Has Easter Lost it's True Meaning?

I couldn't wait to take my two-year-old grandson to church this morning for Easter because he looked so handsome in the outfit I bought for him. I was like that with my daughter and I remember my parents were the same with me.

But is that what Easter is all about---dressing up in your newly purchased colorful spring outfits and parading yourself in front of others in God's house?

As a baby boomer I believe Easter, just like Christmas, has lost its meaning over the years as we focus more on the materialism associated with it instead of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Did you know the word “Easter” doesn’t have anything to do with the Christian celebration? It is derived from the name of a German deity, Estre or Ostra. She was the goddess of the rising sun and spring, and was celebrated in springtime festivals.

Did you also know that rabbits are an ancient pagan symbol? They represent fertility and are associated with the re-awakening of the land in springtime. Bunnies were first associated with Easter celebrations in the 1500s, and by the early 1800s, German bakers were selling Easter bunnies made from chocolate and pastry.

Eggs, which are laid by birds and from which new birds emerge, were symbols of new life and rebirth long before the Christian era began. In the early days of the church, the consumption of eggs during Lent was prohibited, so decorating them and giving them as gifts on Easter became a way of celebrating the resurrection.

The tradition of the Easter Bunny bringing gifts to children Easter morning is also from Germany, where he was known as Oschter Haws. Initially, the bunny left his treats in a nest made for him by children. Later, the tradition merged with the notion of the Easter basket.

So what do you think? Are we, as a society, obsessed with traditions that have no value?