April 1, 2013 
No one knows the origin of the word Easter. Many scholars believe it comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Her pagan festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival continue today with the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in the coloring of eggs with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. During the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), it was Mrs. Hayes who originated the custom of inviting children for egg rolling at Easter on the White House lawn.
Many different events were held on the ship which included multiple religious services, an egg scavenger hunt throughout the ship, an Easter Bonnet and Hat Fashion Parade, the Art of Flowers walking tour, and formal Easter dinner with elaborate decorations and a special menu.
For something different we enjoyed breakfast (blueberry pancakes) in the dining room that was lavishly decorated with streamers and decorated eggs.
When we returned to our cabin we found an unexpected gift of a stuffed bunny key chain and a box of deluxe chocolates for each of us.
We opted out of the scavenger hunt for colored eggs hidden throughout the ship, and, as it turned out, a very outgoing young lad, nine years old, won the event.
The florists conducted a flower walk around the ship and pictured here are a few of the lovely arrangements that we saw and photographed. Photographing flowers aboard presents a whole new set of challenges in lighting and background.
The big event was the Fashion Parade of Bonnets and Hats. We only had two male entries (husbands forced by their wives to wear something silly). But the women went all out in their creations. Some were very whimsical, others very creative, and some were very professional in design and construction. There were four judges, but only one prize. We wished there would have been more categories, because more than one was worthy of recognition in our judgment. In all there were over 30 participants. We had a good time watching from the sidelines.
AND THE WINNER IS . . .
World Sail Away 
What a fun time you must have had. For my part, I filled plastic eggs with money and ziplock bags with money and gift cards and hid them under all the leaves around my yard and in my patio. Brandon and Blake, 18 and 15, came over to the house and had a magnificant ‘egg’ hunt and then cleaned my entire yard for five hours. Happy Easter!!! They went home delighted with their finds. Who says you can’t get high schoolers to work!