Tales from the Huffmans

When I was a little girl, my grandmother’s kitchen always smelled very strongly¹ of onions² a few days before Easter^3.  This meant that she had been collecting red onions to use in dyeing⁴ Easter eggs⁵.  That had been the only way to color⁶ eggs when she was young.  We all like to cling⁷ to traditions⁸ of our youth, and my grandmother was no different from others.

 

The day before Easter I would go to my grandparents’ house.  Before I got there, my grandmother would have boiled two dozen⁹ eggs so they would be cool and ready to color.  She would boil the onion segments¹⁰ with vinegar¹¹, and eventually a deep red color would be extracted¹².  We would then dye⁴ some of the eggs in it.  She would also have purchased¹³ some little tablets¹⁴ of dye¹⁵ (green, blue, yellow etc.) and we would dye other eggs in those colors.  By the time the morning ended we had baskets¹⁶ filled with brightly colored eggs nestled¹⁷ in shredded¹⁸ green plastic pieces (the so-called “grass”).  I was always proud when I took a big share¹⁹ of them to give to my parents and three brothers.

 

When my own children were young, I dyed eggs with them Easter week end²⁰.  However, I didn’t boil onions for dye but used only dye tablets.  My daughter Kim inherited²¹ my love of coloring eggs and still insists²² we do it.  This year we had our Chinese scholar²³ at Central College join us for coloring eggs.  She had never done it before and loved the experience.  She took many photos of the whole process²⁴. She also insists that it was so much fun for her that she wants to do it with some of her classes  at Zhejiang University²⁵ next year.  In fact, Easter evening²⁶ she and Kim went out to the local Wal-Mart store²⁷ and bought left over dye for Jing to take home with her. I look forward to having a report²⁸ from her next year, telling us of a successful venture²⁹ dyeing eggs with some of her English classes.  My grandmother would have loved hearing that the tradition was passed along to another continent³⁰.  (363 words)

 

Notes:

1.      strongly: noticeably, obviously (很容易闻到地，很明显地)

2.      onions：洋葱

3.      Easter: the Sunday that celebrates the resurrection of Christ in the Christian tradition (复活节). It is observed on different dates due to different types of calendars.  Technically it occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

4.      dye(ing): produce color in or on an object by placing in or spraying on a dye of some color (染色).

5.      Easter eggs: eggs that are dyed and sometimes decorated that become part of the celebration of Easter (复活节蛋，经过染色或点缀用于庆祝复活节).

6.      color: (to) dye an object (染色).

7.      cling: continue to believe or do something (坚持、墨守).

8.      traditions: a belief, custom, or way of doing something that has existed for a long time (传统). There are a number of traditions associated with Easter, most of which precede Christian times.

9.      dozen: twelve of any item (一打).

10.  segments: pieces or parts of a whole (片、块、瓣).

11.  vinegar: a sour liquid made by fermentation (醋).

12.  extract: carefully remove a substance from something which contains it (提取、提炼).

13.  purchase: buy in a store or market (购买).

14.  tablets: small, concentrated pills or mass of material (片、丸).

15.  dye (n.): pigmented material found in one source, and changing color of another thing (染料).

16.  baskets: woven containers into which items can be placed and carried (篮子).

17.  nestled: carefully or snugly placed to avoid damage or breaking; be put in a protected position [处于(安全的位置)].

18.  shredded: cut into small pieces or strips (成丝/条状).

19.  share: a portion or part of an entire amount.

20.  Easter weekend: the days of Saturday and Sunday on which Easter occurs (复活节的周末). In the western tradition little children are told that on Saturday night, the Easter bunny (复活节兔子) will leave Easter eggs for them which they may gather in their baskets on Easter morning.

21.  inherit: receive from another person either as a gift, or genetically from one’s parents (继承).

22.  insist: demand or persist in wanting something done (坚持).

23.  Chinese scholar：中国学者

24.  process: a given series of steps in completing something (过程).

25.  Zhejiang University n. a large university located in Hangzhou, P.R. China (浙江大学，位于中国杭州).

26.  Easter evening: the evening of Easter day (复活节的晚上).

27.  Wal-Mart store: a large discount store (沃尔玛，一大型廉价超市). One of a chain of stores throughout the U.S. and elsewhere as well. Often just following a holiday, stores will place items used for that holiday on sale at much reduced prices.

28.  report: a vocal or written account of something which has happened (报道/告，书面或口头).

29.  venture: the trying of something new by an individual or a company which involves risk or taking a chance, hoping that the trial will succeed (冒险项目、行动).

30.  continent: a major body of land making up one of the major land masses of the Earth. i.e. Asia, Africa, North America etc. (洲、大陆).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Holidays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.