Cascarones Fill Easter With Confetti-Filled Fun

For everyone who celebrates it, Easter is a holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. For some Latinos, Easter also means it is time for cascarones! Now that my son is two years old, I am excited to finally introduce him to the fun of cascarones.

A cascaron is a hollowed-out egg filled with confetti. Cascarones are common throughout Mexico and in Mexican border towns like Laredo, where I grew up. Every year, weeks before Easter we begin preparing our Easter eggs so that we can enjoy them on Easter Day.

I haven’t made cascarones in recent years, I hope to enjoy making them with my son next year when he is three. Because he is too young to make them, I bought cascarones this year at Walgreens. Yes, Walgreens! I was happily surprised to find them there as I live in the suburbs of Chicago and far from the Latino neighborhoods where there would be plenty to buy.

But, I grew up making cascarones at home. That was part of the fun. My sisters and I started early collecting the egg shells after my mom cooked the eggs—carefully opening them at the top to pour the egg out and keep the egg shell in tact. We then rinsed them out and placed them back in the egg carton to dry. Then about a week before Easter we would dip them in various paint colors, then lay them out to dry and, finally, fill them with confetti and seal them with tissue paper.

On Easter Day, we put some cascarones in our Easter baskets and hide some in the yard. We then did an Easter egg hunt. Once we collected enough eggs we would start cracking them over or on top of other kids heads. No cracking a cascaron on top of little kids heads, just over. It was so much fun and there was a lot of confetti everywhere!

Although I did not grow up with a lot of family traditions, traditions still mean a lot to me. I love this Easter tradition, so I am excited to pass it along to my son. But I am also looking forward to creating new traditions with him and our family as well. I look forward to what we will add our Easter traditions in the years to come.