Easter Ham & Ostrich Races Oh My!

 

Hello Fellow Foodies, I trust all of you sampled some Irish fare, or at least some green beer, this past month.

 

Our hope is that each of you had a great Easter like I did.  And what makes Easter (or any other holiday) special is the traditions that go with it.  When I was a boy, my family had some fun and very unique Easter traditions. After Easter Sunday services, my relatives would all come over to my house for a day of festivities.

Each year, my mom and dad would hire an ostrich trainer to give us children rides around the yard. As you can probably imagine, it was pandemonium! A dozen ostriches running around the back yard with screaming children hanging onto the necks of the poor beasts for dear life.

After the rides came the annual games. For many people, the main course at Easter dinner is ham. And there was certainly no exception at our house during the Quiles Family Easter Ham-Throwing Competition!  This is where we’d all line up in the street and take turns chucking juicy, delicious hams as far as we could down the road. Inevitably, somebody would hit a car, or a pedestrian who wasn’t paying attention.

Once my cousin hit an old woman who was walking her dog, and she seemed pretty upset until my cousin told her she could keep the ham - then it was all we could do to keep her from running straight into the flying hams!

Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place - usually ham-shaped buttons or balloons. Although one year they went all out and sprung for ham-shaped trophies. I remember because that year I won the silver trophy.

Then came the pinatas. Being a Mexican family, no celebration was complete without a pinata.

I remember one year, my uncle played a mean trick on us and stuffed the pinata with Japanese Hornets. It was a terrible trick to play on us back then, but we laugh about it now. Hahahaha.  Silly Uncle Fernando!

Anyway, I wish all of you also had a happy Easter filled with your own Easter traditions.  And those traditions are what build memories and make them uniquely yours to cherish and share with others.

Take care, Foodies and remember to come on over to FoodieGems.com to become a Foodie for FREE!!