When I was a kid, I never really understood Easter in America. Being from Jamaica, my siblings and I would start the day with a traditional Jamaican breakfast, ackee and sal (cod) fish with fried dumplings. We did our usual walk to church on Sunday, and heard about the death and re-birth of Jesus all over again.

The holiday has always been celebrated differently all over the world. But in our house, we never got to rock a brand new Easter outfit on Sunday, and we knew nothing about decorating or hunting for eggs. This was all foreign to me when I moved here from Jamaica. For us, Easter was a holiday spent at church and with family. My mom prepared a big feast, and we got to enjoy Jamaican bun and cheese.

To this day, I’m not sure I’m with the whole American Easter tradition. But let’s face it, Princess is multi-cultural. It’s only right for me take one for the team.

Since I never got to don a new dress on Easter, I wanted to make sure my baby had a brand new one. We started the day with a healthy breakfast. I made some ackee and sal fish with breadfruit, Jamaica’s national dish. Unfortunately, Princess and her dad weren’t into it, so I had to make them eggs.

We attended church.

She kept saying, “Shhh, we have to be quiet in church.”

Despite three bathroom breaks, Princess did make through the entire service. I was pleasantly surprised that she lasted that long. I wondered if it’s because knew she had a bunch of surprises waiting for her. My hubby and I told her if she behaved, she’d be rewarded. We started with a Easter egg hunt with a twist.

I knew that Grandma had another hunt along with goodies, so we wanted to do something different.

After returning from Grandma’s, we had dinner. My mom later stopped by with bun and cheese. Princess had more eggs to hunt for inside, and Grandma got a kick out of watching her look for them.

I still don’t really understand why American’s make such a big deal about bunny’s, eggs, and jelly beans on Easter. But, I did enjoy the day.

Although Princess had fun decorating and hunting, I still want her to know about the significance of this day.

We actually went to the library the other day and picked up this book which highlights the significance behind different traditions. I was such a proud mama watching my little girl enjoy herself. But, Easter is more than gifts. It’s important to know the true meaning behind it. I’m so glad we got to spend it as a family, and even happier that we began our own tradition.