THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM MY MARCH NEWSLETTER. I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT WITH THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER ...
The little fellow above usually comes and visits us every year at this time. He is our 'Easter Lamb' and he is made of ... butter. Butter Lambs are a Polish tradition usually found in the homes of Polish Catholics. Now, I would love to tell you that this tradition is something that has been handed down for generations in our family, but truth is, I found the story of the Polish Butter Lamb in a magazine many, many, (hold on) MANY years ago. Since my Fathers family was from Poland I decided to embrace the idea and start my own tradition. I made the one above (he is actually a lot easier to make than he may look) from scratch. You can actually buy molds for the Butter Lamb (they look very different and aren't very wooly ... or, if I may say so, as cute! :) I also just recently found out that in the East and Midwest they are actually sold in grocery stores, pre-made at Easter time, so a lot of you may already be aware of this tradition. Personally, I think that's cheating but then I buy pre-made 'Carrot' Cakes (you know ... Carrots/Easter Bunnies, etc.) so I guess I cheat too. My children grew up with one of these on the table every year at Easter. No one ever wanted to be the first one to cut into the 'wool' so their Dad usually wound up with the honor. There was always this sad little "ohhhh" that went around the table when he made the first cut. After that, it was like permission was now granted and everyone else could dig in without feeling guilty. Obviously, our little fellow doesn't hold a grudge because he keeps coming back year after year. :)
HAPPY EASTER!
Charleen
