| If you are a visitor to England at
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| | since Christmas are lined up for the
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| Easter, you would be forgiven for
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| | Easter break. For the week preceding the
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| thinking that the English people have
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| | holiday, the DIY supply stores will be
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| nothing much in the way of Easter
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| | heaving with customers and taking more
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| traditions apart from exchanging
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| | money than during any other week of the
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| chocolate eggs. This is because the
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| | year. Then it will all go eerily quiet
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| nature of Easter celebrations is low-key
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| | while all the customers adopt a kind of
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| and private; Easter is a time for sober
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| | siege mentality and remain at home while
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| worship and quiet family gatherings
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| | they try to cram too much work into the
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| without the razzmatazz and hectic
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| | long-anticipated four day weekend.At
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| atmosphere that accompanies Christmas.
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| | Easter Morris dancers, who are not in the
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| Even the exchange of Easter greetings
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| | least fashionable except in spring,
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| cards tends to be confined to close
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| | suddenly find themselves in demand.
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| friends and family.After the brief bright
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| | These troupes of dancers are almost
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| interlude of Christmas, we sink back into
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| | exclusively male, rarely seen outside of
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| our torpor and endure the dull cold
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| | small villages and are normally
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| winter months until our first spring bank
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| | associated with a particular public
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| holiday arrives and gives us a reason to
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| | house. Many pubs in England will have a
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| come wide awake. In England we greet
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| | darts team or a quiz team but there are
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| Easter with all the relief of dusty
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| | only a few that can boast their own
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| travellers arriving at an oasis in a
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| | troupe of Morris dancers. As with
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| desert. Our desert might be grey and
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| | playing darts, the availability of beer
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| damp instead of sun-baked but we find the
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| | is an important part of this hobby. The
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| green oasis with its promise of spring
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| | amazing thing about Morris dancers is not
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| and rebirth equally as welcome.Easter is
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| | that there are so few of them, it is that
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| the most important event in the Christian
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| | they have survived at all: grown men
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| calendar but in the multicultural society
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| | dressed in silly costumes, skipping
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| of England it is appreciated by both
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| | around waving handkerchiefs and pigs'
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| Christians and non-Christians for the two
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| | bladders to the accompaniment of ancient
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| day Bank holiday it brings. Unlike the
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| | folk tunes have limited appeal to most of
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| two days our government allows us in
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| | modern society as a source of
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| which to celebrate Christmas, the Easter
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| | entertainment. However, they have
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| holidays never bring us a disappointing
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| | survived and have spread to places as
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| mid-week break, they always provide us
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| | distant as Canada and New Zealand.If you
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| with a four day weekend. A cause for
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| | want to fully enjoy all the old English
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| celebration indeed!Easter arrives
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| | Easter traditions, the best place to be
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| quietly, no fanfare, no three month long
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| | is in a quiet village far from any of the
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| advertising campaign like the one
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| | big cities. The village church will be
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| preceding Christmas. We aren't urged to
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| | beautifully decorated with fresh flowers.
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| eat too much, drink to much, party too
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| | The village Easter Bunny will hide
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| much, or do anything at all too much. We
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| | Easter eggs for the local children to
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| are permitted to relax and enjoy family
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| | find during the traditional Easter egg
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| life. There is no pressure to overspend
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| | hunt. The Morris dancers will leap and
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| on gifts for everyone from our nearest
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| | prance at the slightest encouragement.
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| and dearest to the neighbour's dog.
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| | The village bakery will offer fragrant
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| Compared to the excesses promoted in the
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| | hot cross buns warm from the oven and
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| name of Christmas, the consumption of
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| | Simnel cakes with home made marzipan.
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| chocolate eggs seems a small
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| | Easter Sunday dinner will be roast lamb
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| indulgence.In England, Easter is the
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| | with mint sauce and all the traditional
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| official start of the gardeners' year and
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| | trimmings. Chocolate will be guilt-free
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| also the time when all DIY enthusiasts,
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| | for a whole weekend.Apart from the
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| as if driven by some primeval urge,
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| | weather, which will almost certainly
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| embark upon ambitious projects. If you
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| | include showers, the experience of Easter
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| are not interested in gardening or DIY,
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| | in a quiet English village couldn't be
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| you have four whole days free to enjoy as
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| | more idyllic. It is only in a friendly
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| you wish.Easter is really too early for
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| | village at this time of year that you can
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| gardeners to be chancing the lives of
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| | witness anything approaching a return to
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| tender plants but it is hard to resist
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| | a more innocent time. There are not many
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| the lure of the first real sunny days
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| | places I can think of where an adult can
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| after the long grey winter. Amateur
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| | dress up in a rabbit costume and hand out
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| gardeners take bedding plants from the
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| | chocolate to children without having to
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| hothouses and thrust them into soil
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| | worry about getting arrested, and men
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| that's far too cold to encourage growth.
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| | dressed all in white can skip and wave
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| The experienced gardeners won't gamble on
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| | handkerchiefs at each other without
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| frost free conditions and content
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| | attracting the wrong sort of attention.
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| themselves with planting the less
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| | The English village is definitely the
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| decorative but frost-proof seed potatoes
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| | place to be for Easter. It is also the
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| and onions. Gardening at Easter is an
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| | best place to enjoy May Day celebrations,
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| anxious time because the English weather
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| | but that's another story.Copyright 2006
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| is reliably unpredictable and even the
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| | Elaine CurrieElaine Currie has a Work At
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| most dedicated gardener is likely to
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| | Home Directory
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| encounter showers heavy enough to dampen
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| his enthusiasm and drive him indoors for
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| | Full of Ideas, Programme Reviews,
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| a chocolate egg break.All the DIY jobs
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| | Articles, Tips and Free Resources for
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| that have been in the planning stage
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| | everyone who wants to work at home.
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