The Soapbox family is not terribly religious but we do love our traditions. Last night we gathered to colour eggs. Mr Soapbox bought a couple of egg colouring kits, we filled six mugs with warm water and vinegar and plopped in the colour tablets that wouldn’t dissolve completely no matter how much we mashed them with a spoon. Nevertheless, we managed to create a dozen lovely eggs including these beauties.
This year Ramadan, Passover and Easter overlap. All over the world families and friends are celebrating a special time in their own unique way.
To all of you, everywhere, we wish you joy.
The Soapbox family
Susan on the Soapbox 
Lovely photo! And in fact I have been remembering with great affection a certain Easter egg hunt oh so many years ago, in a Western city or town that in fact I am not sure of (Nanaimo? Edmonton? Calgary? I’m too old to remember). My first and only Easter egg hunt, in fact, and two of the hands in the above photo were the ones who organized it. It was great fun for this Passover celebrant and I am grateful for that joyful memory! Happy Easter to the Soapbox family!
Liane, I too remember that Easter egg hunt, and like you I can’t remember when or where it happened, but it was fun wasn’t it. We don’t actually hide the eggs anymore because the dog would eat them, but they’re a delightful surprise when you open the refrigerator looking for something to eat. Happy Passover my friend!
The eggs are lovely but I, personally, prefer the chocolate ones. Happy holidays to all.
Rose, I must confess I’ve beheaded the chocolate bunny already. And you know how that works, once his head is gone, his tummy and feet aren’t far behind. I assume the two golden bunnies in your fridge didn’t make past noon today…?
Happy Easter Susan and family! Hopefully people will realize the significance of Ramadan, Easter and Passover coinciding and start to make the world a better place
Sharon, that is a beautiful thought. Thank you!
Joy to you and your family, Susan! Very Best, John
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Thank you John. I hope everyone at your end had a lovely Easter weekend as well! healthy
Wishing you a joyous and healthy holiday!
With thanks for all your work.
Thank you Paula for your wonderful support!
Happy Easter to the Soapbox family!
And the same to you Public Servant. All the best!
Susan: The Ukrainians decorate Easter eggs, and they are called pysanky. The largest pysanky in the world is found in Vegreville, Alberta. For those of us who have Ukrainian ancestry, (I do have some), we know about this. Since it is Easter, I’ll share some music from artists that I’ve seen live, and/or that I have in my music collection. The first song I’ll share is a Blind Willie Jonson song, covered by Eric Burdon, in 2006. It is Soul Of A Man. I saw Eric Burdon & The Animals live in 2008. Eric Burdon did this song at the concert. I do have his music in my collection.
Susan: My second song pick is a song from 1969, by The Edwin Hawkins Singers, O Happy Day. I did see one of the original members, Dorothy Morrison live, and I met her. She is also in my music collection.
Susan: The Edwin Hawkins Singers did a collaboration with a young folk artist, named Melanie in 1970. This is a live performance of Lay Down (Candles In The Rain). The performance was done in Holland. Melanie was one of the performers at Woodstock, in 1969. This is a nice, uplifting and catchy song. Many people do remember Melanie’s music from long ago.
Susan: Here is my final song pick from a British supergroup, Humble Pie. One of its founding members, Peter Frampton, has his 72nd birthday on April 22. Peter Frampton was formerly in the group The Herd. Peter Frampton created Humble Pie when he was around 18 years of age in 1968, with Steve Marriott, who was in The Small Faces, and Greg Ridley, who was in the group, Spooky Tooth, and Jerry Shirley. Steve Marriott and Greg Ridley have sadly passed away. Peter Frampton left Humble Pie in the 1970s, and he then hit it big with a solo career, when Frampton Comes Alive, famous for the songs Baby I Love Your Way, and Do You Feel Like We Do?, came out. Here is a Beat Club performance from 1970, when Peter Frampton was 20 years old. Humble Pie are doing a Graham Gouldman composition, For Your Love. This song was also covered by The Yardbirds, in 1965, which caused Eric Clapton to leave that band, who would then be replaced by Jeff Beck, and then finally Jimmy Page. Graham Gouldman would later form the group 10 CC, famous for the 1970s hit song, The Things We Do For Love. I have seen Peter Frampton live, and he is also in my music collection. Hope you have a Happy Easter. I think it’s good to have some nice music, given the times we are in.
Dwayne, these were delightful. I especially liked Melanie. She sounded so delicate and humble when she talked with the interviewer…and then she sat down with her guitar and sang. Wow, what a lovely voice. Thanks and I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter weekend.
Easter is a weird holiday for non-believers like me, even more so IMHO than Christmas. After all, it starts out by “celebrating” the brutal execution of a religious & social dissident by an occupying power — assuming, of course, that the individual known as Jesus of Nazareth was a real, secular-historical figure, which I believe remains somewhat in doubt. Then, two days later, Christians celebrate his rising from the dead, an impossibility from a purely scientific perspective, as one of the core doctrinal belief points of their religion. It’s hard to reconcile such superstitious, magical beliefs with known reality, in which the dead stay dead.
And yet, it is socially isolating not to at least make a nod to honouring the season, especially if you have kids in school as we once did. I think our society is more open to non-Christian people of faith — even Muslims, despite the widespread prevalence of Islamophobia — than to atheists. Witness the current juxtaposition of Passover & Ramadan with Easter, caused by the transient synchrony of the Jewish & Muslim lunar calendars with the more accurate Gregorian calendar we use in Western society — oh, yes, I realize the Gregorian calendar also has a religious origin, but it is more astronomically accurate than its predecessors.
There is no real recognition at the societal level that freedom of religion must encompass freedom FROM religion.
Jerrymacgp you raise a very interesting point, that of having the right to be free from religion.
I compared how the UCP government and the NDP governments kicked off each day of the Legislature. The Speaker in the NDP government would ask everyone to pray or reflect in their own way prior to the start of Assembly. He’d also give a land acknowledgment. The Speaker in the UCP government leads the Assembly in a prayer to “the Lord, God of righteousness and truth.” No need for reflection here, it’s prayer or nothing.
As you indicate, it’s an open question whether Christ existed. Also those who believe he existed debate about whether the resurrection was a rapturous vision or a physical bodily resurrection. But never mind, as Kenney said in his Easter statement: “The Gospel of Matthew records that ‘The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”’ Angels, physical resurrection, Matthew recording it 70 years later, it’s all real to him.
I’ve often wondered how people who profess to be God-fearing Christians reconcile their actions with their beliefs.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend, no matter what faith or even non-faith one subscribes to. Thank you everyone and to Susan especially for helping to keep an alternative, social and community justice voice alive in Alberta.
JCurrie, thank you so much for that lovely comment. None of this would be possible without the input and support of people like you.
Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was lovely and now we’re buried in snow (which is par for the course around here at this time of year!)
Dear Mrs. Susan Soapbox,
Next year add your tablespoon or so of vinegar to the colour tablet first, let that sizzle away, and then add your warm water. That should get you some satisfactory dissolution.
Gorgeous pysanky, by the way. I love the Ukrainian flag one!
Bets regards,
Susan Vukadinovic
Susan V, thank you for that great tip about the sequence: tablet, vinegar and then warm water. I have a Ukrainian friend who’s tried making pysanky. She says her end products are very simple but her cousins are wizards with the dye and the wax and their pysanky will take your breath away. They’re so beautiful.
I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. I know it’s been difficult.
Take care, and all the very best,
Susan
Susan: What do you think about this? It’s in relation to the Balancing Pool for electricity in Alberta.