Easter

Easter at the Inner Harbor provided a good example of how people looking at the very same thing often see it in completely different ways.For most of the 9,000 people who visited the Inner Harbor to hear the free jazz music and enjoy the ambience of the promenade, Sunday was a most enjoyable day.But an incident -- unnecessarily blown out of proportion -- did mar the experience for others who lingered for the evening concert. As it was drawing to a close, a group of up to 25 teen-agers, by all descriptions mostly African Americans, suddenly ran through the harbor, pushing and shoving to get by.Many people among the holiday throng, most of them white, apparently feared the worst and hurried to get out of the way. In the confusion, someone knocked over a potted plant at a seafood restaurant.

Here it is Easter Monday, and there's more than half a ham left in my refrigerator.The rest of it disappeared yesterday, along with a lot of the energy that arrives this time of the year.This April gust of sprightliness is entirely different from experiences called the Christmas spirit. For one, the springtime rendering is a lot less stressful.For starters, our days are much brighter and longer than anything in December. The air seems cleaner, lighter and more inviting.This spring has been cool and fairly dry. The color has been extended on our forsythia, flowering cherry and pear trees.

RESURRECTION OF Our Lord Roman Catholic parish comes into its own this Easter season as the church celebrates its namesake and the resurrection.In keeping with that joyous occasion, the church announces young members who have made their first Communion: Mary Bugg, Cathy Conte, Jonathan Gomez, Tia Jackson, Ashley Kundin, Katie Lachut, Emanuelle Lima, Tatiana Ovalle, Gabrielle Pintos, Brittany Rouiller, Charles Utley, Vinnie Burke, Francisco Figueroa, Sami...

Charles M. Easter, a World War II veteran who sold advertising for the Sunpapers for more than four decades, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Saturday at the Long View Nursing Home in Manchester. The Reisterstown resident was 83. Mr. Easter was born in Baltimore and raised in Waverly. He graduated from McDonogh School and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of North Carolina in 1943. He entered the Navy and received officer's training at Columbia University before combat duty in Europe and Japan.

1/8 TC The Easter Seal Society of Maryland is seeking volunteers whose efforts will help disabled children and adults.Being sought are graphic artists, printers, organizers, telemarketers, fundraisers, writers, photographers, leaders, chairmen and office workers.For more information, call 381-2260

Like the rest of America, the Easter Bunny is scaling back. Spending on chocolate bunnies, Easter outfits, flowers and other holiday fare is projected to fall about 14 percent this year after holding steady in 2008, according to the National Retail Federation. Shoppers expect to spend an average of $116.59 for the Easter holiday, down from $135.03 a year ago, according to a survey conducted by BIGresearch for the retail trade group. The largest expense will be Easter dinner, with the average person expected to spend $37.67 on food, down from $41.09 last year, the survey found.

The Easter display at Longwood Gardens on U.S. 1 in Kennett Square,Pa.,opened yesterday and continues until April 7.The walkways of the Main Conservatory are bordered with fragrant Easter Lillies and Long-stemmed bwhite calla lilies.Thousands of daffodils,pansies,roses,tulips and other spring favorites fill the spacious indoor gardens.Organ concerts are scheduled today,Saturday and next Sunday at 2:30 p.m.The concerts are included in the admission charge of $8 for adults,$2 for ages 6 to 14,free for children under 6. The gardens are open daily until 5 p.m. through March and until 6 p.m. April to October.

I HAVE WONDERFUL memories of Easter Sundays spent with my family over the years. Joyful Easter services dressed in our Easter best, Easter egg hunts, and Easter baskets that would magically appear on the dining room table, filled with chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. The fun would begin the day before, when eggs were boiled and readied for dyeing. My dad was colorblind, but that never stopped him from supervising this event. So, ours was the only family on the block with Easter eggs in colors of chartreuse, pea green and brownish maroon.

At this time of year, back in the old days, the Easter cry sailed through the alleys of Baltimore."Who's got an egg?Who's got an egg?Chicken with a wooden leg!Who's got a guinea-ghi?Who's gonna pick-a-me?"The challenge was one of a basket full of Easter traditions peculiar to Baltimore, rituals that included parades, butter shaped like lambs, and Easter Monday picnics in Druid Hill Park; customs that have faded with time.The cry of "Who's got an egg?" would bring youngsters out of their homes, ready to do battle with hard-boiled eggs dyed in shades of blue and pink and yellow.

Bunnies and eggs aren't exactly the most logical match. Yet, the tradition remains that every spring a rabbit totes a basket filled with brilliantly colored eggs. So how did the egg come to represent Easter? Laurie Harrsen, a McCormick spice representative, offered many ideas about how the Easter egg came to be, though she noted that nothing is certain. "We have heard a [bunch] of ideas regarding the history of Easter eggs," she said. One theory is that Pope Paul V [1605-1621] blessed the egg in a prayer to be used in England, Scotland and Ireland.