Easter: The Meaning, the Traditions, and the Secular Views

Easter is the Christian holiday meant to celebrate the resurrection of the religious figure Jesus Christ. According to the Christian Bible, Jesus was slain on the cross on the previous Friday (known as Good Friday). After lying in the grave for 3 days, it is said that he was given new life and left the grave on Sunday. Therefore, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after a vernal equinox in March, which is believed to be around the same time of year that Jesus was killed and resurrected. While the holiday is religious at its roots, it has been warped by secular culture, and has many strange traditions attached to it today.

Since Easter has become more and more of a holiday which is equally celebrated by the secular world, it has also had some other non-religious traditions attached to it. The first is the Easter bunny. He is sort of like the Santa Claus of the Easter holiday. When children wake up on the morning of Easter, they are usually given a large basket of candy by their parents. This is supposed to have come from the Easter bunny, a benevolent rodent with a stash of candy that rivals the largest of grocery stores.

There are also many activities that children can look forward to during the Easter holiday. Lots of parents decide to put on Easter egg hunts, during which hundreds of eggs (plastic or otherwise) are hidden, and usually contain candy. There are many community Easter egg hunts that go on each year, meant for different age groups. Parents who put on Easter egg hunts for their own children usually hide them around the house or around the yard while the children are sleeping, then encourage a through search once everyone has awoken.

Easter is one of those times of years that many people attend church services in the morning. Like Christmastime, Easter seems to bring many non-religious people to the morning services. The holiday is largely religious, and it seems as if this feeling rubs off. If you want to attend a church service on the morning of Easter, you should talk to some of your friends or neighbors who you know attend church. They will be more than happy to bring you along for the day, and you may find that it is something you enjoy.