Happy Easter - to Everyone

This year, all Christians are celebrating Easter on the same day. If that makes you scratch your head and say, "But we always do that," you don't know any Orthodox Christians.

Easter, of course, is a "movable feast." For most Christians it can occur anytime from late March to late April. If you want to figure out the date for yourself, it's set on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox. So if the moon is full shortly after March 21, Easter can be very early. If the full moon is almost a month after the equinox, Easter comes later, as it does this year.

But the Christian Orthodox churches have another stipulation. On their calendar, Easter must come after Passover. On years when most of us are celebrating an early Easter, we're celebrating it before Passover, so the Orthodox Easter is held later - sometimes weeks later. This year our Easter is late and comes after Passover, so we're all celebrating it at the same time.

I once worked with a Protestant woman who was married to a Greek Orthodox man. Most years she cooked and did baking for two Easters: first for her family and later for her husband's. Luckily, this wasn't a hardship for her because she loved to bake and cook. By the time I met her, she made a killer baklava.

On the years when there are two separate Easters, I often wish that all Christians used the Orthodox method of figuring the date. It makes sense both historically and theologically to have Easter come after Passover. And it would be nice if we always celebrated the feast together. There's a special feeling of oneness on years such as this one when Easter is Easter for all Christians at the same time.

A note on  my Etsy shop: In the past, I've carried a small selection of Anglican rosaries. But I've become so busy with other lines - not to mention new things I want to try - that I'm phasing them out. I have only one Anglican rosary left in stock, and I've marked it down to a clearance price of $15.00 (regular price was $25.00). It's one of those items that get a lot of "hearts" but for some reason don't sell. It's made of blue sodalite. Here's a picture (you can see more photos as well as a full description if you click on the picture shown here):

Because a number of people have bought Anglican rosaries from me in the past, I don't like to leave such customers "high and dry" so I'm recommending Etsy's AnglicanPrayerBeads shop, which specializes in Anglican/Episcopalian rosaries/prayer beads.

Mothers, Fathers, and Others

Mother's Day sneaks up on us quickly this year: it's on May 8. With Easter weekend (when I probably won't be making rosaries) April 22-24, there's not much time left to order a custom mother's or grandmother's rosary. In order for delivery by Mother's Day within the U.S., all custom orders must be made by April 16. For rosaries already in stock, orders must be placed by April 25 for delivery by Mother's Day within the U.S. See the "Hearts and Flowers" shop section for inspiration.

custom mother's or grandmother's rosary

mother of pearl rosary with hearts (from the "Hearts and Flowers" section)

Those outside the U.S. are certainly welcome to order, but I can't promise delivery by a certain date.

Plan ahead for Father's Day. Check out the "Suggestions for Men" shop section. There will soon be a one-of-a-kind custom father's rosary available. Watch for it to be listed.

from "Suggestions for Men"

If you're looking for a confirmation gift, see the "Confirmation Rosaries" shop section. (Note that none of the rosaries in this shop are meant for children younger than 13.)

from "Confirmation Rosaries"

And if you're buying a gift for a Franciscan - First, Second, or Third Order - remember that I always carry a varied selection of Franciscan Crown Rosaries. I especially like this one for a profession or other new beginning:

white on white Franciscan Crown rosary

Have a happy spring! (Hey, the "Hearts and Flowers" rosaries are good for celebrating that, too.)

white rosary with clay flowers

Team Tuesday - April 5, 2011 - littleeyedesigns

littleeyedesigns is a member of the "Helping the Hectic" team, for Etsy sellers who also hold down a job or go to school. This shop holds a real variety of things. As it says in the shop announcement, "You'll find bottle cap pins, magnets and jewelry, original photographs printed and/or framed, simple crochets and vintage goodies! A little bit of this, a little bit of that, just like me!"

Something that's a focus right now is getting ready for the BIG THAW event in Maine. The shop carries posters for the event as well as related magnets or pins:

 

Photography is an important part of the shop. An unusual emphasis is on fruit and vegetables found at a farmers' market, such as the following radishes and lettuce:

  Those aren't the only photos, though. Here's one of my favorites, titled "Kate Swings in a Vintage Dress":

Among the bottle cap art, just for fun, are several sets made from airline emergency instruction pamphlets, like this one titled "Buckle Up, Friends"...

...and some wine charms made from beer bottle caps:

There are also bottle cap items made with musical notes and lyrics from songs, as well as from original photographs.

Among the wearable treasures are hair clips...

...rings...

...and here's a set of a pendant and earrings (obviously not made of bottle caps):

It may seem like I'm posting a lot of pictures, but this is just a sampling of what you'll find in littleeyedesigns. In fact, I'm not even including the couple of items that I'm thinking of buying myself.

To close, here's a shot of one of the photographs that's available already framed:

Have fun browsing!