STATESIDE STORIES: ‘April Showers Bring May Flowers’

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3 Apr, 2019
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STATESIDE STORIES: ‘April Showers Bring May Flowers’
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By Mary Foran

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Elizabeth II

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British Prime Minister Theresa May may actually step down if her Brexit deal does not go through with the European Union.
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And in the news of the Easter Season, Queen Elizabeth the Second’s Birthday is on Easter Sunday this year, the 21st of April, 2019.
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Palm Sunday in Spain

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in Spain and elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, starts with Palm Sunday on April 14th, while Good Friday, the day commemorating the Passion of Christ, is on April 19th this year, the start of Passover. The Resurrection of Christ is held on Saturday and Sunday in most Christian Churches in the States, including the Catholic Church.

Easter cupcake baskets

In the USA, Easter Bunny chocolates are already on sale as are Easter Baskets and other decorations for the Season. People have planned decorated egg-rolling and gathering contests for the children on their lawns, and one wonders if the White House lawn will join in the fun this year. There is a secular and religious divide in the States because of the general requirement of a separation between Church and State, but Easter traditions are often mixed and followed anyway.

As President Donald Trump said in a recent 2020 rally in Michigan, the motto of the United States “is and always will be ‘In God we trust'”. Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is widespread and many will attend their various congregations to celebrate the day. From Baptists to Presbyterians, to Lutherans, to Episcopalians, to a variety of Christian Community Churches, people celebrate Easter in their own time and in their own way.
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Atheists and agnostics stay out of it for the most part and some people only have time enough to send a greeting card, if that! Some people are working 365 days of the year, including doctors, nurses, and grocery store attendants and they don’t have the day off!
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Easter bonnets at the New York Easter parade

Easter bonnets used to be the thing to wear in parades and in town, and now they may only be seen at the horse races! We’re all so much more casual in dress now, that I wonder how VOGUE and COSMOPOLITAN manage to survive!

Almost every woman wants a pretty dress for Spring, and Fashions are there for the taking.
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The weather in April tends to be a mix of rain and sunshine, and May bursts forth with blossoms and flowers and greenery. The mountaintops may still have snow until June, but April is a time for planning your summer garden and thinking about when you are going to start your tomato plants.

In the city: getting in on Spring

City dwellers may want to buy some indoor plants to get in on Spring.
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And Theresa May may wonder why the English public seems to change its mind so much about their vote on Brexit.
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Images
Featured image/Axel Antas-Bergkvist
Elizabeth II/Matt Buck, CC BY-SA2.0
Palm Sunday/Gustavo Moran Chacon, CC BY-SA3.0
Easter baskets/Forsaken Fotos, CC BY2.0
Easter bonnets/Guru Sno Studios, CC BY-ND2.0
Plant in window/Alex Block
Brexit/Stephen Darlington, CC BY-ND2.0