Easter is……
What is Easter to you? Time for family? Time for faith? Time to reflect?
As a child I found Easter uncomfortable. Not really sure where it emanated from. I haven’t got a good memory for things like that. Good Friday always felt dark & sombre. It felt like the world had stopped. I do remember one Good Friday afternoon when it suddenly went dark & thundered. I think that took me back to the scenes in ‘Ben Hur’ of Christ’s death. Unlike the film, I don’t remember the elation of Easter Day so whatever the cause, Easter & I have had a rocky relationship.
For many faiths it is the most important festival of all. It is what it is all about. For both believers & non-believers, Easter is also eggs usually of the chocolate kind. There is a lovely post by @Vicarswife which combines both these elements.
For me, Easter is sadness. My father died on April 1st in 1979. It was a great shock but of course in typical ‘British stiff upper-lip’ fashion we all made use of the date, trying to take our minds off what clearly was going to happen with quips about ‘April Fool’. Two years later, almost to the day my mother died. Again it was very sudden & a shock. I remember thinking that this time I knew how to organise a funeral. I tried to see if there was a greater message being sent to me with the timings – both going so close to each other & being close to Easter.
I’ve always found the ‘moveable feast’ bit of Easter strange. We have assigned a specific day to celebrate Christ’s birth- why not his death? (there are some interesting posts about death at ‘Sleep is for the Weak’ Writing Workshop #19) For me, the fact that the festival can occur anywhere between the end of March to mid April means Easter can go on for a long time. Sadly, with the commercialisation of it we are reminded that it is happening before the Christmas trees have been cleared from the shops!
As I age I am able to look at what nature usually gives us at the what should be the start of Springtime. So much beauty & hope but there is still that sadness.
So what is Easter to you? Is it a favourite festival or a confusion?
Such a sad compounding of sorrow Julia. For me Easter has little spiritual meaning, what little faith I’ve ever had wanes as I age, but it does represent a turning point, the beginning of spring and light and rebirth of that kind. It’s also about chocolate (obviously) and a welcome break to spend some outdoor time with the children after a long winter. x
As I get older, I feel happier seeing the season change. Being an Aquarian I love the cold & snuggling up but I’m getting better especially as it heralds daffodils!
Very thought provoking! Easter for us is a celebration of Spring and one of the few occasions when OH gets 4 uncomplicated days off. I love to celebrate the return of the light (although that is a bit tricky on this dark and dismal day!) and I love all the new life stuff I can do with children. Chocolate is welcome at any time so lots of opportunities for baking and cooking with chocolate. I am sorry spring is tinged with sadness for you. Lovely post, thank you!
Thank you for stopping by Chris.
It is always difficult when you lose someone. That time of year always hold sadness for those left behind. I think for me it is mixed with all my ‘Easter’ stuff as well!
Easter is a non-event for me, I celebrate Ostara on March 21st. As a child Easter was just about the eggs, I still buy the eggs to be honest, they taste so much better than normal chocolate!
Ostara is new to me! I shall investigate! Thank you for stopping by!
Easter is a real non-occasion for us too, and for it to be marked by two whole weeks off school when it’s bloody freezing… argh!
Every parent in the school yard yesterday was bemoaning the forthcoming break. I guess the teachers don’t see it that way though!
Good, thought-provoking post, J.
Thank you HUN! I was ok once the ‘special days’ were over & I could emerse myself in school work.
I don’t think there’s anything special about Easter. If you’re a Christian surely every day is a celebration of his resurrection. Also I think the theology can get v messed up. God wasn’t off far away in heaven watching his son suffer, he was right there with him, inside of him, dying with him, feeling every bit of pain Jesus was. That’s the whole thing – God himself dying. It’s like he took the chemo treatment on our behalf to cure the cancer. But, as he well knew, the chemo was going to kill him. But that’s what was necessary. And the cancer was defeated.