A thought for Easter sunday

I am not religious, and neither is my wife. We raised our children to be skeptical of religious beliefs and question religious dogma and make up their own minds and not rely on ancient texts to guide them. And speaking of ancient texts, did you know there are over 4,000 recognized religions in the world? That's like trying to choose from a menu with way too many options. It's no wonder three-quarters of the world's population sticks to the big five: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It's like they're the Beyonces of the religion world - they've got it all going on.

But let's talk Easter, shall we? It's a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, but it's also got some pagan roots. It actually began as a pagan festival celebrating spring in the Northern Hemisphere, long before the advent of Christianity. Rabbits and hares are also associated with fertility and were symbols linked to the goddess Eostre. Apparently, rabbits and hares were symbols of fertility associated with the goddess Eostre, and coloured eggs have been hidden for kids to find since at least the 18th century. In fact, the first association of the rabbit with Easter was a mention of the "Easter hare" in a book by German professor of medicine Georg Franck von Franckenau published in 1722. In the book, the author recalls folklore that hares would hide the coloured eggs that children hunted for, which suggests to us that as early as the 18th century, decorated eggs were hidden in gardens for egg hunts.

My grandson asked his Mom on Easter Friday why we were celebrating Easter and she explained that Christians celebrated Easter Friday as the day Jesus died for them and that on Easter Sunday he came back to life. 

My grandson then asked did Jesus, return as a rabbit? My daughter asked why, and he said, well wasn’t the head of the Catholic Church a rabbit name Peter, who gave out chocolate eggs to the children? 

As Eve said to Adam, “The apple does not fall far from the tree”. Enjoy the holiday no matter what your religion.