Wondering if there are other Christians on here who don't celebrate Easter.

[3browneyedboys4me]

:iagree:

 

Yes, I completely agree. My children have very much enjoyed Holy week...reading scripture and reflecting in greater depth this week about the sacrifice of Jesus's death. It's been very important for our family!!

 

 

 

When I was a girl my mom, sis and I always had a new dress to wear to church, and most often we wore bonnets, gloves, the whole nine yards. We had baskets and the Easter Bunny came to our house. We also dyed eggs the night before - which the EB conveniently put into our baskets. LOL! (Boy, were we gullible!) There were egg hunts and and chocolate candy, a traditional ham dinner, etc., etc.

 

As an adult, I learned to understand and appreciate Good Friday - a day that my childhood family never even mentioned. In my own family now we acknowledge that day as the day Christ died on the Cross as a day of reflection and prayer. Then on Sunday we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. We always go to church for these observations and we celebrate Christ conquering death and fulfilling His promise to return. The whole Holy Week is extremely important to us. It isn't that we only think about Christ's death and resurrection at that time, we do have it all in our hearts year round. But there is still great significance in this tradition. It's always a very special time for soul searching and personal thanksgiving. I believe that these traditions were begun by the early church for a reason.

 

Other than this we very moderately celebrate Easter, but it isn't anything like when I was a girl. All of the EB stuff seems so meaningless, but we play along with those in the family that are into it. To me, Easter (aka Resurrection Sunday) is very meaningful, but only as it applies to the celebration of Christ rising from the dead. All of the rest is just fluff.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Audrey]

Well, I'll see if I can comunicate it well.

 

Jesus' atonement on the cross, his shed blood for my sins, is my all and everything. It is the very core of Christianity. Christ crucified *is* why I live. I just don't think we should take one weekend a year and make a big deal about it, because it IS the deal. I don't feel the need to 'extra' focus on it one Sunday a year and call it Easter.

 

I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else.

 

 

It makes sense to me, and I think it's an admirable position to take.

[inmyopinion]

We go to church (just like any other Sunday) and the church celebrates Easter so that's all we do. Never did the Easter bunny, baskets & other.

:iagree:

[Isabella]

Well, I'll see if I can comunicate it well.

 

Jesus' atonement on the cross, his shed blood for my sins, is my all and everything. It is the very core of Christianity. Christ crucified *is* why I live. I just don't think we should take one weekend a year and make a big deal about it, because it IS the deal. I don't feel the need to 'extra' focus on it one Sunday a year and call it Easter.

 

I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else.

 

This is exactly us, too! We remember Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection every day, and not especially at this time of the year. We don't do anything special at Easter. That said, the kids usually get a choc egg or two in the months-long lead up to Easter, because they feel like that instead of a chocolate bar.

[Puma Mom]

But really it boils down to the fact that Christ's crucifiction IS what it's all about, every day. His sacrifice for my sin is why I am able to be saved. It is everything to me, always. It is what we teach our children. We read scripture, and everything points to Christ. So we don't feel the need to have a special day to do it. We 'always' do it.

This is us. I did Easter baskets when the dc were little, but at some point it just felt wrong, or at least a little weird, to me.

 

We have a small, intimate church, and we'll go out to lunch together tomorrow. But we have lunch together most Sundays.

[Chris in VA]

Well, I'll see if I can comunicate it well.

 

Jesus' atonement on the cross, his shed blood for my sins, is my all and everything. It is the very core of Christianity. Christ crucified *is* why I live. I just don't think we should take one weekend a year and make a big deal about it, because it IS the deal. I don't feel the need to 'extra' focus on it one Sunday a year and call it Easter.

 

I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else.

 

I'm not bashing your convictions at all, truly.

I liken it to a birthday--my dc and dh are so special to me, I want to celebrate that love all year 'round, and I do, but I also take a day and truly celebrate, with special rituals and things that help me celebrate. That's how I do Easter, too.

 

Actually, as some already said, it starts before that, and each year, I see it as a privilege to walk thru Lent and Holy Week, remembering.

