What was going on when I was born?

Robert Farrar Capon, an Episcopal priest and food writer, is the author of ''Supper of the Lamb'' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). By ROBERT FARRAR CAPON WHEN it comes to celebrating Easter, household cooks have long known what the church has only lately reaffirmed. The celebration cannot be confined to Sunday alone; it permeates even the somber events of the week before. Prior to the liturgical changes of recent decades, Holy Week tended to be observed as if the Resurrection hadn't yet occurred - or, indeed, as if there were doubt about whether it would happen at all. Palm Sunday was a time for elation; the Last Supper, for poignancy; the Trial, outrage; the Crucifixion, horror; and the Death, depression. Only then was the joy of the Resurrection allowed to break through.

For years, New York's City Council has often been the branch of metropolitan government least likely to be taken seriously and it has also been called a rubber stamp. Henry J. Stern, the Manhattan Liberal Councilman at Large, downgraded even that characterization .-??? .- -¸cC* c-??? -?c *.-? ???c¸: ¸??? 1965, saying, ''At least a rubber stamp leaves an impression.'' But there are changes afoot: If it is not exactly a tiger, Council President Carol Bellamy said, ''it is getting better.'' ''It is getting better,'' said Ruth W. Messinger, a Manhattan Democrat who is one of the most outspoken members of the Council's increasingly lively insurgents.

Sales of new cars by the three major American auto makers dropped 11.9 percent from a year earlier in the April 1 to April 10 selling period, mainly as a result of a poor showing by the General Motors Corporation after the end of customer rebate sales promotions. ''Clearly we're heading back to where we were before the rebates began,'' said Harvey Heinbach, auto analyst for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. ''I don't think we're going to see much of a spark in auto sales until the second half of this year.'' The Chrysler Corporation reported a sales increase of 32.8 percent over last year, and the Ford Motor Company a 4.8 percent rise, but sales at G.M. fell 22.9 percent. There were nine selling days in the early April period both this year and last.

First came the sonic boom announcing that it was near: two loud shocks that reverberated like cannon blasts across the desert floor. Over the public address system, the voice of Mission Control read out the orbiter's speed and altitude, now rapidly declining: ''Columbia, you're right on the money, right on the money,'' ''Where is it, where is it?'' perhaps 10,000 voices asked at once from the edge of Rogers Dry Lake. Dropping to the Desert Then, the sharpest eyes on the ground, squinting upward, saw it: a tiny, moving speck high over the horizon, dropping fast through a dusty, luminescent haze that rose from the surface of the parched dry lake like a cloudy mist. Suddenly, the tension broke.

Lorna J. Sass, a culinary historian, is the author of several cookbooks. By LORNA J. SASS ''And the Lord brought us forth from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders .... '' DURING the Passover seder each year, as her family commemorated the Exodus from Egypt, Claudia Douek Roden felt puzzled. She sat at the children's end of the seder table, a table so long that as she cast her eyes down the length of the white silk embroidered tablecloth, her grandfather at the other end seemed very far away. Although the story of the Exodus was being read from the Haggadah in Hebrew, the large family was gathered for the seder in their home in Zamalek, an island in the Nile and a suburb of Cairo. If the Lord brought Jews forth from Egypt, she wondered, ''What are we still doing here, and how can my grandfather joyfully recite the list of plagues brought upon the Egyptians, while we are living contentedly among them?''

Governor Carey was apparently unaware of one of the three former marriages of his bride, Evangeline Gouletas, at the time of their wedding Saturday. The Governor's office confirmed early yesterday that Mrs. Gouletas-Carey had been married and divorced not twice, as had been publicly stated, but three times. On the marriage license application for her marriage to Governor Carey, Miss Gouletas listed only two of her previous husbands. She listed them both as alive, although she had said publicly that she had heard her first husband was dead.

With a relaxed, yet almost professorial, manner and a theory of marketing that shows an outright disdain for high fashion, Robert T. Grohman may seem an unlikely figure to head the world's largest apparel company. But Mr. Grohman, who has overseen the diversification of Levi Strauss & Company from a jeans maker to a broad-based apparel company, sees his approach to marketing as the key to the company's future growth. And it is the approach he says he will continue to implement when he assumes the posts of chief executive and president on Dec. 1. ''Levi Strauss has not been a fashion innovator, and I'm not interested in moving that way,'' he said. ''We will continue to make clothes that are correct, durable and middle-of-the-road. Most importantly, we will appeal to the mass consumer.''

The space shuttle Columbia rocketed out of orbit and glided to a safe landing on the desert here today to conclude the successful first demonstration of a bold new approach to extraterrestrial travel, the re-usable winged spaceship. Heralding its triumphant return with a sharp double sonic boom, one of technology's fanfares, the 122-foot-long Columbia appeared in the clear blue sky, soared over the base, looped back and touched its wheels down in the wash of a mirage on the hard-packed clay of a dry lake bed. Touchdown came at 1:21 P.M., Eastern standard time. ''Welcome home, Columbia!'' was the simple message from Joseph Allen in Mission Control. 215 Miles an Hour Capt. Robert L. Crippen of the Navy and John W. Young brought the 80-ton gliding vehicle with its stubby delta wings to a smooth landing at a speed of 215 miles an hour, about twice the velocity of a jetliner landing.

''Welcome home Columbia.'' - Joseph Allen, a mission control communicator. (A1:6.)

The Return of Columbia A major space advance was achieved as the United States successfully demonstrated the first re-usable winged spaceship. The space shuttle Columbia rocketed out of orbit and glided to a safe wheeled landing on California's Mojave Desert. John W. Young and Capt. Robert L. Crippen of the Navy brought the powerless vehicle to a smooth touchdown at a speed of 215 miles an hour, about twice the velocity of a jetliner landing. One hour earlier, the craft was orbiting at 17,500 miles an hour. (Page A1, Column 6.) At least 250,000 people had gone to Edwards Air Force Base to watch the space shuttle glide to a landing. The spectators cheered as the Columbia touched down perhaps only 60 seconds after it was first spotted high over the horizon. (A1:1-2.)

Deterioration in New York City's subway service is costing businesses and commuters an estimated $165 million to $330 million a year and reducing the city's competitiveness with other areas, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said yesterday. The bank's estimate was presented at a hearing held by Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato for a Senate appropriations subcommittee at 26 Federal Plaza. At the session, Mayor Koch and transit and business leaders appealed against President Reagan's proposal to phase out Federal operating subsidies for transit. They said the plight of low-income workers would be made worse by the resultant increase in fares.

Bank regulators, seeking to aid savings and loan associations and other financial institutions, are drafting legislation to facilitate mergers and provide needed capital. John G. Heimann, Comptroller of the Currency, said a program was being devised to protect the institutions against a ''disaster scenario.'' (Page D1.) Sales of the Big Three auto makers fell 11.9 percent in the first 10 days of April because of a 22.9 percent drop by G.M. and the end of cash rebate programs. Chrysler reported a 32.8 percent gain and Ford a 4.8 percent rise. Analysts forecast a return to pre-rebate sales weaknesses. (D1.)