Easter

I bet you all were just waiting for this post. It's something I have to cover, it's a holiday and you have to cover holidays(hello?). It's a great holiday, a holiday especially fun for kids. You've got the Easter bunny, hiding and finding eggs, wonderful candy treats, eating the chocolate bunny's head, etc.

My kids love it, especially the eating of the candy. Last year we did it with a special flair, my wife and I used plastic eggs with little suction cups, strings, glow in the dark paint and double-sided tape. It was amazing the places you could hide the darn things. My wife actually made me re-hide some of them because I'd hidden them to well. I guess the kids should actually be able to find them at some point.

But as an adult I know the real meaning behind Easter, the whole point of why we're supposed to celebrate it, the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. But, like every other Christian holiday, it has taken on a whole different image from what was originally intended.

The original belief surrounding the Bunny of Easter began with the Pagan story of a lowly rabbit who wanted to please the Goddess Ostara so badly that he, after decorating his eggs beautifully(eggs are meant to represent life), delivered them to her.

I have no problem with the Easter bunny and collecting eggs because, as I said before, that part is fun for the kids. Now I know that most of our holidays stem from old Pagan beliefs but the change from Pagan to Christian happened long before any of us were born. Not to say that if your a Pagan that you can't celebrate it, like your forebears, the way it was originally intended to be celebrated.

But I celebrate it in the Christian sense, so that's how I discuss it. And whether your Pagan or Christian you need to not let the commercial aspect of a national holiday change it completely and forget the origins. Just because we live in " Corporate" America doesn't mean we have to always follow that path.

But I'm going all over the place now, aren't I? Celebrate Easter the way you believe it should be celebrated, Christian or Pagan, but don't lose sight of the point. That's what I've been trying to say during all this rambling.

By the way if your kids beg you to go see the Easter bunny and get their picture taken with him, take them. I've discussed before in my posts how important it is to have those "moments" with your kids, this is your chance to capture one of those moments. Come on now can't you do something you may find weird or boring at least once a year for your kids.

That's all for now I guess, I'll be back at a later time. If your interested in the Pagan origins of Easter and how other people celebrate them, look for another post tomorrow on the matter.