Easter Egg hunts like the one held April 8 by the Easton Recreation Department are popular events and family-friendly traditions for many in Aroostook County. Felix Michaud, who will turn 3 next month, is old enough to find his own eggs. He is the son of Jennifer and Shawn Michaud of Easton. (Contributed photo)
Spring is upon us and for many people in Aroostook County the season means Easter celebrations with family and friends. Easter traditions have become more unique as older generations pass down their heritage and younger generations create new traditions for their own families.
In the St. John Valley, the gathering of Easter water is an Acadian tradition that goes back several hundred years. The practice was more popular when Fort Kent resident George Dumond was a child. Dumond remembers getting up at sunrise and drilling water out of a nearby brook with his father.
As part of his Catholic faith Dumond’s father, like other Acadians, believed that the icy water was holy water. According to a recent blog on Aroostook County Tourism’s website, Acadian families kept the water as long as possible and used it for baptisms, family blessings and performing last rites.
Today Dumond does not gather Easter water, but he recalls his father’s dedication to the practice, which he participated in every year until moving into an assisted living home.
“My father used to get up at sunrise and drill water out of the brook. A few of us would do that early on Easter morning. That was a long, long time ago,” Dumond said. “He’s 93 years old now. For him it was part of his Catholic roots.”
Virginia “Ginny” White, of Caribou, also was part of traditional Easter celebrations while growing up in Easton. Every year, she and her family attended Easter Sunday service at the Baptist church in town. Then they would go home and gather for a meal of baked ham with pineapple, mashed potatoes and carrots, fruit salad and pie for dessert.
“I don’t recall that there were any unique Easter traditions. We did all the usual things — hunting for Easter eggs, eating chocolate bunnies,” White said. “My sister and I got new outfits and Easter hats. Sometimes new shoes or sandals were also part of the ensemble. We wore white gloves in those days.”
Some of White’s traditions have changed since she was a child. She no longer buys a new outfit for Easter or cooks the famous baked ham. But the activities that revolve around family and sharing good company have stayed much the same.
“This year we’ll be serving a rack of lamb and rice pilaf. I’ll make a cheesecake for dessert,” White said. “We still enjoy a big meal and a family gathering whenever possible.”
When she was a child Joanne Carpenter, of Houlton, had similar holiday experiences. Her family went to church and had the traditional Easter ham for dinner. She and her 15 cousins had a large Easter egg hunt and played in the yard with new toys they found in their Easter baskets.
Carpenter’s children are now young adults and have long since outgrown egg hunts and Easter baskets. But she said that one tradition that they still enjoy is getting together with their cousins and catching up with one another.
“Hopefully we passed down some of our traditions to them. They may not have an egg hunt, but they still want to get together,” Carpenter said. “They probably will bring in new traditions like that for their families.”