 

And to whomever said baskets of junk food, I can see how that seems kinda yucky, but the tradition of eating sweets/candy goes pretty far back in Christian tradition. At baptism, the bishop gave a spoonful of milk mixed with honey to the newly baptised to symbolize the entrance into the Land of Milk and Honey, the Promised Land. So it's not remotely just Junk Food, it has real significance.

 

The egg, too--yep, it was originally a fertility symbol but it's been adopted by the church (see Russian Orthodox pysanky) to symbolize new life in Christ and even the tomb.

 

To each his own, but it does ruffle my feathers a bit when ancient traditions/symbols sanctioned and adopted by the ancient church as perfectly acceptable Christian symbols are seen as frivolous or pagan.

 

We were all pagan in origin, weren't we. No one is born a Christian. Just as we are changed and remade at the level of deepest meaning into those honoring Christ, so these symbols were changed and remade.

 

They are not just secular or "pagan abominations."

 

(My apologies to pagans, just using language I've heard when describing the symbols.)

 

Bethany, I'm not trying to convince you. I can delete this if you find it harsh or offensive.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Chris in VA

[chickenpatty]

Now that I think about it, I guess we don't do a whole lot different than any other Sunday. We usually have a special meal on Sundays anyway. I do like that easter reminds us even more so about what Christ has done for us, though. We talk about it a little more, sing songs about it a little more, etc...

 

We don't do baskets, but I'm not opposed to dyeing eggs or eating lots of candy, or even decorating bunny shaped sugar cookies. Those are all just fun things about this time of year. Kinda like hearts at valentines day...

[goldberry]

No Easter here, due to pagan origins and customs.

 

Interesting thread though, I had no idea how many others there were who don't celebrate Easter...thanks for that OP!

[mudboots]

...celebrating things like seasons seems much more pagan than celebrating Christ's Resurrection.

 

We're considering making up our own garden/food-based seasonal celebrations, a la Thanksgiving (with all of it as more of a focus on thankfulness).

 

Each piece of our Seder, done in order, opens up discussion, thoughts, conversation of the deepest kind. We talk and EAT well into the night. It is not something we do only out of obligation, but out of JOY.

 

Thanks for this description! It sounds like a meaningful tradition.

Edited April 12, 2012 by mudboots

[Caitilin]

We were all pagan in origin, weren't we. No one is born a Christian. Just as we are changed and remade at the level of deepest meaning into those honoring Christ, so these symbols were changed and remade.

:iagree:Thank-you for this, Chris. May your Easter be joyous and blessed!:001_smile:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't celebrate the more secular parts of Easter, not because they are pagan, but because they take away from celebrating the real and important message of the resurrection, at least in my mind. I do focus more this Sunday specifically on the resurrection even though I agree that every day of my Christian life is celebrating the resurrection.

[milovany]

 

The egg, too--yep, it was originally a fertility symbol but it's been adopted by the church (see Russian Orthodox pysanky) to symbolize new life in Christ and even the tomb.

I wonder if many have heard this story of Mary Magdalene, in regard to Easter eggs.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Mary_Magdalene

According to tradition, during a dinner with the emperor Tiberius Caesar, Mary Magdalene was speaking about Christ's Resurrection. Caesar scoffed at her, saying that a man could rise from the dead no more than the egg in her hand could turn red. Immediately, the egg turned red. Because of this, icons of Mary Magdalene sometimes depict her holding a red egg. Also, this is believed to be an explanation for dyeing eggs red at Pascha.

 

Nothing remotely pagan about that. ;) Chris, I appreciated your post. You put some of my thoughts into words nicely.

Edited April 8, 2012 by milovaný

[Jean in Newcastle]

This doesn't apply directly to the OP's post but more to some of the tangents that this conversation has taken: this evening dd came and asked if she could dye eggs with a neighbor girl. I thought for a moment and then said "Yes". My initial reasons for not doing eggs etc. were so as not to confuse the real message of the resurrection. But dd is 10. She understands that we are not celebrating eggs or bunnies or the spring. I'm still not going to put a priority on these things and won't plan to do them myself. But to me, the principle that I follow allowed me to relax and allow dd the delight of doing a fun activity with her friend.

