One of my co-workers said something this morning that really irked me. She was planning an Easter egg hunt for the staff here this weekend and wanted to make sure that everyone would want to play along. She said "Not everyone celebrates Easter" and I shuddered to think that her idea of celebrating Easter was all about bunnies and egg hunts. Does she even know what Easter is about? I think she might have some background in the church so she might but to promote this whole idea of the Easter bunny as a celebration of Easter really bothers me.
So, I did a tiny bit of research to see where this whole idea comes from. Apparently, the early church adopted pagan festivities to make Christianity more appealing to the populous. This is what About.com has to say about Easter. "Pagan fertility festivals at the time of the Spring equinox were common- it was believed that at this time, when day and night were of equal length, male and female energies were also in balance. The hare is often associated with moon goddesses; the egg and the hare together represent the god and the goddess, respectively." Ughh ... here we are trying to remember the fact that Jesus Christ died and rose for us with pagan symbols!!!!
Ok, so maybe I am being overwrought for no reason. I mean, people aren't really worshipping pagan gods by having cute little egg hunts, are they? I guess it's the same with Christmas too. And I don't really disagree with having a Christmas tree. Or do I? Well, I more disagree with the whole Santa thing than the Christmas tree.
Sigh! Such a dilemma. How do I reach out to my coworkers about the real meaning of Easter.