A Holiday Contemplation

I was thinking about Easter, which led to me considering holidays in novels. I could just be drawing a blank, but I can't think of a lot of novels in which a description of a holiday stands out or resonates. (Except maybe Harry Potter, because, let's face it, I'm always thinking about Harry Potter.) I think holidays are often just glossed over because, hey, it's November and Thanksgiving had to happen, or the holiday is just depicted with rather normal traditions.

Easter made me think of this because it's one of my favorite holidays, but nor for a very normal reason. (Though much of it is the religious aspect of the holiday, but I'm not going to focus on that here.) I'm very lucky to have not only grown up with all of my extended family in the same state, and most in the same city, but both sides of my family were also friends. As in, two of my aunts were best friends in high school and actually set my parents up. So my grandparents were all friends, too.

Since we all lived close by, I saw family members from each side together often. But Easter was the only holiday I got to spend with both sides at the same time, and that's why it was always my favorite. Each family would go to their respective churches, then we'd all meet up at a park for a picnic lunch. Then we'd split into teams and play soccer. My grandpas would set up a lawn chair in each goal and we'd all play a long, fun game of soccer. I don't really remember hunting for Easter eggs or a big brunch, I remember the picnic and the soccer - two things that aren't typically associated with Easter.

So, considering this, I'm trying to remind myself that when I do write a holiday into a novel sometimes it's the unconventional traditions that can say the most about the characters and add more to the story. Talking about turkey at Thanksgiving dinner is the easy thing to do, but what about the family whose tradition is pot roast, then a game of poker? That, when applicable to the characters, might make for the more interesting story.