Tuesday, April 02, 2013

The Smashing Of The Bunny

It's a funny thing, to watch an octogenarian grin wickedly as she crushes a chocolate bunny's skull in her wrinkled hands.

The Smashing Of The Bunny is a decades-old Easter tradition in my family. Every year, a large hollow chocolate creature of some kind sits at the center of our Easter table, nestled in neon plastic grass, surrounded by Hershey kisses and Cadbury Creme Eggs.  A bunny, a hen, sometimes a squirrel, quietly waiting for us to finish our plates of deviled eggs and honeyed ham.

Waiting to meet its doom.

A different executioner is selected every year, and each family member has a different signature approach to the job. My brother grips the bunny's ears, and then delivers a sweet right hook to obliterate his belly. More than once, we had to retrieve bunny shards from the kitchen floor. My sister has a clean, top-down approach with the chocolate hens, bringing a swift fist of justice down onto her victim. I am the decapitator, squeezing the hollow neck until I feel a crack, and then lifting the chocolate head high in victory.


When I was first asked to bring dessert to Easter dinner with my in-laws, several years ago, I brought along a lovely chocolate bunny. The family was a little puzzled at first when I explained that after dinner, we would beat him into the chocolate chips from whence he came. Luckily for me, they're more than happy to include my family's strange ways with theirs, and we have had a Smashing Of The Bunny every year since. I'm incredibly grateful.

Because Easter isn't over till a chocolate bunny dies.






 

12 comments:

  1. Ha! I love this tradition!!

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  2. This may be the most epic Easter tradition ever.

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  3. The photos really make this post, Jen. Love it. And love the tradition.

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  4. What an awesome tradition. Like snapping the wishbone on a turkey but way better!

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  5. That's awesome! And now I want to eat a bunch of chocolate!

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  6. I love it. And that is one big bunny!

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  7. That is a huge bunny! I keep imagining it like the horsehead in "The Godfather." ...dont ask.

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    1. But that wouldn't be scary! You could just eat him!

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  8. What a great idea, ha!

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  9. Anonymous6:33 PM

    What a fun tradition that reveals the personalities of those who participate.
    And like the others said: that bunny is HUGE!

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    1. That's the biggest one we ever had. Most of them weren't quite as terrifyingly large!

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