I'd prefer "Resurrection Sunday" as that'd be a little harder to market now wouldn't it? But they'd find a way wouldn't they? And that would mean gummi worm crosses and tombs with a wind up stone door that open and closes! But I think that would at least be better than the current lack of spirituality in Easter marketing.
Don't get me wrong I love do love Spring. I love the symbolism of Spring. Rebirth. Renewing of spirit. And the symbolism of Easter IS certaintly fitting with that. Along with Sacrifice. Trust. Surrender. If only they could they find a way to market that!
The excess of every holiday that continues to grow every year never ceases to amaze me. Plastic carrots to put treats in. Baby pacifiers with a light up bunny. Wire baskets, fuzzy baskets, plastic duck face baskets, chirping chickies, every size color and size bunny you can imagine. The sheer amount and diversity in the candy and egg coloring kits is mind boggling! You name it- you can find it with an egg, bunny, duck, or chick at Easter time!
I mean what does happen to all that fake plastic grass?
I did a Google image search of the word Easter and only 45 out of every 700 pictures came up as having anything to do with Christ, church, or the true meaning of Easter!
Do I sound cranky? I'm not...it's just an observation. *See title of blog. Maybe I'm just so old fashioned. I am more and more altruistic every year and enjoy simpler celebrations. My children seem to enjoy it even more this way as well. I hope Christian children actually have something to do with the true meaning of the holiday in their Easter baskets Easter morning.
Eas·ter (ē'st-er) n.
1. A Christian feast commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.
2. The day on which this feast is observed, the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox.
3. Eastertide
Did you know the name Easter is derived from a fertility goddess?
The English and German names, "Easter" and "Ostern", seem clearly unrelated to Pesach etymologically and likely derive either from Eostremonat, an old Germanic month name, or Eostre, an Asatru fertility goddess whom the 8th century English historian Bede records was honored with a fertility festival during Eostremonat. It has been suggested that many of modern Easter's symbols, such as colored eggs and the Easter Bunny, are cultural remnants of Eostre's springtime fertility festival, even though giving of eggs at spring festivals was not restricted to Germanic peoples and could be found among the Persians, the Romans, and the Jews, and that Eostre merged with the Christian Pesach celebrations after the Germanic heathens were Christianized (see Easter as a Germanic Heathen festival below.).
Determining the DATE of Easter gets even more confusing! Seems you need a degree in astrology:
Easter is based upon Paschal Full Moon (PFM) dates, and each PFM is the particular Ecclesiastical Full Moon (EFM) date after March 20. EFM dates are approximated astronomical full moon dates, and are surprisingly accurate when you consider how long ago they were forecast.
PFM dates are found in a table (see above). There is a table of 19 dates for the Julian calendar, and several 19-dates tables for the Gregorian calendar.
Easy to forget that the dates of all our holidays and even the CALENDER itself are man made.
So there's just few observations and Easter history for you today. Here's hoping you won't get caught up in the "must haves" and "must gives" of this holiday. Your company and sharing and caring is gift enough! Along with perhaps a simple, symbolic basket with something precious you've discovered. Something that will be cherished in recalling the memory of the day...not broken or eaten by days end. Remember lesson #1 in the new world: GIVE MORE. And LESS is indeed more.
Jill
