Summerside — With the fall season in full swing, Remembrance Day behind us and the last of the potatoes coming out of the ground, Islanders are looking forward to celebrating winter holidays with turkeys, trees and all the trimmings that come with this festive time of year.
However, the Gallant family of Summerside, P.E.I., is skipping all of the revelry of Christmas and focussing on a different holiday: Easter.
“With all the hustle and bustle of the present season, it would be nice to just sort of…give Santa a miss this year and focus on why we celebrate Jesus at all,” said a cheerful Cathleen Gallant as she planned her Easter egg hunt locations throughout the family’s acre lot. “You know — egg-laying rabbits and the crucifixion…”
So far the family has had a few setbacks with their inflatable yard decorations; in the last wind storm they lost a flock of baby ducks.
“We managed to track them down though,” said Cathleen with a chuckle. “One was lodged in a window of Summerside Intermediate School. I had to pay for that.”
Their other yard decorations include a huge crucifix, and an adorable bunny butt that appears to be sticking out of the ground. “You should see the cross lit up,” continued Cathleen. “It’s like it’s on fire!”
The Gallant family is hoping to really make Easter special this time around by hosting a community-wide egg hunt for all the local children. Invitations are already going out for the “event of 2019,” and Cathleen has already purchased the eggs and invited our reporter to paint a special The Manatee egg where the finder will receive a gift, courtesy of the Gallant family.
“At least this way,” she concluded, “I have a comeback when those damned Liberals say ‘Happy Holidays’ at me.”