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