Thursday, April 1, 2010

Easter Traditions

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in the South getting new clothes including new shoes and socks to wear to church Easter Sunday was a Spring ritual when I was growing up.

My mother made all of my sister's and my Easter clothes. Most of the time we had matching dresses. This particular Easter (1962) was memorable because my siblings and I had chicken pox (we were in the dried scab stage so we didn't feel bad any longer) and weren't able to attend church, but we got dressed up for pictures in the yard anyway.

Here I am at 8. My sis had a dress like mine but in a different color. Notice the pose. My mother had a thing for the Shirley Temple look.

Here's Rachel in 1987 wearing one an Easter dress my mother made me. See how I had her pose? Like mother like daughter, I guess.

When my kids were growing up, we didn't always have the money to outfit everyone in all new clothes and shoes. Sometimes the guys just got new shirts and shoes or shirts and pants. But for Rachel, I always made a new dress, except for the year she wore my old one.

So what about you? Did you have to have a new outfit to wear to church on Easter Sunday?

15 comments:

  1. Ah!!!! So sweet, we always got a new Easter Bonnet and outfit and shoes..hehehe..
    Debby

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  2. No new outfit for me. I have too many plants to purchase this time of year. I do need some new shoes though.

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  3. Thanks for your concern. We are warm, dry is another matter. We have been pumping out water since Monday! We are very lucky compared to others. I hope to have a post on Saturday. We always had a new Easter outift. I should see if I have a picture to post! Again, thanks for the concern. It is a sunny day today, things are looking better!
    denise

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  4. I LOVE this picture of Rachel in the beautiful little violet dress your mother made for you!!! Happy Easter to you and yours, Stevie! x

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  5. That's great that you held onto the violet dress that your mom made for you so that Rachel could wear it. Your mother was a very good seamstress. When I was young my "new" clothes were hand-me-downs or finds at rummage sales, for the most part.

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  6. No church .. but we did get perms and new spring-time-ish dresses to wear for Passover sedar

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  7. Noooo, no new clothes for anyone this year but I'm stretching the last few dollars to get the haircuts finished by tomorrow. Your pictures are just adorable and Rachel is so BEAUTIFUL in her purple dress! I really want a sewing machine and I know it will come when it's supposed to!

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  8. I had to stop by to wish you a Happy Easter!
    denise

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  9. Yes, we were outfitted for Easter too. These dresses are beautiful. Imagine how much time your mother took to make these lovely garments. Now it would cost a small fortune for custom clothing. Also they knew you'd be able to wear the dress for such a short time.
    I love the writing on the photos...our family did that too.

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  10. my mom made a lot of our easter outfits as well. i have a photo of the oldest of the 5 kids where my sis and i are wearing matching pink suits (skirts and jackets( and my brother is wearing a navy suit only with short pants. i wonder how mom found time to do all that intricate sewing.

    i so enjoy all your old photos. it takes me back for sure.

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  11. You and Rachel both looked like adorable dolls in those pretty dresses!

    I have an older sister so I often wore her mand me down dresses, but we did get a new shoes, hat and white gloves for Easter.

    I bought my son and daughter new outfits every year until they were older. It was always fun to dress then up.

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  12. Look at all those beautiful girls from different times.;) Lovely pictures and lovely traditions.;)
    Unfortunately, even though my great uncle was a minister and I was baptized, it was done in secrecy. Growing up in the communism regime, attending church was prohibited and thus my childhood Easters were not connected to church going at all.;)
    Hope you had a lovely Easter,
    xo
    Zuzana

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  13. Your photos bring me straight back to my childhood:) My sister and I always got new dresses for Easter and for the first day of school...sometimes handmade by my mother and sometimes matching and later handmade by ourselves....always memorable...I will have to scan some old pics some day...

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