[Alenee]

This doesn't apply directly to the OP's post but more to some of the tangents that this conversation has taken: this evening dd came and asked if she could dye eggs with a neighbor girl. I thought for a moment and then said "Yes". My initial reasons for not doing eggs etc. were so as not to confuse the real message of the resurrection. But dd is 10. She understands that we are not celebrating eggs or bunnies or the spring. I'm still not going to put a priority on these things and won't plan to do them myself. But to me, the principle that I follow allowed me to relax and allow dd the delight of doing a fun activity with her friend.

 

This, and the whole thread, have reminded me of what a friend said recently after taking a foray into non-celebration for over a year: "We cannot accidentally worship something. Either we are worshipping or we aren't." She put into words what I struggled with for years. I pray you all have a blessed day no matter what it is you choose to do! :grouphug:

[Liz CA]

Since ds is grown now (and not even here this Easter) we are having dinner with another family and will have probably traditional Easter food (don't know if they will have eggs) and I am bringing resurrection cookies (if they turn out :).)

 

It is more of a celebration that He has risen!

When ds was little we did give him a basket and explained what the eggs symbolized and he knew that Jesus had been crucified and has now risen.

[pageta]

i'm not trying to be argumentative, but i disagree with your attitude about this. i grew up in a family that only went to church on christmas and easter. that's it. twice a year. and yes, we were total hypocrites and just taking up space. and although it didn't have an immediate effect on me, i can tell you that a seed was planted. years later when i was 25 i became a christian. my life was literally falling apart at the seams, and i remembered many years earlier being in church and hearing about jesus. at age 25, i remember kneeling and crying and asking god to help me. i knew that he could because i had heard it years before. i believe church is a lovely place for ungodly people. just something to remember when you're inconvenienced tomorrow. you don't know what god has in store. my own parents and my 3 sisters became christians after seeing my own life transformed.

 

I should clarify as I am always happy when someone comes to church.

 

The problem is, our church is packed every week. Do they add extra services for Easter when the attendance doubles and you have to come 30 minutes early (vs 5 minutes) in order to get a seat? No, not in our diocese. I've complained directly. And I also complain indirectly - as in, every year after Easter, I go to confession and confess that we did not attend church on Easter because we couldn't find a seat. Sorry, this issue just makes my blood boil.

 

I think there are a lot of people who would attend church in our diocese, even during the year, if they could find a seat, and that breaks my heart. But the diocese is cheap and thinks it is a waste of money (I guess) to have empty seats on Sunday morning. Thus when they build a new church, all services are packed from the day it opens - meaning that they needed the new parish long before it was built.

 

They add extra services for holy days during the week (such as Ash Wednesday) but never for holy days like Christmas and Easter. In fact, they'll cancel regular services and add services at prime times like midnight when most people, especially parents with young children, are home asleep where they belong. The church is run by people who don't have children and think it is perfectly normal to expect people to come to the 4:45 a.m. service instead of the 9:30 a.m. one they customarily attend.

 

I love celebrating the Resurrection at church, but I hate fighting the crowds to do it. When ds was born, we tried to go for three years, going to a different parish each year in hopes that we'd find one that wasn't packed. We haven't even tried since. Even in the country parishes, the attendance doubles and you have to watch church via closed circuit television downstairs in the basement. If I'm going to watch church on tv, I'll do it from home - they have a whole channel devoted to that.

 

I just don't understand it. I don't understand it at all.

[mommaduck]

I should clarify as I am always happy when someone comes to church.

 

The problem is, our church is packed every week. Do they add extra services for Easter when the attendance doubles and you have to come 30 minutes early (vs 5 minutes) in order to get a seat? No, not in our diocese. I've complained directly. And I also complain indirectly - as in, every year after Easter, I go to confession and confess that we did not attend church on Easter because we couldn't find a seat. Sorry, this issue just makes my blood boil.

 

I think there are a lot of people who would attend church in our diocese, even during the year, if they could find a seat, and that breaks my heart. But the diocese is cheap and thinks it is a waste of money (I guess) to have empty seats on Sunday morning. Thus when they build a new church, all services are packed from the day it opens - meaning that they needed the new parish long before it was built.

 

They add extra services for holy days during the week (such as Ash Wednesday) but never for holy days like Christmas and Easter. In fact, they'll cancel regular services and add services at prime times like midnight when most people, especially parents with young children, are home asleep where they belong. The church is run by people who don't have children and think it is perfectly normal to expect people to come to the 4:45 a.m. service instead of the 9:30 a.m. one they customarily attend.

