Shroro

The Syriac Orthodox Christian Digest - April, 2005

Jesus Christ vs. the Easter Bunny

by Jaya Paily

Our culture is constantly modifying its old customs into more, open-minded customs that every individual can accept. It seems as though holidays have also been the subject of transform in our culture. Easter, once recognized as Jesus Christ’s resurrection, is now identified as the Easter bunny’s holiday. The true meaning of Easter is not completely forgotten; however, it is our secular culture that creates an invisible blanket over all religious celebrations, as if to completely shun religious activities in our society.

What exactly does the Easter holiday represent? Easter first arrived from the history of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Our Lord’s history concerned healing vast numbers of sick and needy individuals who required his help. Several Pharisees disagreed with Jesus, prosecuting him for blasphemy. Jesus was eventually placed on trial in front of several people and was ultimately voted to be executed. He went through humiliation, torture, and finally crucifixion for the forgiveness of humanities’ sins. Three days after his death, Jesus resurrected and began appearing before his disciples and various crowds. From then onwards, Christ’s word spread throughout the earth, and Easter was recognized as resurrection Sunday.

Now that several centuries have passed, Easter is no longer recognized as resurrection Sunday. Easter has now evolved into a more materialistic holiday with various chocolates and egg hunts involved. Easter is completely commercialized everywhere, from television advertisements and newspapers to children’s books. There is a rare chance that children are learning about Christ’s resurrection in a short, twenty-page book. It is more likely that children are learning to paint eggs, make Easter baskets, and learn about the Easter bunny. It is frightening to know that our youth are more familiar with commercials and advertisements than religious activities. If our youth are raised in an environment with no religion, they will never learn to appreciate the true meaning of Easter, or any religious activity for that matter. Our youth would no longer understand why Christian adults practice resurrection Sunday.

As Christians, we do not want our youth to grow in an environment where they are ignorant to the reason why all sinners have a future because of Christ’s resurrection. It is our duty to acknowledge the true significance of Easter. As Christians, we should frequently teach our children what the value of Easter is and why it is crucial to us. We should do as God would want and spread his word.