our Easter story is that everyone in our family was really sick. We didn't stay after church for the children's program, with the empty Easter egg hunt, praying for those that don't know Jesus yet, decorating shirts for children in Uganda, or getting the real Easter candy with the craft project. Nope! The boys were both on prescription medicine. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home sleeping.