At our house we have an Easter tradition that’s a bit different from the usual. The Easter bunny visits our house a day early. We chose to do this over the years so that the children can enjoy the Easter treats, be excited about the bunny and then on Easter Sunday we can focus on the Spiritual side of Easter.
So last night my six year old, Zach, asked if he could help the Easter bunny prepare the baskets. Then of course Sara, 8, wanted to join in the fun. The older two then prepared the baskets and filled the eggs with candy and then we sent them off to bed so we could hide the baskets and the eggs for our hunt this morning.
This morning came way too soon. Once some chores were done the hunt began….and the hunt will continue for who knows how long, since we have a couple eggs yet to be found. With this in mind there are a couple things I’m greatful for. One is that they are candy eggs and not hard boiled eggs! The second is that we’re moving, so in the cleaning, they’re bound to turn up sometime within the next couple weeks.
Then come the usual concerns from the children. “How come my chocolate bunny is hollow? That’s not fair!” As if any child needs a two pound solid chocolate bunny. Of course two year old Elijah is thrilled at the concept of being given a huge chocolate bunny. Also, “How come we don’t get Easter grass this year?” Well, I’m so tired of finding plastic grass across the house for months afterwards, so this year their Easter outfit went in the bottom of the basket to take up space! Meanwhile, the sugar is kicking in and I’m going to have three children bouncing off the walls as we leave the house to go to our family birthday party today.
For those of you that believe, be sure to take time to ponder the Savior and his Atoning Sacrifice He made for each of us. From the LDS perspective, believing in eternal life, ponder this: I know many religions don’t believe in an after life, but what is the purpose of a Redeemer if there is no after life? Christ sacrificed His life and was Resurrected that we, too, might live again.
Happy Easter!
Easter Passover..
Whu?
Yup, my church put on a service this last week that went through the traditions of the Passover Seder, led by a member of our church who is a messianic Jew.
This was interesting in a couple of ways. One, I learned the history of the Easter Egg, which is actually taken from the Seder.. a hard boiled egg that was added to the Seder tradition after the destruction of the temple in jerusalem.
Also in the Seder tradition, a piece of Matzo that is broken and hidden as the children look for it.
Put these together (keeping in mind that the first Christian believers considered themselves to be Jews), add a few hundred years, and you get the easter tradition of looking for easter eggs.
Also interesting, the fact that on Good Friday, Christ and the disciples had a Seder.. and there are references to that all over Last Supper. It is interesting to have that context.
And especially for me, and much of my family is Jewish, and it is a side of my heritage I am very proud of.
Happy Easter
Colored eggs
Our tradition is even more of a mishmash. If I understand correctly, it was a common part of some North African celebrations to color eggs for the annual spring fertility rite. Christians also adapted that tradition. Talk about your Heinz-57 holiday 😉
—
Matthew P. Barnson
Easter traditions
Actually, a lot of the Christian Easter traditions originate in pre-Christian England, in the pagan holiday of Oestara (hence the name). It’s a holiday that celebrates fertility, both in the people and in the crops (planting seeds to ensure a good harvest, etc.), and the traditions surrounding the holiday are replete with fertility symbols — bunnies, eggs, etc.
It’s rather amusing to ask an average Christian to explain the meaning of the word Easter, and to explain what the Easter Bunny and colored eggs have to do with the resurrection of Jesus. 😉
— Ben Schuman Mad, Mad Tenor
Catholics -n- Fertility
Ben,
If any religious group knows about fertility, it’s the Catholics. My mom was one of (yes, it’s true) 16, I’m one of 5, and my uncle has 7.
It’s funny the amount of religious holidays imposed (superimposed?) on pagan holidays. Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas were all pagan holidays integrated into Christianity by the ancient Romans.
Do a search on christian+pagan+holidays and see what you find. A lot of interesting reading.
My $.02 Weed