Easter, 28 April 2019

Christ is risen. A blessed Easter to everyone marking it today.

The habit I have come to admire most is the distribution. Nobody bakes for their own household only. There is always a surplus, and it goes out: to a neighbour, to an elderly person on the floor below, to someone whose family is elsewhere this year.

It is not framed as charity and it would be resented if it were. It is framed as excess — I made too much, take some — which lets the receiver accept without being placed under an obligation.

That is a small piece of social engineering built into a recipe, and it is far more elegant than most of what is designed deliberately.

A good table to your family, and to whoever receives a plate from it.