Every year Easter comes somewhere in and around early spring. That Jewish lunar calendar thing makes the exact day a surprise unless you like doing the math or cheating and looking ahead on the calendar. You can not miss the build up. Every store fills up with peeps and bunnies and candy, lots of candy. Print dresses in bright floral patterns pop up and fliers appear in your mail box inviting you to “a very special sunrise service”.
Traditions will abound. Some centuries old, others just getting started with a babies first Easter bunny visit. Dinner times, menus, invites, declines and reservations are all undertaken as eggs are stuffed with candy, lots of candy and hunts are planned. There is no denying that family, friends and festivities will overflow.
As wonderful as all these symbols, print dresses, services, meals, activities and candy, lots of candy are they are just the decorations for a hard bloody reality. Even the word Easter falls sad and empty at the feet of this reality. The word being derived from a druidical fertility goddess. Indeed much of what we love and enjoy is just a dance around the May Pole really. A merry time and backdrop for family, friends, restaurants and retail outlets.
Now please do not get me wrong because there is nothing wrong with anything I have mentioned. Our traditions especially our individual ones are what underpin our priorities, relationships and beliefs. I and my family enjoy most all the list I have given. Especially the candy, lots of candy. What matters most is the horrific Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and even this falls empty of true meaning unless you believe He was the Son of God. The documented death of Jesus of Nazareth in bloody detail along with walking out of His tomb three days later means little unless you believe His Divinity.
Now if you need to get up at 4am to watch the sun rise to let this precious news fully inspire you then bravo, good for you. For me I see it in the store sets, I find it in the fliers. It strikes me seeing a skeptical baby wiggling on a seven foot tall bunnies lap. It touches me as I break bread with friends and family and it encourages me as hide and take picture of the egg hunt. I even remember and reflect fondly as I enjoy the festive candy, lots of festive candy.
So this year enjoy the time, the people, the clothes, the food, the festivities and the candy, especially the candy but know that Jesus suffered, bled, died and rose for you. Because He Was, Is and will Always be the God that loves you that much!
Happy Easter,
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Easter was and is irrevocably tied to Passover. The Crucifixion of Jesus occurred on the day before Passover, which is the first Saturday after the first full Moon after the Spring Equinox. If you know the Equinox and the full moon, it's not hard to figure out. (Passover celebrates the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, after centuries of slavery. The Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb to G-d, putting blood on the door frame, so that the Angel of Death would "pass over" their homes, as the last plague was inflicted on Egypt, which was the death of the first born sons of every Egyptian, human and animal.) As good Jews, the women and a few apostles, with the help of a sympathetic Pharisee saw to it that the body was taken down before Passover began at sunset, Friday. As all the next day was Passover, and no one could touch or attend to a dead body, the next time anyone went to the tomb was Sunday morning, at which time, it was discovered that He was gone. The Romans and the Jewish officials in Jerusalem say that the body was stolen and hidden. Christians believe that He was resurrected form death, and that His Crucifixion was the Ultimate Passover sacrifice to free ALL people from spiritual bondage. The egg was already part of the Passover tradition, but the other trappings that we are familiar with, especially the rabbit, have to do with the spread of Christianity into pagan Europe. The fact that spring is viewed as a time of renewal and rebirth, throughout the world, place the Passover/ Christian Resurrection/Renewal celebration in the time frame of the pagan celebrations already occurring, like the Druid tree that was borrowed for Christmas, which occurred after the Winter solstice, when the old pagan religions were celebrating the return of light, as days became longer. The symbolism of rebirth meshed with the rebirth and renewal themes of the early Gaul and Germans who populated Europe. ***** So, on that note, Happy Easter to All, and/or a Blessed Passover!
GrandmaWho1953
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Apr 21, 2019
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