 

I love celebrating the Resurrection at church, but I hate fighting the crowds to do it. When ds was born, we tried to go for three years, going to a different parish each year in hopes that we'd find one that wasn't packed. We haven't even tried since. Even in the country parishes, the attendance doubles and you have to watch church via closed circuit television downstairs in the basement. If I'm going to watch church on tv, I'll do it from home - they have a whole channel devoted to that.

 

I just don't understand it. I don't understand it at all.

In our church it is the same. You CAN'T add an extra service for Pascha (Pascha service is from late in the evening until 1:30am followed by a feast till 4am). There is typically standing room only, packed out the foyer and balcony overflow. Such is life :) We are there. We celebrate. Then comes the after service crush...I mean a literal crowd crush. But again, we are there and it's part of the way it is. :grouphug:

[DawnM]

When we were in a large church that was over-packed on Christmas and Easter, we skipped church those days.....we jokingly said, "this is the stuff we already know, let's give up our spot to those who haven't heard yet." But the truth was, it was crazy in the church trying to find a spot and I couldn't stand it. I also hated the pomp and circumstance of showing off all your new clothing. Now, the little girls in their hats looked adorable, but I don't think that is the meaning of Easter at all and it bugged me. I also did hate to see people trying to visit on Easter (particularly non church goers) and have them not be able to sit down.

 

We will be going to church today because we are at a much less crowded church now. I highly doubt we will have problems finding a place to sit.

 

We do Easter baskets, although we don't make a huge deal out of it and my kids are fully aware that the rituals came from a pagan holiday, as did the tree at Christmas. We don't "do" the Easter bunny or Santa in the way that most do, but we aren't opposed to having a Santa ornament on our tree either. We have just always told our kids that Santa is a mythical idea that developed from St. Nick, etc.....

 

I have two books. One is called Santa Are You for Real? The other is called, Easter Bunny, Are You for Real? Both written by Christian authors and and both express how we feel about the holidays.....fun traditions that have nothing to do with the true meaning of the holiday, but we enjoy them anyway.

 

Dawn

[Jugglin'5]

i'm not trying to be argumentative, but i disagree with your attitude about this. i grew up in a family that only went to church on christmas and easter. that's it. twice a year. and yes, we were total hypocrites and just taking up space. and although it didn't have an immediate effect on me, i can tell you that a seed was planted. years later when i was 25 i became a christian. my life was literally falling apart at the seams, and i remembered many years earlier being in church and hearing about jesus. at age 25, i remember kneeling and crying and asking god to help me. i knew that he could because i had heard it years before. i believe church is a lovely place for ungodly people. just something to remember when you're inconvenienced tomorrow. you don't know what god has in store. my own parents and my 3 sisters became christians after seeing my own life transformed.

 

:iagree:My family has a similar story.

[Jugglin'5]

I also hated the pomp and circumstance of showing off all your new clothing. Now, the little girls in their hats looked adorable, but I don't think that is the meaning of Easter at all and it bugged me.

 

Dawn

 

I explain to my kids that this is about celebration and all things being made new. They look forward to their new outfits every year. Easter should be a party! :001_smile: He is risen!

[Wabi Sabi]

Bethany, I'm curious: are there any holidays (religious or otherwise) that your family DOES celebrate?

[DawnM]

:001_smile: I should be a caveat in there. I grew up in Africa as the child of missionaries. This is MY hang up.

 

 

I explain to my kids that this is about celebration and all things being made new. They look forward to their new outfits every year. Easter should be a party! :001_smile: He is risen!

[Jugglin'5]

:001_smile: I should be a caveat in there. I grew up in Africa as the child of missionaries. This is MY hang up.

 

Gotcha. :grouphug:

[DianeW88]

Well, being LDS, we focus on the Atonement every day of the year, so Easter isn't necessarily any different in church than our regular weekly services, although presumably the talks during our Sacrament meeting will be focused on the Atonement.

 

However, we do celebrate all of the rituals, food and fun that are Easter in our home. The bunny comes, we dye eggs, we have a huge meal...we celebrate with our family. I don't care if any of those things are pagan in origin. So what? That's not what the meaning is behind them now. My kids aren't going to give up their faith because we color eggs or have the Easter bunny visit. I sincerely don't think doing any of these things is "bad" for people of faith.

