The long Easter weekend is upon us and instead of feeling buoyed by the idea of four work free days I'm instead energised by the possibility of completing some more decorating in preparation for handing the house over to a letting agency in August.
The day started far earlier than I realised. I had thought a note with clues for where the Easter bunny had hidden the eggs would be great for Emily, 6. I didn't realise it was so early but I woke to the sound of her calling for me at 7AM because she was terrified that if she had a note in her bedroom from the Easter bunny then he just might be still in the house. Now, the fear of Father Christmas is one thing - large bloke with a beard, but fear of the Easter bunny was something I hadn't expected. Once I had investigated the house and assured her that there were no rabbits hanging around downstairs with intent to harm, the hunt for the Easter eggs began in earnest. By about quarter to eight I was back in bed with a cup of coffee and my current read 'Guerra' - by Jason Webster. I have in the last twelve months read dozens of books related to Spain. A combination of the stories of folks who have relocated and also some history of the country and traditions. 'Guerra' fits into the latter category. Jason Webster having moved north of Valencia is shown the site of a mass burial from the Spanish Civil War. He takes this as impetus to research the Spanish Civil War, by no means an easy task as the Spanish have what is called the 'pact of forgetting', or, an agreement not to talk about the Civil War. In essence almost everybody in the country fought on one or the other side and the preference is to remember the time as a period of poor politics and not to talk for fear of unearthing feelings best left hidden. I did read another book that covered the subject in detail, 'Ghosts of Spain'. I feel Jason Webster offering may be slightly more readable in comparison. Once up, it was a case of balancing Easter family time with decorating. The decorating probably won more than its fair share of our time so we have made a mental note to take some time out tomorrow.
Easter is another one of those milestones that for us as a family leaves us realising this is a 'last' for us. If all goes according to plan and the move is a success, we have had our last Christmas in the United Kingdom and now, our final Easter. These somehow seem significant and help us to understand the timescale of our move. Alongside our 'lasts' in this country though is the excitement of some new 'firsts' in our new adopted country. I'm really looking forward to Fallas at about this time next year. The feast of St. Joseph (19th March) is the centre of the Fallas celebrations that in Valencia are reputed to be the biggest party in Europe and the second largest carnival in the world, only inferior to the Rio carnival. The following link gives an overview of Fallas.
Fallas
There are a large number of Saint's days celebrated in Spain. I haven't been able to reliably ascertain the total of public holidays tied to Saint's days but the figure of 18 that I saw on a website some time ago seems reasonably accurate. Closing off some of our 'lasts' in the United Kingdom is made easier by anticipating some of the 'firsts' that our adoptive country will offer. There are of course some celebrations that are shared by both countries but trying to celebrate those in the style of the host nation as opposed to 'how we used to back home' will be the key to establishing a new 'home'. Christmas, New Year and Easter will next year bring their own customs that will be alien to us initially but hopefully bring alive some of the excitement we feel when reading books about life in Spain.
