Linderhof


Gardening, Cooking and Decorating on the Prairie of Kansas


Welcome to Linderhof, our 1920's home on the prairie, where there's usually something in the oven, flowers in the garden for tabletops and herbs in the garden for cooking. Where, when company comes, the teapot is always on and there are cookies and cakes to share in the larder.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Ash Wednesday

In 1992, we took a Lenten trip to Germany
In each bed and breakfast we stayed in, there was a vase of branches
hung with colored and painted eggs
and
a blooming "Christmas" cactus

Our innkeepers were very helpful
calling it an Osterei 
and telling us that those Osterei could be bought at the local
Woolworth's!

Also, that was not a "Christmas" cactus but an Easter cactus
blooming in the Spring rather than late Fall

We stopped at the next Woolworth we came to
And I bought a dozen Osterei
real hens eggs handprinted
and costing all of 1 DM each
(which I think at the time was around 75 cents) 

From 1993 on, on Ash Wednesday,
I go to the yard and cut branches
and bring them in and put them in a vase

And hang those eggs from the branches


Always in the dining room
Perhaps because the ones in Germany were always in the dining room
(but then, again, they were bed and breakfasts so the dining room makes sense)

And even though they are 24 years old, we still have all twelve of them
(although one does have a hole!)


They're simple little eggs
Painted with bunnies and flowers


Not complicated scenes but easy ones


And colorful with green and pinks and yellows


We have three of the flower ones -- a pink, a green and a yellow


It wouldn't be Lent without the Easter egg tree!

And we're purists.
We've resisted over the years buying additional eggs or ornaments for the tree.
We like the fact that not only is it a reminder of the Lenten season
But it is also a souvenir of a wonderful trip to Germany.
Which is why we remain purists about our Easter Egg Tree


2 comments:

Pondside said...

We lived in Germany for many years and adopted the Easter Tree as well. I haven't put it up for a few years, for many reasons, but perhaps this year it should come out of the box. I cut branches for the tree, and add a few branches of silk forsythia. If I can find pussy willows, better still!

Deb said...

Oh, that is gorgeous, Martha. I love an Easter tree and have one set up every year, too. :) Deb