Changing attitudes about Christmas, Easter

 

Buried deep somewhere in one of my family photo albums is a color picture taken of me and my brothers sometime in the early 1970s standing side by side in starched, itchy clothes holding Easter baskets.

The picture was taken Easter morning, probably before we were dragged to church. I couldn’t have been more than five years old. As a youngster, the only thing I liked about Easter was getting candy, cheap toys, and going on egg hunts. I wasn’t too keen on going to church. It was boring and I was very uncomfortable in the Easter outfits Mom made us wear.

I remember the Easter Bunny always made an appearance at the local mall but visiting him was nothing like seeing Santa at Christmas. The bunny didn’t talk, and you can’t ask him for Easter gifts. The bunny suits back then were really cheesy, bordering on creepy. We just took photos with him and if we were lucky we would walk away with a piece of candy.

All of that has turned around now that I’m an adult. I have been a mall Santa and my wife Sandy was the Easter Bunny at our former church for several years. (She was also a dancing fruitcake, but that’s a story for another day.) As the Easter Bunny, Sandy still didn’t talk, but she did give out candy. And the bunny costume was cute and inviting to the little ones.

One of the biggest changes, however, is that I’d rather be in church Easter morning than hunting for eggs or getting a massive sugar rush from jellybeans, Cadbury Eggs and Peeps. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus are essential to my faith and my faith is essential to who I am as a person. Being in church reenforces my belief.

In the past I have written columns about separating the sacred from the secular in the two major holidays. Although I still feel that way, I’ve come to accept the reality that the rabbit and the fat man are never going to be fully excised from the manger and the empty tomb anytime in my lifetime. I’ve also come to appreciate the attention they bring to the Christian faith. I’ve come to view the secular attraction to these Christian holidays as kind of a bait-and-switch.

“Come see Santa Claus and learn about the virgin birth!” “Come see the Easter Bunny and learn how Jesus defeated death!”

It’s inevitable that curious young minds will ask why we celebrate Christmas and Easter. That opens the door for the truth to be told. If we had separate celebrations of Easter with the bunny and Easter with the Christ, it’s likely that the bunny would get all the attention and the message of Christ would fall to the wayside. The same goes for Christmas.

The message of Jesus Christ is far too important to be left behind. If it takes Santa and the bunny to open church doors for some people, so be it. The main thing is the secular must never be mistaken for the sacred. The life and Godship of Jesus is much more enthralling and far more important than rabbits, red suits and reindeer. It’s the life giver over the gift givers.

I’ve done a lot of research (googling) over the years to try and learn how the two holy holidays became intermingled with pagan practices and there are plenty of theories and ideas that abound. I’ve concluded that it really doesn’t matter how it happened. The fact remains that it did happen.

There are a lot of traditions and holidays whose meanings have morphed over the decades and centuries. Think about it. What is the meaning of St. Patrick’s Day? Most of us know it as an Irish holiday where we wear green clothes, drink green beer, talk of leprechauns and collect four-leaf clovers. But why do we celebrate it? I know why, but I bet the average person does not.

Thinking of St. Patrick’s Day, one thing that I’m thankful for about it is no one has to get dressed in stiff, itchy clothes and pose for pictures with your holiday plunder. Nor does it impose on the importance of Christian celebrations. And you can bet when I dress for church on Sunday there won’t be a hint of starch anywhere.