Easter. True Easter. No bunny. No Eggs. No family. Only Him.

Growing up as a C in America, Easter, like most holidays, has a deep meaning behind it…However, the meaning tends to get lost and left behind; due to the all of the secular traditions that we seem to cover them with. 

Let me preface this blog by saying that American traditions are by no means bad – I’ll be the first to admit that I love the celebration of traditions – But, there comes a point and time where traditions take over the true meaning, and that is when it becomes a problem…..

….Growing up, I use to be scared of the Easter bunny…well really, if I was to be honest, I was scared of most anything – including my own shadow. 

….But, I remember this one Easter where I actually made my mom put the Easter baskets outside on our front porch, because I did not want the bunny to come into our home….I was scared he would get me or something ridiculous like that… 

But, I also remember the thrill of waking up each Easter morning, running into the living room to see what the Easter Bunny had left me.  And I remember that thrill of suspense, the glow of happiness that shown through my eyes, and the smile that radiated the love for this day from my inside out.  Then, I remember the beauty found within a little girls heart as she was able to prepare for “meeting” that Sunday – wearing my new Easter dress!  And with the dress, came new shoes.  Going to meeting and showing off my fabulous new outfit was of course my absolute favorite thing ever!  And then, the excitement in exchanging with my friends what the Easter Bunny had left for each of us….After that came the actual service.  But it was during the service that I sat so very eagerly awaiting to get to my family festivity for the day!  The excitement of seeing my whole family, and having an egg hunt with my cousins – figuring out the best way to spot the most eggs to win – what joy that was!!  It seriously was enough to cause me to daydream through the entire service….missing the true meaning of this Easter morning…….

The sad thing is that for the most part, although the tables turned a bit with age, these same concepts have continued to be the true celebration of Easter for me personally.  Yes, most definitely I understand the significance of this beautiful morning – a morning in which we are promised to serve a RISEN ONE, our ONE conquered death, and He did that all for me and you – so that through Him we can have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  What a beautiful morning this is…Perhaps the most important morning of the entire year, and I somehow have managed to cover up the true significance with other traditions – traditions that will in no way, shape, form, or fashion give me a gift this beautiful.  There is no egg, no bunny, no basket, no dress, no pair of shoes, no family member that is going to offer me something more beautiful than a risen Savi0r! 

And so why, why is this the American culture?  Why is the norm for every holiday?  Is it wrong?  Is it right? 

For the first time in 24 years, all of these traditions were stripped away from me.  There was no Easter bunny presents, no egg hunts to watch, no new dress or clothes (you know that was big for me), no family gatherings….No there was nothing.  There was nothing, except me waking up to a beautiful crisp morning, knowing that on this very day so many years ago there was an empty tomb that could no longer contain Him – I serve a RISEN ONE.  A ONE that defeated death!!!  And that alone, is why we should be celebrating this beautiful Easter morning! 

So this year, I went to my “home meeting” here in the City.  There was nothing better than seeing new six beautiful brothers and sisters b@pt*zed!  There is/was no amount of Cadbury Eggs and Lifesaver Gummies that could ever possibly be as great as six b@pt*sms on this Easter morning! 

And then, if one service wasn’t enough, we went to service at Notre Dame.  Sure, yes, I am B@pt*st…But, I have always been intrigued to know and learn more about other denominations, religions, and cultures.  And who is to say that we can’t pull together to worship a Risen ONE?! ….Although the language was not English, and I sometimes was a bit lost on what was going on because of that, I will have to say that this was one of the most beautiful Easter services that I have ever been to.  Not only did it reiterate the service, and the Word that I had read during the first service just a few hours earlier, but there was something more than just this….

As I left Notre Dame that evening, I was one of the first ones out the door.  This gave me a chance to have such a moment with the Father.  As I stood there for a solid fifteen minutes there continued to be people who poured out of the building….I have no official number of how many people attended this third service at Notre Dame for the day, but there were thousands inside – and I have no idea how many people stood outside the doors watching on the big screens. 

But, as these thousands of people exited this building I could not help but think WHAT IF…

WHAT IF all of the people who sat in that service, and the service at the meeting earlier that morning, what if they all removed the secular Easter traditions from their lives, and truly celebrated the real meaning behind this important day.  Because although the secular traditions are different here than in the States, there are still other traditions that veil the true meaning of this day.  (Just a side note that I learned:  The bells –like the ringing of the bells, not the Easter bunny, bring all of the children chocolate eggs here for Easter morning.)

What if each of those people were lit on the inside with a burning, fiery passion to tell everyone around them that years and years ago, their Heavenly Father sent His one and only Son to die on the cr0ss on a Friday, only to defeat death and haven risen three days later, on Easter morning years and years ago!  What if all of those people shared that their Father did this in order to have a relationship with His people here on Earth – that He sent His Son to die so that our sins could be forgiven….

Can you imagine the vast number of people who would now know about Him?!  Can you imagine the number of people who would be shocked at the true meaning of Easter?  Can you imagine if everyone in the church body ACROSS THE GLOBE had this passion, how others would be interested in knowing more about Him?!

....This whole concept just blew my mind…..

….Am I saying that American traditions are a bad thing?  Am I saying that we should do away with all secular holiday traditions? 

Absolutely not! I think those things create beautiful memories for children – memories that I know for me personally will never be forgotten.  But, am I saying that perhaps we need to pull back to the real meaning?  Am I saying that we do not need to let traditions win over the actual meaning of the holiday/special day itself?  Yes! 

There is beauty to be found in the historical meaning of traditions.  For example, Friday night we were preparing to share with some friends about the meaning of Easter and American traditions.  So I was asked to share about the meaning behind the Easter bunny and eggs…..Have you ever took a moment to think about the association and meaning behind these popular Easter objects?!  I sure had not ever thought one thing about it honestly.  So, I had to look it up.

Long ago, well much like today, Bunnies were known for their quick reproduction – meaning new life.  So Bunnies on Easter represent the new life that we can have through acceptance of salvation of a risen One. 

Furthermore, children use to think that eggs were laid by the Bunnies for some reason, but they too represent new life - through the cracking of the egg, there comes a new chick. 

So here you have two American Easter icons that you can quickly use to share the real meaning of Easter with, and bring them back to the true celebration of this glorious day! 

….By all means, I am not saying we must get rid of traditions, but perhaps refocus in on the real meaning of holidays and celebrate the actual religious meaning more than we do the secular traditions.….Just my food for thought.  Just something that really hit me personally this Easter Sunday!!  Brought me back to reality.