When I explain the reason we celebrate Easter to my children, it was extremely difficult to discuss how Jesus died on the cross only to return from the dead 3 days later and relate it to the Easter Bunny. Do we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus or a large, scary rabbit? What is more confusing is a large, scary rabbit that hides eggs that are laid by chickens. Just the explanation of Jesus and his journey from being revered and celebrated on Palm Sunday to being nailed to a cross and hung to die a week later is mind blowing.
Some of my earliest memories of Easter include pastel colored dresses, chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, and wicker baskets overflowing with fake green plastic grass. While there is an Easter season, most people celebrate Easter on Easter Sunday, one day with not much emphasis on the days that lead up to the bright, playful, and miraculous vibe of Easter Sunday. I attended Catholic school from first to eighth grade and Easter was so much more than Jesus rising from the dead. Our curriculum took a deep dive into the Easter season and I recall feelings of solitude and sorrow more than joy and celebration.
Death Before Resurrection
The Easter season essentially foreshadows death from day one. It all starts on Ash Wednesday, feeling embarrassed walking around with black ash on my forehead all day. I had to face the stares and glares whether I received ashes or not. Because if you didn’t have something that resembled a cross finger-painted with black ash on your forehead, that meant that you were not a good Catholic. The ashes represent a bleak facet of life that we shall all return to dust.
Ash Wednesday starts the Lenten season which are days of prayer and fasting. It represents the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan. it is supposed to be a time of simple living and giving up certain luxuries in imitation of Christ’s sacrifice during his journey into the desert for 40 days. If there was a redeeming tradition with Easter, it is Lent. Having the motivation of Jesus’ spiritual journey to support giving up a vice, fix a bad habit, or even create a good habit provides a strong opportunity to make beneficial life changes. Unfortunately, the tradition of lent is lost on most people since it is a specific practice of the Catholic religion. Most people will focus on buying the picture perfect Easter Sunday outfits, attending a church that they haven’t visited since Christmas, and cooking a ham for dinner.
Sorrow and Pain: The Stations of the Cross
But throughout those 40 days, I am reminded of the major event of the Easter season which is Jesus dying on the cross. I know a crucifixion is coming and I recall feeling somber and melancholy reflecting on how terribly Jesus was treated. I felt angry and hopeless thinking about the injustice of his persecution. I went to Catholic school and the Easter season was a significant cornerstone of the school year. At least once a week during lent, we had to walk through the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross told the story of Jesus‘s last day on earth through 14 different points on a timeline starting with Jesus being condemned to death. Other notable milestones on the Stations of the Cross include Jesus seeing his mother, falling down three times, getting nailed to the cross, and his eventual death. The hate that was spewed toward Jesus was unfathomable and it came across at each Station of the Cross. But the sweet smell of chocolate and brightly dyed eggs distract from the real reason Easter Sunday even happens. The crucifixtion of Jesus is such a somber event and then to see pastel colored flowers and cartoonish bunny rabbits everywhere is downright disrespectful.
He is Risen!
The actual Easter Sunday celebration was never particularly pleasant. My memories include rushing out the door, an angry father, and disgruntled siblings all begrudgingly taking family pictures. We had to beat the church crowd since Easter Sunday was one of those holidays where all the so-called Catholics would attend services so they could stay in good standing with the Lord. Such a paradoxical day where I remember eating candy that I gave up for Lent and at the same time had a whirlwind of a morning trying to show respect and reverence and celebrate that Jesus has risen. Squeezing it all in one Sunday only to go to bed and school the next day. With Christmas, the whole holiday season revolves around giving joy and the birth of the Lord’s son. Easter revolves around the injustice and persecution of Jesus that was filled with sorrow and trauma. Celebrating a resurrection after such a horrible death deserves more than Cadbury chocolate and hunting for hidden eggs in the yard.
I am not sure what to take away from the meaning of Easter. The Easter bunny tells me that maybe if I look hard enough I may find a hidden Easter egg with candy in my backyard? Jesus’ story tells me there is so much hopelessness could it be that it is always darkest before dawn? Could it be the power of prayer and faith? Jesus had to have tremendous faith to believe that he would rise again. He had to control his emotions, pray, and accept his faith, no matter how unfair with only a belief that God will take care of him. Another theme is to know and understand God’s love for us. God showed tremendous love for us by sacrificing his own son. These are the themes that I can take away from the Easter holiday. No matter how hard life gets no matter how difficult, I can make it to the other side with God’s love. I can’t say that about the Easter Bunny.
Could simplify this entire piece to Easter is the pagan celebration of spring, renewal, and rebirth co-opted by the Christian church and bam the bunnies and eggs all make sense.