Did you know that Easter is actually fifty days? No? It starts on Easter day (day one), and lasts until Pentecost which is seven weeks (i.e. forty-nine days) later. Here are a few ways our family makes the entire season of Eastertide special:

No abstinence or fasting on Fridays. Just as every Sunday in the year is meant to recall the Pascal feast, for our family every Friday outside of Eastertide recalls the death and passion of Jesus. So most of the time we have some of the same customs on Fridays as we do on Good Friday: Not eating three full meals, not eating meat, not having dessert, no whisky (for me). During Easter however we have a curry feast every Friday instead of fish or vegetarian, and there’s lots of Easter cookies and candy for dessert every day — even on Fridays. Plus, Wisedad can have Scotch and a cigar.

Fresh flowers. We don’t have any flowers during Lent but on Easter day there’s a big Easter bouquet, which is replaced every couple of weeks until Pentecost. There are a couple of neighbourhood florists that offer a bouquet subscription, which is perfect for the Easter season. You could order for delivery or pickup, at a price point that matches your budget. Ordering a subscription seems to save a little money too!

White, silver and eggs (both kinds). White is the liturgical colour of Eastertide, and we have a couple of white “accents” in the home that remind us of the joyous nature of the season: Our table runner and napkins are white for our Sunday supper, and our candlesticks are white-on-silver. At the centre of our dinner table, our “alleluia rock” (more on that next Shrovetide) is displayed in a silver vessel, and our Easter pisanki (hollow Easter eggs), as well as our chocolate Easter eggs make their appearance throughout the season.

Eastertide feasting. Setting aside Easter supper itself, we try to make the meals of the other 49 days of Easter special as well. I mentioned Friday curries, but there’s also lots of Easter ham, charcuterie from Starsky, lots of beef, kuchen sweet-cake, and hearty split-pea soup made from the bone of the Easter ham.

If Easter is the most-important holiday of the Christian calendar, then it makes sense to celebrate it with more vigour, both spiritually and festally, for the entire season.