My father, Dr. John Earl Seelig, who is to be 90 years young in December, grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas. He is one of three children raised by a single, widowed mother, Katy Seelig. My grandmother worked very hard to be sure that her three children grew up properly.
My father was raised by this wonderful German, single, mother in Fredericksburg, Texas. She walked from her tiny home on the edge of town every day to run a lunch stand on the property of the high school campus. She sold candy, soft drinks, burgers, chips, handmade tamales, stuffed noodles, and other German specialties. I loved to visit Oma’s lunch stand.
My “Oma” spoke with a very difficult-to-understand, broken English and she spoke often to the neighbors and townspeople in fluid German. I loved visiting Oma for Easter.
As a very young boy we were told of the Fredericksburg Easter fires. Each evening before Easter, my brother and I would gather in Oma’s front yard. On the surrounding hills we couldn’t miss the fires, full of bright colors including green, yellow, purple, orange, and many other vivid colors.
The legend was that the Easter bunnies were coloring the Easter eggs atop each high peak. They then would deliver them to the yards in the community. Every Easter morning we were convinced the eggs hidden in the yards were colored the night before in the Easter fires. (Google the Fredericksburg Easter fires and learn more.) The real story is that the men gathered to create the beautiful fires. Those same mountaintops had been used in years past for the neighboring Indians to send smoke signals to one another.
So, the wonder of Easter has always been special for my family and me.
I witnessed some of the joy and wonder of Easter in my grandsons this Easter morning. Their family is helping a start-up church here in Colorado Springs. And today was their inaugural Easter service meeting in an elementary school. The light in their eyes and the fervor displayed while they worshipped took me to the excitement I had while those Fredericksburg fires burned brightly in my heart and dreams. Just as I hoped the bunnies on the hill would remember to hide eggs in our yard, the boys (Will & Jake) will learn to celebrate in their lives to come the works of Jesus, our risen Savior.
For additional information regarding the Fredericksburg Easter fires, see:
- http://pioneermuseum.net/easter-traditions.php
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmarkers/4857399992/
- https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/2013/03/01/the-legend-of-the-fredericksburg-easter-fires/
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lke02
- http://www.hillcountrycurrent.com/articles/108830/easter-fires-in-fredericksburg/
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