Have you ever sat back and thought about the different traditions that we celebrate during the year? Some of these traditions may include holidays. We celebrate certain traditions for religious reasons and just for the fact that what we are celebrating is a tradition, and we wish to keep it that way. But some of the traditions that date back thousands of year’s true meaning have been forgotten. Easter is a perfect example of one of the traditions whose true meaning has been forgotten over the years.
The Easter holiday and season in itself is the most religious and important holiday of the Christian religion. Coming from a Catholic background as I did, there was always a lot of ritual and practices involved every year since I can remember. We have eaten the same food, gone to the same church services, said the same prayers, and sang the same songs on Easter ever since. Many of the rituals used at Easter time are derived from The Bible and the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus did many important things during his time. One of the most important things he did was dying on the cross for us. The crucifixion story is the best example of how much Jesus loved us. The Gospels mention that the Jewish religious and political leaders encouraged or even forced Pontius Pilate to have Jesus executed because he was seen as a threat by both the Roman officials and Jewish leaders because of his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. To them, Jesus only wanted the Jewish people to revolt against them. Yet knowing this Jesus never gave up or changed his mind. He never denied the kingdom of God and chose to be crucified for his father and for our sins than to lie. Easter is so important because it reminds us that his love for us was and is infinite.
Today we have celebrations during Easter that include such things as a life-sized bunny, hard-boiled eggs that are dyed in various pastel colors, baskets, and also Easter egg hunts all of which have no religious significance. Dyed eggs, bunnies, baskets, and so on do not provide us with any reason to have a celebration. There is nothing wrong with being involved with these activities but it is also important to have in mind why is it we are having Easter breaks and vacations. Everyone wants to have fun and quality time with family but how many times do we get carried away by the fun and forget what we are really celebrating? So this Easter while we are out there having fun, we should keep in mind the true meaning of Easter.
Have a Happy and safe Easter!!
