It is 10:30 p.m. on March 23, and Easter has come to an end. As I clean up all the plastic eggs, candy and grass, I think about all the fun my son has had today doing some of our family’s Easter traditions.

My husband and I hid eggs for him to find in the morning and made an Easter basket filled with his favorite goodies. We dyed eggs with him after church and ate an Easter meal, which included many items I ate as a child.

My husband and I started sharing our childhood Easter traditions and memories with our son when he was 2 years old. We felt it was important for him to experience some of the things that have stayed with us for so long. This year, also my parents celebrated Easter with us and that made it extra special, because it allowed our son to hear about some traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. I feel that learning all these traditions makes our family become a closer one.

Some of my favorite Easter memories growing up as a child were cooking traditional food with my Italian grandmother or “Nonna.” She used to dye Easter eggs with foods like onions and parsley. She would bake wonderful breads and cakes; one was called “pinza” and that was my favorite. The aroma would fill her house for days. Nonna would have to hide the “pinza” because I would want to eat it all before Easter. Sometimes she would make me my own “pinza” that I could have all to myself. That was the best!

She would also make “titola,“ a braided bread with different colored eggs in it. Easter dinner was always started with an antipasto platter with the red and green colored eggs, prosciutto, olives, cheeses and fresh Italian bread. My Nonna would always make a lamb, which she would buy fresh from a market on Arthur Avenue in Bronx, N.Y. and then we would also have some homemade “fusili” pasta in a light broth. For dessert, the unveiling of the “hidden” pinza was the cherry on top of the sundae. We would all dive into it and savor its sweet, moist taste.

My Nonna is no longer with me, but I try to keep some of her traditions alive because I miss them very much. I know that I will never make “pinza” as well as she did but I certainly try. She would be proud of me because I am incorporating her unique foods into my family’s Easter meal but I also have started making new foods that are becoming special. I believe that establishing meaningful family traditions both old and new early on enables all members to form long-lasting memories that will live on after the holiday is over.

Even though traditions are so often associated with holidays, it is crucial for families to have them for other special occasions. Birthdays are times when many families can start their own traditions. I remember my childhood birthdays were times when my “Nonna” would cook me my favorite meal. She would ask me what I wanted a week before my big day, and I could not wait for my birthday to come. My parents would also buy me my favorite birthday cake, which was always strawberry shortcake.

Chores, too, could become family traditions because they make a mundane thing fun. My family went grocery shopping together on Friday night and we always had dinner at the local pizzeria. This became our special family night, where we caught up on the week’s events and happenings. It is a time that I will never forget.

I believe that as a family creates and follows traditions, it will become stronger and more unified and in turn family members' love and cohesiveness will grow.