It’s that time of year again! That season for Eggs, Chocolate, Marshmallows and Bunny Rabbits. It’s also a mark of springtime and flowers. And I’m irked. I’m irked every year. I’m irked that most people celebrate this time with massive amounts of chocolate and pink fluffy bunny rabbits with egg baskets and not understand the TRUE meaning of Easter. Yes I’m splitting hares. But I’m irked. Kill the Rabbit. I hate commercialism!!!
In Catholicism, Easter marks the end of the 40 days of Lent – a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday (or for some people, Mardi Gras on Tuesday first – sin as much as you can before you be good for 40 days after) and it ends on Easter Sunday. So traditionally, we Catholics will give up something important to our lives for those 40 days (I once tried to give up swearing but that didn’t go too well, and neither did the giving up of perfume & cosmetics another year) to commemorate the fasting of Jesus for those 40 days.
Then comes the special week before Easter:
The Sunday before is Palm Sunday to mark the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, Thursday or 3 days before Easter is Holy Thursday to mark the Last Supper, and Friday or 2 days before Easter is Good Friday is to mark the Crucifixion. Saturday, the day before Easter is Holy Saturday.
The 3 days before Easter is sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum or Latin for Three Days. Catholics like that number. So then we come to Easter Sunday, that officially marks the Resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. The entire season of Easter or Eastertide begins then up till the last day of Pentecost, which is 7 weeks later. A blog on Pentecost will happen when the time comes.
Anyway, Easter is actually a more important celebration than Christmas though commercialism dictates otherwise, AARGH! People decorate eggs and hide them in the garden (?!?) so when the kids wake up in the morning they have a reason to dig through the dirt for ‘treats that the Easter bunny brought’ though the rabbit’s motives for doing so is seldom clarified. It’s also an excuse to gorge oneself with the other treats that blasted rodent allegedly brought – chocolate and jelly beans being some. Then in the mass hypocrisy of it all these people will actually attend Church before going out to ‘Easter parties’…
People. Seriously. Going to Church on Easter Sunday doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger! AARGH!!!
The true way for celebrating Easter Sunday actually begins in darkness with the blessing of the Easter Fire and the lighting of the Paschal Candle (symbolic of the Risen Christ) and then the chanting of the Exultet. After the service of light, the reading of the Old Testament that tell the stories about the creation (where God brought forth Light), the sacrifice of Isaac (where Isaac’s dad was told to kill his only child in sacrifice to God, though if you know the story you’d know Abraham didn’t have to slit Isaac’s throat), the crossing of the Red Sea, (about Moses and the promise land), and the foretelling of the coming of the Messiah. After that we all sing Alleluia and the service climaxes with the proclamation of the gospel and the Resurrection. After that we all get splashed with holy water, partake in the Eucharist & Holy Communion; which is technically the eating of the Body of Christ and the drinking of his Blood. Ask me about this if you’re truly interested.
Anyway, I’ll wrap this up with my favourite bits from the Exultet:
This Passover feast
When Christ the true Lamb is slain
Whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers
This is the night
When Christ broke the chains of death
And rose triumphant from the grave!
May you all enjoy the true meaning of Easter and may your lives all be blessed, whether you believe in it or not. And personally, I’d kill that blasted rabbit, but I’d eat the chocolate!
