Easter

As an atheist I’m always a bit nervous about celebrating festivals such as Christmas and Easter, and especially about explaining them to my children. To me, Easter is about springtime, baby animals and new green leaves on the trees (and of course consuming large amounts of chocolate). But there are always people who tell us to remember the real meaning of Easter, which to them is all about having nails hammered through your hands and then coming back to life. But I was wondering what the meaning of Easter really is so I did a bit of research and I’ve found out that the word Easter comes from the Pagan fertility Goddess Eostre, who also gives her name to the hormone Oestrogen! So it’s a festival of female hormones! Now as a lactating female that’s a festival I can definitely relate to.

But I don’t mind a bit of religion if it encourages people to be kind to each other. If more people lived their lives the way Jesus did, with humility and respect for others, then the world would be a better place. And I think it’s a good thing that T goes to a school where they say prayers and celebrate religious festivals without worrying that they might offend someone. We live in a multicultural area and T’s school reflects that. They celebrate Christmas, Easter, Diwali, Eid and Chinese New Year, and all the children participate in all these festivals. This morning was T’s Easter assembly, and the songs they sang represented all the faces of Easter. There were songs about the Easter bunny, songs about spring flowers, and songs about Jesus rising from the dead. Now I don’t happen to believe that Jesus rose from the dead or that the Easter bunny hides chocolate eggs in the garden, but if it makes T happy to believe both these things then that’s OK by me. And he doesn’t seem too upset by the nails in the hands and the dying bit, in fact it seems to appeal to his four-and-a-half-year-old imagination.

So I would like to wish everyone a happy Easter, whatever that means to you. I will be saying a prayer to the goddess Eostre and eating lots of chocolate.

Bananas

Baby B's favourite food is banana. He can eat a whole banana in one sitting. I break it in half for him and he devours first one half and then the other. If he sees anyone else eating a banana he leans over towards them, opens his mouth and drools. Even T can't resist his longing look and will offer him a piece. I hope his preference for healthy eating will continue but I have a feeling that once he tastes chocolate, banana might be relegated to second place.

Happy International Women's Day

Today is international women's day but you could be forgiven for not knowing. It doesn't seem to be an important day for most people here in Britain. When I lived in Italy it was completely different and I have to say I miss the celebrations that I used to enjoy there every 8th March. In Italy men give sprigs of mimosa to women - to their wives, girlfriends, work colleagues, customers, any woman they come in contact with on that day. The buses and trams are brightened by the yellow flowers that everyone seems to be holding, and the air is thick with their pungent scent. In the evening the restaurants are empty of men, except for the waiters, as women go out to celebrate with their friends, sisters, mothers and daughters. But perhaps here in Britain there is less need for such a day. Most British women feel able to go out with their friends on any day they please, and most British men are happy to be left at home with the children every once in a while so that their wives can have a night out. But in Italy, especially among older generations, March 8th might be the only night of the year when some women feel they can go out without their husbands, and the only night when some jealous men allow their women a little freedom. So does making a big fuss on international women's day make the Italians more, or less enlightened than the British? I don't know, but it doesn't seem the same without any mimosa.
This year I celebrated IWD at the Trust Centre in Gloucester where there were all sorts of things going on - international cookery demonstrations, crafts, dance lessons, pampering sessions. The event was very well attended and there was a really positive buzz in the air as women of all ages and races gathered together to take part in the various activities. Women from all backgrounds chatted together as they waited for their turn for a massage, or queued for the food. I left my two children in the creche and pampered myself with a manicure and an Indian head massage. And I made a spring flower basket - no mimosa but very pretty all the same.

Spring, the city farm and breastfeeding in public

Yesterday was the first of March and there was a decidedly springlike feel in the air. So much so that I hung my washing out on the line instead of draping it over the radiator, took the foot muff off the pushchair and put on a denim jacket instead of my winter coat. Then I took my children to the city farm, which has just reopened for the summer, to meet some friends and their children. I love the city farm. One of the reasons we bought our house was its proximity to the farm - if you look out of my attic window you can actually see the animals. This year there are some new arrivals on the farm - some donkeys. It felt great to see the farm open again after the long winter, and I am looking forward to visiting on a regular basis and hopefully instilling a love and respect of animals in my children. The farm was busy and there was a feel of optimism in the air as parents watched their children playing happily in the spring sunshine rather than squabbling indoors as they had inevitably been doing during the long winter months. I bought some sausages from the farm shop for tea. I don't eat meat myself but my husband and children do, and when I buy sausages I like to know what is in them. If I buy them from the farm shop I have actually met and stroked what is in them.

After the farm we all went to the nearby park. B was tired and hungry so I sat down on a bench and fed him. A woman came up to me and said how fab it was to see me breastfeeding my baby and how she thought more people should do it. It was such a nice thing for a complete stranger to say and it made me feel very proud.