 

I also love celebrating family and traditions, and have sadly seen too many children brought up in religious homes where none of that went on...who ran as fast and as far as they could away from all of it when they were adults. What they remember from their childhood was that religion was no fun and seemed like a punishment. I think faith should be joyful, happy and full of laughter and love. I never want my kiddos thinking church equals dour, boring and left out.

 

Of course, to each his own and whatever works for you.

 

Happy Easter, everyone!!

[*********]

I'm not bashing your convictions at all, truly.

I liken it to a birthday--my dc and dh are so special to me, I want to celebrate that love all year 'round, and I do, but I also take a day and truly celebrate, with special rituals and things that help me celebrate. That's how I do Easter, too.

 

Actually, as some already said, it starts before that, and each year, I see it as a privilege to walk thru Lent and Holy Week, remembering.

 

And to whomever said baskets of junk food, I can see how that seems kinda yucky, but the tradition of eating sweets/candy goes pretty far back in Christian tradition. At baptism, the bishop gave a spoonful of milk mixed with honey to the newly baptised to symbolize the entrance into the Land of Milk and Honey, the Promised Land. So it's not remotely just Junk Food, it has real significance.

 

The egg, too--yep, it was originally a fertility symbol but it's been adopted by the church (see Russian Orthodox pysanky) to symbolize new life in Christ and even the tomb.

 

To each his own, but it does ruffle my feathers a bit when ancient traditions/symbols sanctioned and adopted by the ancient church as perfectly acceptable Christian symbols are seen as frivolous or pagan.

 

We were all pagan in origin, weren't we. No one is born a Christian. Just as we are changed and remade at the level of deepest meaning into those honoring Christ, so these symbols were changed and remade.

 

They are not just secular or "pagan abominations."

 

(My apologies to pagans, just using language I've heard when describing the symbols.)

 

Bethany, I'm not trying to convince you. I can delete this if you find it harsh or offensive.

 

Doesn't offend me at all, Chris. Especially seeing as the pagan origins of Easter are not the crux of why we don't celebrate it. :)

 

And I get the parallel between Easter and celebrating a child's birthday. It's just that I don't find my eternal salvation in my children, but rather in Christ. So to me, there's no religious significance in celebrating my dc's birthday.

[*********]

Bethany, I'm curious: are there any holidays (religious or otherwise) that your family DOES celebrate?

 

We do Thanksgiving, because there is no religious significance. And be we 'do' it, I mean if someone invites us to dinner, we go. Otherwise, if we stay home, we eat whatever.

 

We also celebrate our children's birthdays. Again, because there is no religious significance.

 

That's it. We don't do any religious or patriotic holidays.

[mytwomonkeys]

I should clarify as I am always happy when someone comes to church.

 

The problem is, our church is packed every week. Do they add extra services for Easter when the attendance doubles and you have to come 30 minutes early (vs 5 minutes) in order to get a seat? No, not in our diocese. I've complained directly. And I also complain indirectly - as in, every year after Easter, I go to confession and confess that we did not attend church on Easter because we couldn't find a seat. Sorry, this issue just makes my blood boil.

 

I think there are a lot of people who would attend church in our diocese, even during the year, if they could find a seat, and that breaks my heart. But the diocese is cheap and thinks it is a waste of money (I guess) to have empty seats on Sunday morning. Thus when they build a new church, all services are packed from the day it opens - meaning that they needed the new parish long before it was built.

 

They add extra services for holy days during the week (such as Ash Wednesday) but never for holy days like Christmas and Easter. In fact, they'll cancel regular services and add services at prime times like midnight when most people, especially parents with young children, are home asleep where they belong. The church is run by people who don't have children and think it is perfectly normal to expect people to come to the 4:45 a.m. service instead of the 9:30 a.m. one they customarily attend.

 

I love celebrating the Resurrection at church, but I hate fighting the crowds to do it. When ds was born, we tried to go for three years, going to a different parish each year in hopes that we'd find one that wasn't packed. We haven't even tried since. Even in the country parishes, the attendance doubles and you have to watch church via closed circuit television downstairs in the basement. If I'm going to watch church on tv, I'll do it from home - they have a whole channel devoted to that.

