A Selection of Hallmark Ornaments: Spring

Spring brings renewed life after the cold, drab days of winter. Long-dormant creatures wake up and flowers bud. Migrating birds reappear and begin to sing, looking for a mate. The robin, in fact, has long been considered a harbinger of spring.

The first flowering buds also herald the oncoming spring. Blooming crocuses, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and other springtime flowers signal that warmer and brighter days are ahead.

Spring brings excitement with newly hatched chicks and newborn calves, foals, pigs, and other animals. A lamb is a traditional symbol of spring and is often associated with the season's religious holidays.

Gardeners look forward to the last frost so they can begin planting. Throughout winter, many have thumbed through colorful catalogs making the hard choice of what plants to grow. Now, with warmer weather, they turn the soil and plant the seeds--then wait, hoping for a bountiful harvest.

Throughout the long winter, baseball fans and players dream of the time when spring training will begin. Major League teams head south to practice in warmer weather before returning to their home fields in northern cities. For those who love the game, winter is not over soon enough.

Many Christians celebrate Easter, the religious holy day observing the resurrection of Jesus Christ, by attending church and gathering with family and friends. The holiday has also become popular as a secular observance of the arrival of spring.

The trumpet-shaped white Easter lily holds both a secular and spiritual meaning. The lily symbolizes purity and rebirth--a new beginning. And Christians associate the lily with Jesus's resurrection.

Decorating eggs for Easter is a centuries-long tradition. Eggs symbolize rebirth and renewal, and many cultures and Christian denominations associate eggs with spring and Easter. Today, families hard boil and dye eggs in a rainbow of colors in preparation for Easter. Others create elaborately decorated eggs with colorful patterns and designs using a variety of dyeing techniques.

Various cultures have long associated the amazingly reproductive rabbit (or hare) with spring and the celebration of new life. This association was a small step toward a connection with Easter. The Easter Bunny is thought to have originated from German folklore, which described the mythic creature bringing colorfully decorated eggs to children. Today, the Easter Bunny not only brings eggs but candy, sweets, and other gifts, as well.

Donning fresh apparel after the long dark winter has become an Easter tradition. A new pastel-colored dress topped with a frilled and flowered bonnet tells the world spring has come--especially if you join an Easter parade to show off your style.

In many western European countries, people celebrate spring on the first day of May by dancing around a garland-festooned pole--or maypole. One popular folk custom has the dancers entwining the maypole with colorful ribbons as they circle it. The origins of this May Day festivity are unknown, but celebrating the warm sunny season brings joy and merriment to all involved.