The memories of childhood seep into my sixty+ old brain this morning, of Easter mornings of the past. Actually, I do not have too many holiday memories of any kind, while growing up.. (just a few) But I have memories of some that came later as we raised our own family. And one is about my deceased mother-in-law.
She was a good grandmother to my kids. Actually, she was a sucker for any kid that was going around the neighborhood during that time period to sell candy or other items that school children were selling to make money for their school. Just go right up and knock on her door to sell something, and the child might walk away from someone that just ordered 10 of whatever he or she was selling. And the thing was, she would then give those items to those around her. Like our family.
But one thing I remember in our lives with her, was each year she would buy each of us one of those big 'Anthony Thomas' Easter Eggs. I chuckled each year when bringing them home because she always bought us peanut butter (which I hated) ones. She knew it was a lot of candy/sweet....but because peanut butter was good for you, that is what she bought. I guess in her mind, the peanut butter cancelled out some of the sugar part of the egg.
Easter eggs have long been part of our Easter celebrations. You may or may not be surprised that there are Christian denominations that teach that coloring eggs is pagan and therefore we should not use them in our Easter celebrations. The question is: Is it pagan and how did the practice of doing it get started in the first place?
This according to 'The History Channel', The Easter Egg is most likely associated with pagan traditions. The egg itself is an ancient symbol of new life and was used in festivals celebrating spring.
So okay, setting aside the fact they were used in said festivals, how did the Easter Bunny or some chicken, cluck its way into Christianity getting away from pagan rituals? (lol)
In Christianity, the dynamics changed over to celebrating new life in man (Because of Jesus), instead of new life in nature. The church started teaching that the egg represents Jesus being resurrected from the tomb after he had been crucified and in it for three days. According to whatever website we may go to, it is really anyone's guess how and when this tradition actually started, or the events surrounding it. But the thing is, it did start and can we qualify it enough to be pagan so that we as Christians just stay away from the whole thing. Or can it be a fun way to teach kids about what the celebration really is all about?
The bible does not mention the word 'Easter' in any sense of the word. Were there no eggs being dyed during those times? Maybe not. But many homes, whether the occupants are of faith or not, did and sill do recognize Easter as a Christian holiday. And when it gets down to trying to convince people that some of these traditions are pagan and therefore we should not involve ourselves with them, I am very cautionary. Because that boils down to legalism which is extreme adherence to law and I was in a church long ago that demanded the forbiddance of celebrating any thing that would have come out of paganism, no matter if it was no longer used the way it started out and especially in the church.
Rather it is better for me to show what I have found and let people decide for themselves, because we all do have that right.
So what is the verdict? For me, I don't color eggs anymore. In fact, hadn't for the last several years that my two youngest sons were still at home. Why? Because by then I was working many hours each week. My youngest son, who was in his middle to upper teens at the time, did still like to color eggs. So I would always have the stuff ready for him and he did them while I was at work.
I don't remember our church at any time, teaching that the egg is likened to Jesus bursting out from his tomb or any other similar teaching either. For us it really wasn't a matter of anything 'religious.'
It was a fun thing to do prior too our celebration of the death, and resurrection of our Lord. It is like putting the two together, but then not really doing that, if that makes sense.
The most important part of it was teaching our kids about what Jesus had done for us, and not applying the egg to it, and yet still having fun with the eggs on a day prior to Easter.
And that is how we handled egg coloring back then. If circumstances were that my grandchildren were around at this time of year, you can bet I would be doing eggs with them. And no, I would not tell them it represents Jesus and the tomb. But I would read them a story about it and share with them in that way which would be my own special way of celebrating Easter with them.
You may want to check out some of these websites I post. There is so much info out there and a lot of it is interesting and I can't possibly cover everything. I do encourage you however, to stick with those that are Christian.
Up tomorrow: More on the topic from today.
Today's sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/should-Christians-celebrate-Easter.html
and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg
April 2, 2019 Easter Bible Reading: They were on the way to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way .And the disciples were astonished and some were afraid. Again he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. Mark 10:32.
Hi Friends. Thanks for coming by. Please come back tomorrow and until then stay blessed!
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