 

I just don't understand it. I don't understand it at all.

 

that makes more sense. thanks for clarifying.

 

on a side note, i had to laugh at myself today for feeling "inconvenienced" myself at church. it was completely packed of course & i got stuck behind a line of cars dropping their families off before parking. it was taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r for the line to move. anyway, i had to quickly eat some humble pie as i remembered my own words here, lol.:D

[pageta]

Well, for what it's worth, we went to church this morning...we didn't find a seat...we left. We were sure there would be a seat at the church we went to. Oh well! I really would like to enjoy an Easter service once without having to go at an odd hour or worry about keeping children quiet for an extra long time. Someday...

[Seeking Squirrels]

We are Christian. We celebrate Easter, but not religiously. I do not associate Easter with Jesus' death and resurrection.

 

But that doesn't stop us from having fun with Easter. We do egg dying, egg hunts, baskets, a big dinner, and most importantly, get together with extended family.

[mudboots]

Well, for what it's worth, we went to church this morning...we didn't find a seat...we left.

 

:( We had to do that at our church once, and it wasn't even a holiday.

 

This morning, we decided not to go to church. We'll leave the seats for people who aren't regular attenders.

 

The day turned out great, because DH read the resurrection story to the kids, and then we tried to fly kites (but the "ascension" will have to wait until a windier day ;)), and we ended up fishing. It was a fun family day.

[5kidsforME]

i'm not trying to be argumentative, but i disagree with your attitude about this. i grew up in a family that only went to church on christmas and easter. that's it. twice a year. and yes, we were total hypocrites and just taking up space. and although it didn't have an immediate effect on me, i can tell you that a seed was planted. years later when i was 25 i became a christian. my life was literally falling apart at the seams, and i remembered many years earlier being in church and hearing about jesus. at age 25, i remember kneeling and crying and asking god to help me. i knew that he could because i had heard it years before. i believe church is a lovely place for ungodly people. just something to remember when you're inconvenienced tomorrow. you don't know what god has in store. my own parents and my 3 sisters became christians after seeing my own life transformed.

 

Amen. I would happily stand with my kids and make them be quiet because this is what's happening. Seed planting.

[besroma]

Amen. I would happily stand with my kids and make them be quiet because this is what's happening. Seed planting.

 

:iagree:

[scrappyhappymama]

Like several others in this thread, we do not celebrate Easter as a religious holiday because we believe that God was very clear how he wanted Christians to remember the death and resurrection of Christ- on the first day of the week with the Lord's Supper.

 

We do enjoy some Easter secular traditions, but we surround those with discussions of Who created the seasons and set in motion the renewal of life each spring. We don't shy away from the pagan or polytheistic origins of these traditions, because we find it important educationally for our children to understand just how much of our own culture and traditions are rooted in the beliefs and culture of the past. So they know about Eostre and that that is why we call this holiday Easter today, and how the pagan holiday was merged with the Christian one. For our family, enjoying fun little traditions like coloring or hunting eggs doesn't equate with worshiping an ancient fertility goddess any more than referring to the planets as Mars and Jupiter equates to worshiping those gods. Instead the study of other cultures and religious beliefs during history gives us context for discussions of what we do believe and why. We find that most holidays, both the traditionally religious and the patriotic ones give us similar opportunities. On the other hand, one could certainly teach their children these same messages without using holidays as a pretext, so we do respect the convictions of those who choose to avoid the holidays altogether.

[boscopup]

We are Christians, but do not celebrate Easter as a religious holiday. Easter is not in the Bible. The Bible says that we are to remember Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection every first day of the week, not once a year.

 

We do enjoy the fun, non-religious parts of Easter, like Easter baskets, egg hunts, etc., but we do not associate any of that with Christianity.

 

Like several others in this thread, we do not celebrate Easter as a religious holiday because we believe that God was very clear how he wanted Christians to remember the death and resurrection of Christ- on the first day of the week with the Lord's Supper.

 

:iagree: to both of those. Same goes for Christmas. We celebrate it as a non-religious holiday. We remember Christ's life and death everyday, and we celebrate it religiously via the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week.