Though holy week began on Palm Sunday, Friday started my holy weekend full of food, family, and fun. In the Roman Catholic world, holy week begins with Palm Sunday and continues all the way to Easter Sunday. In the middle of those two events, there is Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
In my house, celebrating Good Friday means an array of things. Arriving early in the morning, we bake pies of all sorts: grain pie, sausage pie, and the pie I wait for all year- macaroni pie. My grandma, aunt, and mom all bake while I entertain the children (i.e. my siblings and my two cousins)- a role I took on myself, surprisingly. I used this platform of “power” to make a project I knew everyone would enjoy; we tie-dyed t-shirts and made somewhat of a mess of my Grandma’s backyard. Everyone had fun and nobody listened to my directions, so basically everything went perfectly.
When we finally got around to eating our second meal, often referred to as “Carb Fest,” I became so overwhelmed and excited I could barely eat. Now, to most people, this may be an exaggeration but once you have tasted my Grandma’s food, you’ll understand that I am certainly not exaggerating. My boyfriend being diabetic got to indulge and go against the 'no meat rule' by eating my mom’s chicken cutlets, which are comparable to (dare I say) Heaven on Earth. Aforementioned, my favorite dish is macaroni pie: a combination of spaghetti, cheese, eggs, and “Grandma’s love.” However, macaroni pie stands at almost a tie with my mom’s more well-known potato and egg. Quite simply, my entire family can cook, and boy, do we love to eat what we make.
My boyfriend helped me out after we ate and brought Apples to Apples: Disney Edition. My brother, my boyfriend, and I being the oldest, played the game as if we would play Cards Against Humanity… which means all of our green cards (like the black cards in CAH) went to each other. But this wasn’t the highlight of the day- that was the Easter egg coloring contest. In my family, this contest has been going on for almost 20 years. Every year we split up into adults and children to see who can make the best egg, and I must say, the ideas have always been fierce.
Every year, my sister and I always have the most intense colors combined with the coolest ideas, which is why losing this year was so heartbreaking. Now at 19 years old, I’m not supposed to be offended if I lose, but my boyfriend beat me… and my brother, so I’m a little bit offended as he is a newcomer. In all seriousness, the competition doesn’t even matter. I’m happy to color eggs with my family, to have paint splattered on my face, to spill dye on my lap, and to break at least one egg of the six I was given.
This was just a glimpse of one day of holy week with my family. Good Friday is always my favorite because we always have the most fun. We owe it to our religion, faith, and love for Jesus that we are able to have fun and reflect on our history. While Easter Sunday is a lot more calm, we still have the best food and the greatest conversations with my grandparents. Holy week only comes once a year, but every year I always make the best memories.