by April Lisante

As I sit in my house for the second week, quarantining myself and my family from the corona virus, spring has arrived, and I am seeking small signs of hope.

The daffodils are up, the hyacinths as well. My lilac bush began burgeoning just this week.

And Easter is on its way. But this year, the holiday will be so different than in years past. The holiday I most look forward to, and the dinner and egg hunt I most enjoy with my extended family each year, will not take place at my mother’s house. My husband, children and I will be home on April 12 like everyone else, having dinner by ourselves, yet together.

With most families unable to visit elderly parents and grandparents, and nearly all Easter egg hunts and brunches cancelled at local parks and restaurants, nothing is typical this year. Even the annual mega Philly Egg Hunt sponsored by Epic Church at the Gorgas Park in Roxborough is cancelled. The Philadelphia Cricket Club, which has been doing curbside pickup for members throughout the quarantine weeks, will have take-away Easter brunch options, but there won’t be any dining in the club.

And while Easter is just one day, Passover overlaps Easter this year from April 8 to 16, and seder celebrations will be different as well.

As I try to plan what I will make - or if I will even be able to find a spiral ham - I was wondering what other locals are doing to alter their plans and cope with the restrictions that face us for Easter and Passover this year. There was just one recurring theme as I spoke with families about the holiday: it’s time to keep it simple. Ham, potatoes, asparagus, rolls, and time spent with each other, in the house.

So far, stores like Trader Joes actually have a number of spiral hams already. Other stores, like Giant and The Fresh Market, are still scheduled to get ham deliveries the week of Easter.

Lacey Conaway, of Erdenheim, will spend Easter at home with her children and husband, as well as her father. Ham is typically the tradition.

“I will definitely make a ham for my dad but that’s a great question. What if I can’t get one?” Conaway said.

Susan Nagy, a psychotherapist from Flourtown, will not be able to see her elderly mother, her brother or her in-laws this year, so she’s resolved to come up with a simple menu for her husband and son.

“I’m going to try to keep it simple since it’s just the three of us,” Nagy said. “And we are probably going to face time with the rest of the family. I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while.”

Mother of two Sarah McCaney isn’t doing her usual big Easter celebration with friends and family at her Flourtown home. But she is still planning to make her traditional dinner, from deviled eggs to green bean casserole – if she can find the ingredients.

“As of now, it will be just the household,” McCaney said. “No visitors, no visiting anyone. The menu I’m not positive about. Some will depend on what’s available at the store. The main dish will either be a small ham or a roast beef with bearnaise sauce.”

Many local Jews have a major Passover dilemma on their hands this year because of the corona virus. Some wonder what in the world they are going to do with all of the bread and leavened products they just stocked up on to quarantine.

From frozen pizzas to chips, practicing Jews typically get them out of the house before Passover. But after stocking up for the crisis, should they throw everything away as is customary or let it remain frozen throughout the high holiday?

“What do we do?” said Gabrielle Weiss, of Chestnut Hill, daughter of former Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop owners Dan and Susan Weiss. “Now that we are stocked up, do we eat all of the bread in the next two or three weeks? It’s hard for people who lost their jobs or spent a lot of money to stock up. What do they do?”

The Fresh Market already has a selection of seder foods, according to Weiss, who shopped already for the dinner. Luckily, seder foods are easy to find, from the bitter herbs to the egg, greens and shank bone.

“I’m in charge of the dinner,” Weiss said. Her sister is quarantined in California and can’t make it home, leaving Gabrielle, her mother and father together for Passover. “We will be home here. It’s hard when you have elderly parents, but we are going to still try our hardest to have a seder together.”