“The Holiday Season” usually means December, Hanukkah and Christmas. But, I feel like spring is its own holiday season, with Passover and Easter always falling close together (the same week this year actually). My family also has its majority of birthdays in the spring, so that always adds to the celebratory nature at my house.
In celebrating Passover this Monday and Tuesday I realized that my “holiday season” is defined neither by matzah nor eggs. It is defined by sours. By sours I mean pickles, or pickled things. In my house that includes tomatoes, sauerkraut, pickles, and peppers. They are always ordered in big jars from New York City and take up far more space in the refrigerator than anyone can really spare during a holiday. However, if they weren’t from NYC, and they weren’t gigantic like that, I think they’d lose some of their magic.
Pickles are common enough, but I don’t get pickled tomatoes, or peppers, anytime other than at celebrations. They are also immediately ready to eat, which is fun and unique compared to most other festive foods. So, whatever defines your holiday this spring, may it bring you joy. And let us all hope that traveling to see relatives is a bit simpler than it is in December.