Easter is coming, and it’s a big deal around here. This Sunday comes with religious, sartorial and cultural significance.
Egg hunts, lavish dinners, special worship services, and a feeling of new beginnings surround this springtime holiday.
And pretty clothes.
Stores are pushing their best Easter sales. Inboxes are full of ads with cheesy titles like, “Hopping Easter Deals!”
Mothers everywhere are in a frenzy trying to find coordinating outfits that will make their Easter family photos passable.
Perhaps one of those mothers will succeed where I failed. Miserably. We actually have an Easter photo wall of shame.
Regardless, the tradition of buying new clothes for Easter goes back quite a ways. Hats, gloves, lace, and lots of ruffles have made an appearance over the years.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get something new. It’s a tradition for many people. Traditions are not bad.
But traditions can change. Traditions aren’t law. Traditions only carry the importance we assign to them. What if we did something different?
This year, I let my daughters pick which dress they wanted to wear. They both chose red and black dresses… so basically winter dresses.
That’s okay. They’re happy with their choices. We didn’t have to undergo a stressful shopping trip or risk an uncertain online purchase. We didn’t have to buy them another dress they don’t need.
I won’t have to fight them to wear a dress they hate to appease their mother. And they won’t ask me years later, “Why did you dress me in such a hideous dress?! What did you do to me?”
I can completely pass the blame on that one. “It’s what you wanted,” will be my reply. Of course, I realize they might question me letting them make the choice. Oh, well. Making decisions means being second guessed.
But even without new dresses this year? I’m pretty certain we’ll have lots of happy memories from this Easter weekend.
Besides, how many times do our plans go smoothly anyway? I’ve spent multiple Easter afternoons in the hospital visiting a sick loved one.
We’ve had to move egg hunts indoors when it rained.
Sometimes people have to eat out after burning the food.
Life happens. And the memories don’t have to be put on the back shelf because our clothes aren’t new.
If you want to don your newest and brightest outfit this Sunday? Go for it! Enjoy the newness. There’s zero judgment here.
But if you’d rather wear something less than new, there’s nothing wrong with that, either.
In fact, you might find your day is just as special without a new outfit. You might even make some memories with people you love.
And that’s a treasure worth finding.