Foolish Games

Easter

On Monday the girl working for me mentioned how another place she had worked would put easter eggs in some of the flower arrangements. I thought this was a neat idea and today - after buying some chocolate eggs, chocolate rabbits, and these cute little baskets with a little plush bunny in them - there was a few Easter items giving the place a small amount of 'Easter feel'. (The little baskets with plush bunnies now have a single flower in the basket as well, and there are a couple of hamper sized baskets with flowers and Easter chocolates too.)

It occurred to me though that there was something not quite right with this. Why is the 'Easter feel' these days seem to be all about chocolate eggs, rabbits and hot cross buns? At least the hot cross buns have some reflection of the message of the cross in them (though I doubt many people realise what they're purporting to represent), but what does chocolate, eggs and rabbits have to do with Jesus' death at the cross and subsequent resurrection? I would think NOTHING. Now, I guess I'd better check the origin of easter eggs and bunnies... hmmm.... a quick google search reveals this rather jumbled attempt to explain the origins of easter traditions. Ok, it says that Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but really, these days, is this really the excuse we have for easter eggs?

I don't actually think there's anything wrong with eating chocolate. And as a bit of fun the chocolate, eggs and bunnies seem innocuous enough. What troubles me is how pervasive the commercial aspect of Easter has penetrated our minds. Now, as a thought exercise, try and empty your mind, and then think of Easter. What pops into your head? The cross? Or Easter eggs?

To be honest, when I think of Easter, I think of chocolate, eggs and bunnies. It's ingrained from my childhood. My parents didn't instill it in me (being Chinese), but somehow it became the norm that when Easter came around I would expect chocolate of some sort. I used to love getting all the different types of eggs. These days I don't really think of Easter much, and it was only about a week ago that it occurred to me that Easter was coming up, and it's popped up before I really expected it, hence the last minute preparations for the shop.

Now, as I said, there's something not quite right here, and it's this - the commercial, fuzzy wuzzy image of Easter is obscuring the true meaning of Easter, just as has happened with Christmas. I'm sure this is not a new thought for Christians, but it doesn't make it less important. Do we remember Easter as a chocolate celebration with token nod to the cross when we eat a hot cross bun? Or do we grasp hold of the message of the cross first and relegate the eggs and bunnies to their rightful place?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" - John 3:16

p.s. I came up with an idea to make little flower pots with a single flower, a cross using reed and a bible verse, probably John 3:16. I wonder how they will be received...

posted by Son @ 01:09