Just wanted to share with you a tradition I've done for many years, waxing onions in the spring. The bulb symbolizes life coming from something that appears to be dead and are appropriate for the Lenten and Easter season.
Scout through the vegetable bens at grocery stores, looking for onions that are beginning to sprout. Then, using a pan of boiling water, I melt wax, colored with broken crayons, in old aluminum cans. Holding the sprout, I lower the onion into the melted colored wax. I lift it out long enough for it to cool slightly, and then dip it quickly again. I do this several times until I achieve the desired hue. You can drip melted wax of other colors on these to give them more interest. These are then placed into a basket, as I would Easter eggs. They usually last four to six weeks, reminding us of Christ’s resurrection and of the new life that Christ can bring, even if we have become as disagreeable as an onion!
After the sprouts begin to wilt, break away the wax and plant them in the ground, and they will usually reproduce themselves.
New Life from the Onion
Like an onion with life hidden deep inside,
Oft times we sleep all winter long.
Then springtime comes, and all life is new.
Our soul’s window opens with a song.
We praise God, our Creator;
We praise God in spring, a time of new birth,
We praise God, Guide of our life;
We praise God this hour, all creatures on earth.
By Delia Halverson
-- from Helping Your Teen Develop Faith (Judson Press, 1985)
What a clever and different idea!
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