The Hirn family faced familiar holidays embracing the challenges. We found ourselves  in Montenegro for Easter and although it is a multi-religious country,  Orthodox Christianity is dominant.  But the city isn’t flowing with large-eared Milk Chocolate Easter Bunnies or candy eggs.

Because we still had two young ‘believers’ who anxiously awaited the Easter Bunny, we had to be creative.  Naturally, the Easter Bunny would know where my boys were.  I mean, where in the world can your hide from “the Bunny” or “Santa” or “the Tooth Fairy?” Ron and I found ourselves on a real authentic “Easter Egg hunt.”

We had covered Christmas pretty easily, by writing to Santa pretrip to request a delivery of the gifts to our home in Alabama(which were patiently waiting  upon our return, as we had no way of carrying them,) and hung Tube socks for stockings (which I’ve got to tell you look particularly funky filled with goodies.  S t r e t c h!!! )   And the Tooth Fairy was easily pulled off.  But the Easter Bunny . . . . took a bit more thought.  We used our camper’s storage bins for baskets, found some plastic eggs, filled them with candy and foreign coins from all the countries we had visited, but  weren’t able to find a bright yellow marshmallow Peeps anywhere in the city.    And the boys never batted an eye.  The Balkan Bunny had found them!

According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s when German immigrants brought their tradition of an ‘egg laying’ bunny – an Osterhase,’ to Easter.  Made sense.  The bunny was a great multiplier, and although he didn’t lay eggs, it was a great ‘container-concept.’  In response to his visit, the children made nests in which the creature could lay it’s colored eggs.  And of course, like everything else, America took the whole thing to baskets and sugar!

We look forward to Easter this year.  And no matter how you celebrate, we hope you have a precious, blessed Easter celebration.

Dawn