| | | | Easter: How Do You Celebrate? |
By Glenn A. Hascall
To Easter Bunny or not to Easter Bunny - now there is a question.
Many parents have long memorialized the egg bearing bunny of lore while others acknowledge such a being as either frivolous or perhaps even dangerous. In some families there is great frustration if a child is led to believe there is no benevolent bunny by friends or other family members.
So, who's right?
Oh, the mental images of a tug-o-war raging to claim an instance of victory in this divisive issue, but I will not be the one to settle the issue because it is far too complex and personal for any pat answers.
Just as the Jolly Elf of Christmas stories, the springtime bunny has a long and cherished history that has been perpetuated generation after generation. Grandparents will plant a crop of colored eggs waiting for a harvest at the hands of cherubic grandchildren. Photos will be taken and scrapbooks will be expanded for a tradition has been established and passed along once more.
Others will see this pastime as a usurping of the Christian themed holiday and desire to focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. However, even those who acknowledge the Christian roots of the holiday, may refuse to participate in Easter festivities for a variety of reasons.
In my own family we recognize that there is a cultural and religious significance to both Easter and Christmas. My children will receive Easter baskets and they will dye eggs and hunt for plastic variations on the theme, but not to the exclusion of a religious expression of the day. They may or may not believe that a bunny brought things to them, but they know that there is both a fun and serious side the occasion and we celebrate appropriately.
I wouldn't try to talk you out of allowing your children to 'believe' in a bunny or even a 'Cadburry®' lion that cackles like a chicken. I certainly wouldn't try to talk you out of a family celebration at your house of worship. It may, however, be appropriate to acknowledge that the reasons for the style of celebration are almost always deeply personal and steeped in tradition. Don't let variations in celebration keep your family from accepting others who may celebrate differently.
My family observes Easter in a certain way and I know why we do it that way, yet the best I can hope for is defensiveness from others if I insist they are wrong in the way they celebrate. The one thing Easter always brings to mind is forgiveness and love, so a little understanding is a perfect expression of your personal celebration.
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