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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Thoughts of EggsTra Nice Easter : Past and Present



Leslie was absolutely over the moon when she received this sugary traditional easter egg as a gift from her friend! Having stayed in Sarawak since the late 60's Leslie gains a lot of pleasure receiving gifts via the traditional post although she enjoys Internet connectivity right at home! This easter egg is a fabulous handmade thoughtful gift. It was so well packed that not a grain of sugar is damaged.

Having been shown this Easter Egg I started thinking about Easter Eggs of Yesteryears and the present.


The first time I learned how to make scrambled eggs was with Pauline Wiltshire in Rumah Merah where we cooked perhaps more than a 100 eggs for the first English Sunrise Service I ever attended. I will never forget that service nor how many times the scrambled eggs came useful to me in my life. Saved my face so many times when I could not cook for visitors who dropped by suddenly. That's the first dish I would teach my children to cook when they were ready to learn cooking.


Red eggs are not the domain of the Chinese. The Greeks use onion skins to colour their eggs red to celebrate Easter. Indeed that's another fantastic recipe.

I continue to remember how the Cheng Brothers used to send eggs to us on their rounds from Queensway. The two brothers would come by with their bicycles and my mum would pay them immediately. When Easter came we would boil the eggs and donate them to Masland Church (where our Grand Aunt would be in charge). When the coating the eggs red we would get our fingers all red and we would laugh at each other. What fun we had!

Eggs are just so important to the Foochows! When the late Rev Lau Ngoh Kee made his outreach rounds in Sg. Maaw my late grandmother would always give him an extra egg in his chicken noodle soup(mee sua) as a token of appreciation. The late Rev Lau was a very popular Methodist Pastor who was a remarkable and enthusaistic man who provided a lot of pastoral care in his days. He must have walked a few thousand miles in his rounds of home visitation during the early days of the 50's and 60's. Sometimes I wonder where his descendants are.

The rest are images of western world easter eggs! Enjoy them! Happy Easter!





Easter to me would always remind me of physical and spiritual losses (via death or broken relationship)the deep grief - the emptiness of a tomb(which can only be truly felt by those who have lost their loved ones) - and finally the renewal of faith because of the revelation of the resurrection.

16 memories:

Yan said...

Happy Easter!!

Bengbeng said...

talking of taps i bought one for RM112.oo. i didnt know it was from China. It looked real nice. It broke into two three weeks later.

I Am Sarawakiana said...

Hi Yan
Happy Easter to you!
We had a sermon on making Jesus a real friend!

I Am Sarawakiana said...

Bengbeng
Happy Easter to you too.
These days we just have to be careful (I also try to sneak bending a pair of sports shoes many times to test the soles!! I once wore a pair of Adidas for one game only -only to find that the rubber soles crumbled like bread crumbs...200 ringgit gone...and was placed third only in the games!!too much sweat and tears there... and no body could console me....)

bliss said...

Easter has a special meaning to Catholics. We went early to Mass today. But at home we did not have special dishes.
I must make an effort to check out the chocolate easter eggs next year. Didn't see them this year so didn't buy.

chung said...

I think the Chinese do not like scrambled eggs very much so they avoid taking it when they are given free breakfast at hotels! (Smile)

I Am Sarawakiana said...

Bliss
Haven't got your blog going yet?
Most folks have tightened their belts regarding bbq and others. But it also rained terribly.
It would have been nice to have a little cook out with friends and relatives.

I Am Sarawakiana said...

I am not sure about Chinese not liking scrambled eggs. But they do cook many dishes with eggs.
What about Fu Yong? I believe it is a cousin of scrambled eggs.
I am sure many people find it difficult to choose from the large number of items available from hotel buffet breakfast!!
I end up eating croissant and black coffee????May be an omelette?

Bengbeng said...

egg is an important component of my family diet. and I am Chinese :) Generalizations r never air tight..one out of the loop n the whole statement collapses

I Am Sarawakiana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
I Am Sarawakiana said...

At Easter red eggs are given for a symbolic reason. According to a religious legend Mary Magdalene brought eggs to the Tomb. When Jesus appeared to her the eggs turned red. Hence red eggs for easter.
Eggs in both eastern and western worlds symbolises birth and renewal.

I Am Sarawakiana said...

I am not sure about Chinese not liking scrambled eggs. But I do know that many health conscious Chinese choose not to eat eggs because at one time eggs and also butter were frown upon.

But now most people say we can eat up to four eggs a week.

My grandmother and most Foochows ate lots of eggs in their life time and lived long lives!! But of course nothing is proven by that.

Unknown said...

I have only seen Easter Eggs on cards and pages of magazines. A long time ago when I was little I could not figure out how chocolate eggs were made!
Since Easter is celebrated in simple ways here I usually forget about the egg part. Also I remember there was a big deal with easter eggs in GCM a long time ago. But I have left the easter egg painting to history. Now I hear there is no more Easter program there. Some memories are good. some are not good.

I Am Sarawakiana said...

Dear Ngoh
Easter Eggs are symbolic part of a Religious festival. They are also fairly commercialised in the Western World - hence chocolate ones and others.
There can be easter egg hunt and easter egg painting as activities too.
All these depend on the leadership and the organising committee and their traditions.
In Sibu most churches continue to give out Easter Eggs as a symbol of Birth and Life.
You can even make it a family tradition!

headsteadi said...

Hope it' not too late to wish you happy easter.

I Am Sarawakiana said...

Thank you. It is never to late to say something nice or to convey good wishes.

Happy Easter to you too.

 

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